Branson brand to be discontinued?

[LouNY]

I would hate to see the Branson's get dropped but it wouldn't surprise me.
All the talk last year was about "new" 100+Hp coming out, nothing so far.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I would hate to see the Branson's get dropped but it wouldn't surprise me.
All the talk last year was about "new" 100+Hp coming out, nothing so far.

I remember my dealer talking to me about the "new" 100-110 hp tractor 5 years ago. I guess now it will have a "TYM" badge on the hood, if it ever comes to US. The discussion we had about it was they were having trouble adapting the tractor to the Tier IV emissions regs. Sounded like the tractor was "done", just trying to get it emissioned up so they could export it to US (and presumably Europe).

 

[5030]

A new Branson dealer just opened up, up town. Not my brand but I find this thread interesting.

 

[airbiscuit]

We had a local dealer that sold Farmtrac. When they dissolved (and became an orphan tractor), he was looking for a different brand to carry. He originally looked into TYM because he thought the tractors were good, but passed because he said their parts availability was bad. He ended up carrying Mahindra and seems happy with that decision. TYM recently bought out Branson (who bailed on Century and Montana [who bailed on Farmtrac] tractor brands).

I'm not saying they both go away. I'm just wondering if the mother ship (TYM) will keep 2 brands, 2 manufacturing facilities, 2 sets of overhead, etc. I don't think it will happen tomorrow, but I could see the following take place ...

Year
5...............................,,TYM and Branson
6 single brand....... TYM/Branson
7...................... TYM/Branson
8................ TYM/Branson
9........... TYM

Granted, this is pure speculation on my part, but this scenario is not so different from other companies being bought out. One would think that if this did happen, they would combine the best of both brands and continue parts support. I have seen company logos /brands follow that same path. If Branson (or TYM for that matter) are serious about their futures, they will amp up their parts availability, online parts look ups, etc. and get more dealers like Dave's Tractor.

Branson owners seem to like their tractors and that's cool. That said, there will be some irony if Branson becomes an orphan tractor after they made other brands orphans. I'm just saying that corporations do what corporations do.

Sep 30, 2018

 

[Torvy]

I could see them doing something in transition like calling them a TYM B4820. Or, maybe a Branson 4820, by TYM. I expect they will eventually get to the point that they have 2 lines within the TYM brand. I don't think the Branson tractor will go away, it will just have a new name. Ultimately, the brand will be stronger if it is one. I would personally like it if Big Tex carried both lines.

I had a 1980 Datsun 200SX. A few places on the badging would say "by Nissan". That was just a few years from Datsun disappearing as a brand. Nissan took over Dat before WWII.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Whichever way it goes, I just hope the dealer network gets a boost, and starts getting the support they need to survive.

Would also be nice if they did something professional with their website. It's always just been a mess.

 

[kantuckid]

Begs the answer to why they had both brand names to begin with? Not that I care if parts are good situ. Best if they don't mess over dealers of certain brands nor fail to respect brand retail coverage zones-which they have already done before anyway per a dealer conversation I had.

 

[Cougsfan]

Begs the answer to why they had both brand names to begin with?

I think that the line of current TYMs and current Bransons were developed prior to the consolidation. Up to and including the present they have operated as separate divisions sort of like Chevy and Buick. The question I don't know the answer to is would they sell more tractors and make more money as independent divisions, or would profits be higher if they merged together. Each path has advantages and disadvantages. I doubt if there is a clear cut answer.

 

[airbiscuit]

The question is, which color red will survive?

 

[kantuckid]

My point was to say that they won't sell more tractors if they continue to mess over certain TYM/Branson dealers with whom they have contracts for territorial sales areas. Allowing the "other brand" (of a same overall mfg of tractor) into an established dealers territory is not good business!
Like a couple other tractor brands some dealers may walk away if this continues, then we suffer too. It happened with Mahindra over warranty issues.
I don't pretend to know much inside stuff but heard enough to bring it up as a serious issue, and now the brands may be changing anyway.