The unique area in the Eastern
Cape! Although these farms are
situated on the more level surfaces
in the district.
new John Deere harvester and
received additional discount on
it - "Senwes really puts its money
where its mouth is,” Karel said
pleased. It really helps him, since
he has one harvester only, which
he replaces every three years. His
farm is far out and he also harvests
wheat in the middle of their rainy
season.
Karel Bezuidenhout and his two sons
Anthony en Daniel at one of the
16 John Deere tractors, the 8850.
mechanism instead of a hand-
brake. I learned to drive on this
tractor and spent many hours on
the footplate with my father,”
Karel shared with us.
The 8850 (1983) – It was
bought as brand new by his uncle,
also Karel, and was the first and
only V8 engine ever manufactured
by John Deere. He bought the
8850 in 2008, after a farmer in
Wellington had it for 23 years,
still bearing the original CDA
(Elliot) registration plates.
The two 6400 models (1996)
- the first 6400 models in South
Africa with cabs. The one model
has 6 000 hours and the other he
bought from his younger brother,
Pieter.
SENWES
He is very grateful that Senwes is
the new John Deere agent in the
Eastern Cape. “It means we are
no longer orphans,” he said. With
Bethlehem being 600 km from
Elliot and Bloemfontein 400 km,
he has now requested Senwes to
look after his John Deeres, since
the John Deere agents in the area
failed to meet his requirements.
He has been doing business
with Senwes since 2000 and “I
know I am the longest-standing
customer here. I have always
•••
• •
IN T HE SPO TL IG HT • •
Green Karel’s collection of about 500 John
Deere models.
received excellent service in
Bloemfontein.” Karel has known
the Aliwal North and Ugie,
branch manager, Nelis van
Heerden, for 13 years, ever since
they worked on an old 965 har-
vester and 3140 tractors, when
Nelis was still a technician. "Nelis
has been supporting me through
good and bad times ever since.”
According to him Senwes is a
company which does not only talk
- it takes action as well. He is par-
ticularly impressed by something
which the Executive Manager of
Senwes Equipment, Ferdie Pieterse
said: “We want to give back to
our customers.” He bought a
JOHN DEERE MODEL COLLECTION
The 43-year old has been collect-
ing models since he received his
first model at the age of five. He
has an incredible collection of
approximately 500 John Deere
models.
He remembers that mod-
els were difficult to obtain in
the nineties, but Pietsap van
Rensburg, a legend in John Deere
circles, got the models for him
and also did the restoration work.
“Uncle Piet is like my second
father. We understand each other
and I even bought some of his
4440 tractors," said Karel.
Christmas and birthdays are
not complete without a John
>CONTINUED ON PAGE 22
The Bezuidenhout family: Here is Karel with
his wife Kathleen and two sons, Daniel (14)
and Anthony (almost 11).
SENWES Scenario • AUG/SEP 2017
21