Meet Blair Christie, our Agricultural Sales Representative based at our Fraserburgh depot, and covering the surrounding region. Blair is a familiar face to some in the area, having been a Service Engineer for the previous six years. Having grown up around agriculture and machinery, Blair has an excellent technical and customer background, and is already starting to build relationships with farmers and agriculture businesses in the area. Now entering the next step in his Scot Agri journey, we caught up with Blair to find out more about his time with Scot Agri so far, and his new role as an Agricultural Sales Representative.

Formative Years

Blair told us how he had grown up around machinery, with his father previously working for the business as a Service Supervisor, which served as a starting point for his interest. “I always liked being hands-on and working with [agricultural] machinery. My dad used to work here, and I spoke to the then-service manager about an Apprenticeship,” he said. Blair spent four years as an Apprentice working with our machinery and learning technical knowledge, before travelling to assist customers in Fraserburgh and the surrounding areas.

After six years as a Service Engineer, Blair wanted to further progress his skills and take on a new challenge in sales. “I spoke with Steven and Will about a sales role and my ambitions to progress, and then this position came around.” He told us about how he believes his skills and knowledge gained throughout his time as an engineer would be a perfect starting point to enter into sales. Blair plans to use his experience with the machinery and his already existing relationships with customers to help them solve the challenges that may appear.

A key highlight from his time so far has been the completion of his apprenticeship and being able to head out in the van for the last few years to visit customers at jobs outside of the depot. Like many who follow the same path, he describes being out on the road and representing the brand as “a proud moment.”

 

Transferable Skills and Industry Knowledge

When further speaking about the skills he has developed as an engineer that will help him in his new sales role, Blair drew comparisons to keeping customers informed and building relationships with them. Blair said, “It’s important to keep customers updated and be honest with them. When I was a mechanic, explaining problems, giving them honest estimates, parts updates and any orders required helped them plan their work. So, I think that acting with honesty is going to be as important for my new role.”

Having grown up around agriculture and working in it during his professional career, Blair told us about some of the challenges that are affecting farmers and agriculture in his area. “It’s no secret that prices are increasing for farmers, including fuel and fertiliser for example, while prices on the other side aren’t growing at the same rate to help the costs. It’s a tough time for the industry now,” he added.

New Role and Outside of Work

An evident factor throughout our time with Blair was his enthusiasm for his new role, and how he is looking forward to meeting customers old and new from his area. As someone who has a true passion for the industry, Blair told us he is excited to help customers solve the challenges that exist in the industry now. He looks forward to continuing to represent the Scot Agri brand in the north of Scotland and continuing to work with our machinery.

Although a dedicated representative of the Scot Agri brand, Blair does manage to find time to relax when he’s not at work. He is a member of the Turriff and District Young Farmers Club and helps to organise meetings and events in the area helping to support and promote the organisation. As well as this, Blair is kept busy by his six-month-old Cocker Spaniel puppy that he has with his girlfriend. When asked about his favourite agricultural machinery from the Scot Agri range, he said “The new Massey Ferguson 8S is probably my favourite at the moment. It’s a great machine and has been very popular with our customers too.”

Everyone at Scot Agri is delighted to see Blair continue his development with his new role, taking on more responsibilities and challenges as he transitions into a sales role. Regional Manager for Scot Agri in the north Steven Mitchell said “Blair has been a fantastic engineer since he started with the business and carries a high degree of technical knowledge and problem-solving skills into his new role. I look forward to continuing to work closely and supporting him and wish Blair every success in his new role.”

 

Blair can be contacted for enquiries via email at blair.christie@scotagri.co.uk or via mobile at 07469274728.