Internationally acclaimed UK dairy manufacturer selects RAM software to manage and maintain fixed assets worth £20 million

AJ & RG Barber Ltd selects Real Asset Management’s Asset4000 and Maintenance4000 software to centralise fixed asset register, improving business efficiency and maximising resources

Well-established Somerset cheese makers and associated dairy products manufacturer, AJ & RG Barber Ltd, has today announced its purchase of Asset4000 ( fixed asset accounting) and Maintenance4000 (computerised maintenance management) from Real Asset Management’s (RAM) Series4000 suite of software products. The order will provide AJ & RG Barber with a comprehensive and centralised fixed asset register on which to store and manage data relating to its extensive portfolio of fixed assets. These incorporate the manufacturing plant, buildings, equipment, vehicles and the entire business IT infrastructure. RAM’s fully integrated modules will allow AJ & RG Barber to link maintenance data with component level capitalisation and depreciation information, affording a single point of reconciliation between the finance and maintenance departments.

AJ & RG Barber Ltd was founded in 1955, but the Barber family has been farming in Somerset since the early 1800's. The company’s proactive growth over the last 50 years has included the steady purchase of land and farms and substantially increasing the dairy herd to 1800 cows. AJ & RG Barber Ltd now has a fixed asset base valued at £20 million that incorporates 2000 acres of principally dairy farming land and a further 400 acres of arable farming land near Weymouth in Dorset. Barbers cheeses are widely distributed throughout the United Kingdom and also in Europe.

AJ & RG Barber Ltd will utilise RAM’s Asset4000 and Maintenance4000 modules to fully manage and maintain all the company’s extensive fixed assets. This new system automates and centralises a fixed asset register that was historically stored on separate spreadsheets with no means of automated reconciliation. Chris Newcombe, AJ & RG Barber’s finance director, comments, “Our fixed asset register, before the purchase of Asset4000 and Maintenance4000, consisted of an inventory that was maintained in many unconnected spreadsheets with no link to asset maintenance requirements or recording.

Our old management system was manual and had poor reporting capability with a high risk of data input and output errors.”

The combined system of Asset4000 and Maintenance4000 was chosen by AJ & RG Barber Ltd for its ease of use and the low cost of installation, which includes staff training. Newcombe comments, “The integrated system will allow our users to build flexible asset groupings as well as set different types of depreciation and amortisation rates. It creates structured records that link to asset maintenance and diarised events recording and will also flag pre-determined maintenance activities.” 

RAM’s systems will also play a central role in assisting AJ & RG Barber Ltd with legal regulations. Newcombe concludes, “There will be important benefits with regard to our Health & Safety compliance requirements both in terms of records and risks associated with maintenance of key plant and machinery.”

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