M & A Brown, Family ‘Roots’
When Mark Brown decided it was time to set up his own business, he had in mind “a one man in a van, going around fixing people’s machinery” kind of future. Twenty or so years later, at the helm of groundcare and garden machinery specialists M&A Brown & Sons Ltd and employing an increasing team of people and a permanent base at Iden Green Farm, just outside Goudhurst, he joked: “I grew a monster.”
It may have grown beyond his expectations, but the company’s reputation has grown with it, to the point where M&A Brown & Sons’ name is well known throughout Kent, Sussex and into South East London for the quality of its sales and repair service.
The business has both commercial and domestic customers and prides itself on the level of service it delivers in both categories. Mark’s wife Amanda, who has played an integral part in the growth of the business, explained: “Everybody counts. It doesn’t matter if it’s a commercial operator looking for half a dozen ride-on mowers or a home-owner asking about an entry level strimmer, they both get all the help they need.”
M&A Brown & Sons stock a comprehensive, carefully selected range of groundcare and garden machinery, from leaf blowers, strimmers and pedestrian mowers through to ride-ons, impressive zero-turn mowers and compact tractors, complete with the implements that make them useful.
“We only sell quality brands such as Ariens, AS Motor, Weibang, Echo, Iseki, Hayter to name a few because we know they are the best and will give great results over an impressively long period,” explained Amanda. “It would be easy to over-stock, but we would just be adding quantity over quality, and we are happy that we already sell the right brands for our customer base.”
That customer base includes farmers, smallholders, large estates, local authorities and individuals who value good service, advice and the knowledge that M&A Brown & Sons will be able to look after the machine long after the paintwork has dulled and the first scuffs have appeared.
Mark trained as an agricultural engineer, working for a number of big-name machinery dealers in the South East before moving into groundcare and garden machinery because he felt it was “a niche that suited his skills and experience”.
In addition to a spacious workshop and offices, they maintain a well-stocked parts store and a meticulously organized showroom showcasing an extensive array of machinery from their product portfolio.
Customer service is backed up by well-honed skills, lots of training and a wealth of experience throughout the team, plus a realistic approach to the cost of repairing equipment.
It’s an honest approach from a family business that began with a search for independence and has grown into a well-respected local employer with a reputation for service that is second to none.
