Case replaces CRMS Group with two new dealers

Case is to appoint two new dealers in the South West, following an announcement from KPMG Restructuring that the beleaguered CRMS Group has stopped trading.

A KPMG spokeswoman ruled out the possibility of CRMS being sold on as a going concern. She told CJ: “Administrators are now pursuing a piecemeal disposal of the assets.” The Newton Abbot-based dealer, formerly Case’s largest in the UK with 105 employees, now has just eight staff still working at the company.

Case marketing director for Europe, Africa and the Middle East, Kevan Dowse, indicated that the company is close to appointing Dorchester and Winchester-based Bredy Construction, as well as Launceston-based M&M Plant Devon and Cornwall, to fill the void.

Meanwhile Case expects its dealer FT Construction Equipment to expand its role to compensate for the loss of CRMS' Wrotham-based operation in Kent.

Dowse reassured Case customers that service engineers from all three firms are maintaining service backup in the South West and South East for the time being, despite the demise of CRMS, which was a major player in the regions.

A source close to CRMS suggested that a change in CNH Capital's strategy prompted it to call in a loan of over £1m, forcing the dealer into administration.

But Dowse denied that any such change had occurred. “There has not been a change in CNH Capital’s strategy towards the dealer network in the UK or anywhere else for that matter. All of our other dealers are in business and CRMS is not. I would ask people to draw their own conclusions from that.”