Farmer gets tractor and machine parts website Agribits into gear

MOST farmers are familiar with wasting a day on the phone or internet trying to track down a part for a tractor or machine. They are equally used to seeing spare parts lying around for a machine which was sold years ago.

One Perthshire farmer has come up with an innovative idea to solve these problems and turn parts into cash quickly.

Agribits.com is a website which aims to put customers in touch with suppliers and take the pain and effort out of hunting for parts. A sort of eBay in reverse, the site is geared towards parts wanted as opposed to parts for sale – and best of all, it is free.

James Haggart runs an arable farm at Haugh of Aberuthven, near Auchterarder, and a couple of years ago when looking for a part for a Land Rover he found a good car site. This gave him the idea to develop something similar for agricultural parts and Agribits Parts Locater has now gone live.

Haggart said that although the site is aimed at requesters, it will work best if suppliers also register their available parts. Neither requesters nor suppliers pay to register and parts under 25 are exchanged free of charge. The only cost comes when a part is sold for more than 25, when a 5 per cent commission fee is charged to the supplier.

Haggart wants the site to appeal to farmers, dismantlers and agri-engineers as well as the brand franchise dealers. He said: "It is often hard to locate parts for slightly older machines … Agribits.com lets the requester choose a best price supplier for parts which may be new or second-hand."

Potential purchasers post a request on the site, which triggers an e-mail to potential suppliers, who can then send a message with details of the condition of the part, price and so on.

Haggart is under no illusion that Agribits is going to make his fortune, but wants to provide a worthwhile service and hopes that as more people try it there will be a snowball effect.