by Nick Drew | Tue 13 Feb 2018
Crowds turnout for a very special Doe Show
While many of us were wandering around inside the Ricoh Arena at the Executive Hire Show, 133 miles away in Ulting, Maldon in Essex, the 58th annual Doe Show was in full swing and our friend Doug Potter was there to take in the atmosphere.
The long running Doe Show is something of a tradition locally in the Essex region and is the largest agricultural, construction and groundcare dealer show of its kind in the UK. It is traditionally held early in February due in part as I understand it, to the ground conditions being bad for the agricultural sector locally at that time of the year, which enables farmers to allow themselves a well-deserved day off to visit the show. They are a hardy bunch over on the South East and that’s just as well, because it can be bitterly cold at that time of year and you need to wrap up warm when visiting. It’s a show that’s well worth a visit though, with plenty of kit on display and over 150 trade stands selling every thing you could ever need in the industry.
Photo: Courtesy of Doug Potter.
For those of us with an interest in construction equipment there is always something to see at the Doe Show. The company are the longest established Hyundai dealers in the UK and they always put on a good variety of new Hyundai kit for visitors to paw over. The main focal point of the construction machinery area is the demo plot and this year long standing Ernest Doe customer, Wormell Plant Hire, had their new HX145 LCR being put through its paces on the demo ground alongside another example of kit from the Doe portfolio of products, a Thwaites 6 tonne swivel skip dumper owned by Brace Plant & Civils.
Photo: Courtesy of Doug Potter.
The show was also marking the retirement of Andy Parnham who has been selling construction equipment for an astonishing 44 years having joined Ernest Doe’s as a 16-year-old workshop apprentice in 1974, before moving on to the construction equipment sales side of the business in 1979. In fact, it was Andy who was instrumental in getting Hyundai demonstrator Doug Potter involved in showing off the Korean machines abilities at shows around the UK and indeed around the world before Doug himself retired and the two industry legends met up once again at the show.
Photo: Pictured Left, Doug Potter Right, Andy Parnham.
Andy officially retires on the 29th March this year – four days before his 60th birthday. From what I hear the 3-day Doe Show was one big retirement party for Andy with many of his loyal customers coming to say farewell and to wish him all the best in his retirement.
Photo: Courtesy of Ernest Doe.
I’m sure you will all join me in sending our best wishes for the future and I’m sure we will be seeing Andy again at future Doe Show’s. The 59th Doe Show takes place on the 5th, 6th & 7th Feb 2019, in the meantime get a flavour of the action in this walk-through video from Ernest Doe.