Tim Gibson

Tim Gibson is the owner of Tim Gibson Ltd, a million pound turnover organisation dealing with the supply, maintenance and service of revolutionary robotic farming equipment. Tim’s entrepreneurial spirit has seen him turn his career as a farmer into a successful global enterprise.

Growing up on a farm there was only one career Tim ever wanted to pursue; following in his father’s footsteps, he took over the dairy herd in 2000. Not content with the traditional methods of milking Tim quickly realised that happy cows produced more milk and therefore greater profits in return.

As a labour intensive job milking requires the farmer to herd the cows into a parlour and to milk them one by one, twice a day, however Tim had different ideas. Following extensive research throughout Europe Tim’s farm became the first in the North East to use a revolutionary robotic machine to milk cows. More interestingly still, the machine milked the cows as and when they wanted to be milked.

The concept worked on the principle that the cows could be conditioned to go into a parlour and be milked using robots whilst being fed. If the cows wanted to feed then they would be milked at the same time – saving on labour costs and time.

As an innovative concept Tim’s methods were unconventional and caused great controversy in the farming community. However in 2002 he won an award which sponsored a trip to Europe as a fact finding expedition – further supporting the research and development for his business.

Using just the money made from the sale of a litter of puppies to fund his new venture Tim launched Tim Gibson Ltd in 2003 at the age of 22, a business that would take the robotic concept and sell it to other likeminded farmers throughout the region.

Providing 24 hour service and maintenance for the robots, Lely - the company manufacturing the robots, asked Tim to launch a franchise. Subsequently in 2005 the Lely Centre in Bedale was launched, and today reports a combined turnover of £1 million a year as a part of the Tim Gibson Ltd group of companies and dealerships.

Tim Gibson Ltd is now responsible for the milking of over 3,000 cows producing 75,000 litres of milk a day via free access milking robots. As a result Tim has been asked to visit other countries in the world to provide advice and training to those farmers who are considering changing and updating their dairy farms.

Expanding the business further, Tim uses his European networks to identify products and systems that could be used to help farmers in the UK. Working closely with the manufacturers of these additional systems Tim then builds a supply network to the UK market. Dealing with companies in Denmark, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Holland and America Tim Gibson Ltd has grown from a traditional farm to a truly global enterprise.

Tim comments: “Some people thought I was mad when I said I was going to use new innovative techniques to make my herd milk themselves but I knew that it was possible and if I put the time and dedication into the business it would work. The development of the business over time has meant that I am now in a position to think beyond that one concept and provide a range of products to make farming more profitable. I hope that people get some inspiration from my story and put their thoughts into actions – however unusual or quirky they think they are.”