
The philosophy that drives our business
Thank you for all the wonderful messages we have received about Dad. It is heart-warming to know how highly he was regarded both professionally and personally. Our Bateman community has always felt like a very large family, I’m sure that when we meet throughout the year there will be many more fond memories to share.
My first real involvement in the business would have been when I was around 17 or 18 years old. I can well remember coming home from college, putting on a pair of overalls and going straight into the workshop to help build sprayers. Dad’s work ethic resulted in the odd shift going through the night; we’d walk out to the sound of the Dawn Chorus.
I completed my studies aged 21. I can’t remember the exact conversation, but it went something like: “You can go and do whatever you wish, but whilst you’re here you work.” An expanding order book had created a vacancy. I think there were around 6 people at the time. As employee number seven, I starting in the welding department, moving to the sprayer area, followed by a stint in most other departments.
Ultimately, it was all about us making things. The welding shop was the nerve centre, where we were at our most creative. Principal ideas were formed, which would determine other facets of the sprayer. Back then, Dad and I lived in each other’s pockets. Conversations over breakfast, lunch and dinner revolved around making sprayers. Even Christmas dinner wasn’t off limits! It must have been rather dull for Mum.
We are all born with a natural talent for something. Sadly, for many people, this remains undiscovered. Engineering was Dad’s calling. Self-taught, he made the most of a prodigious natural talent that defied convention from a skillset which was beyond definition.
Bateman is built on Dad’s principles. His legacy is evident in the way we go about things, even today. There are no barriers, you can pick up the phone and speak to me directly, just as you could Dad. You can walk onto our stand at a show and speak to the man that designed the products on display. The systems we use in the factory are designed to harness the talents of our fabulous workforce. Rather than having to adapt to a third-party system, which takes them out of their comfort zones, we’ve developed our own system that allows
them to play to their strengths.
Where Dad would draw his ideas in chalk on the production floor, I’m drawing my ideas on an interactive whiteboard. In this environment the possibilities are limitless, design-led principles are driving the business every day. It all goes back to that welding department, asking questions and making things that are out of the ordinary.
A farmer in Devon wanted to keep spraying his fields when conditions were not ideal. He built a sprayer that did the job and made his life easier. That philosophy still drives the company that bears his name.
Jason Bateman
CEO
R. J. Bateman Engineering
Would you like to book a demo and see our RB35 crop sprayer in your field? Contact us today and arrange for the Bateman Demonstration Team to visit your farm.