Nice central location, neutral grounds, large undercover facilities with access to the expansive land at the showgrounds are just a few of the words of praise for the newly completed Mid Canterbury Vintage Machinery Club premise.
The new building at the northern end of the Ashburton A&P Association Showgrounds was open for display during the Ashburton A&P Show in October and was hired for the first time by farm machinery company Norwood (formerly Norwood Distributors) last week.
Norwood's Paul Collins said its downtown location made it an ideal venue, close to accommodation and travel routes.
The training was for Norwood sales, retail sales and wholesale team, as well as mechanics from Johnson Gluyas, and was led by Horsch technical specialist Roland Neumaier, of Bavaria, Germany.
More than 20 people took part in the technical and familiarisation training, over three days.
Mr Collins was impressed with the facilities and the access to the land on the showgrounds, which was ideal for Norwood's large machinery, especially the Horsch Leeb LT crop protection system (sprayer), which was a topic of discussion at the training session.
The sprayer, which can get close to crops and less affected by windy conditions, was considered a blessing for Mid Canterbury farmers often hampered by nor'west winds.
''It reduces the negative effects of wind drift ... and because of this allows the window of opportunity to be widened [for farmers],'' Mr Collins said.
The sprayers have been in New Zealand for the past six months but it was the first time a Bavarian representative had been sent to New Zealand to give technical support.
Mr Neumaier's whirlwind trip to New Zealand included a brief stopover at Norwood Palmerston North before heading to Canterbury.
After the training session, Mr Neumaier was booked in for farm demonstrations spanning from Southbridge to Timaru.
Mr Collins said the company would be keen to use the facility again.
