IMPORTING AN EXPORT
The wanderer returns
New Zealand was a successful export market for the MF135, and Lindsay McClounie now owns one that went there first, but has returned home to its roots, as Bob Weir discovers
Lindsay McClounie is delighted with the MF135 that he imported from halfway around the world.
T
he town of New Cumnock is in East Ayrshire and has some famous historical connections, including King Robert the Bruce and William Wallace, of Braveheart fame. It’s also the old stomping ground of Scotland’s most famous bard, Robert Burns. Lindsay McClounie’s family specialises in building demolition and plant hire; a business that was established in 1962. There’s also a strong agricultural connection at the headquarters at Meikle Garclaugh Farm.
Working tractor choice
“Apart from the building work, we keep a small herd of beef cattle,” Lindsay explained. “We also rent out part of our land for grazing sheep, and farm a total of 600 acres. We’ve used several different types of tractor over the years, but our current workhorse is a Massey MASSEY FERGUSON 135
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Ferguson 6470. It’s a local machine and we’ve had it for four years.” The McClounies were brought up in the area, and have been there for several generations. Like a lot of Scottish families, they also have relatives living ‘down under’. “Members of the family started to move to New Zealand several years ago,” Lindsay told me. “Ironically, there are probably more McClounies living there now, than in Scotland, and some of them are also involved in farming. “I was over there visiting two of our relations – Ted and Pauline Allen – in 2004, when I spotted the MF135. It was being kept in a small shed on their hill farm, and it was the dual rear wheels that first caught my eye. I wasn’t particularly clued-up about old tractors in those days, but it certainly got my interest. “Pauline likes to visit Scotland every few years, and it was during a trip in
2010 that the subject of the tractor cropped up. I was showing her around our farm and jokingly said that if Ted ever wanted to sell the 135, I’d take it off his hands. I knew that he barely used the Massey, but that he wasn’t looking to change it, so I never imagined for a moment that it would actually happen.”
Done deal!
“Later that visit, Ted rang Pauline on a routine call from New Zealand. Apparently, his accountant had told him that they’d made a decent profit for the year, and had suggested buying a new tractor to offset the tax bill. So, Pauline asked Ted to sit tight until she’d flown home and, once she was back, they were in touch again.” The upshot was that Ted and Pauline did buy a new tractor and, after a bit of friendly haggling, Lindsay agreed to buy the MF135.
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10/12/2021 15:06
