Machinery and Equipment: FTMTA Grass & Muck show returns on May 12 at Gurteen College, Roscrea
FTMTA Grass & Muck 2016 will take place at Gurteen College, Ballingarry, Roscrea, Co Tipperary (near Birr, Co Offaly) on Thursday, May 12.
This event is all about demonstrations of working machinery, and is an opportunity for farmers and contractors to see a wide range of the latest technologies in silage and grass management machinery in operation in Ireland.
Expect to see a variety of new machines from some new suppliers as well as the more established exhibitors in action on the day.
First held in 2010, it is now a biennial event run by FTMTA on alternate years to the FTMTA Farm Machinery Show at Punchestown.
The organisers hope to build on the success of the three previous shows.
The trade stand area continues to grow considerably, with nearly 100 trade stands booked this year, exclusively focused on agriculture.
FTMTA CEO Gary Ryan says that the Association is pleased to once again to use the excellent facilities and central location of Gurteen College, which has proven such a successful site for this event.
It is estimated that 9,500 visitors attended in 2014.
The 2016 event should prove to be even more popular, due to the launch of a number of new grass machines and ranges, such as the McHale mowers and Malone rakes and tedders.
There’s more than 80 acres of grass at the site for demonstrations of various types and brands of silage making equipment, by more than 25 firms.
Several loader brands will be demonstrated in action at the silage pit.
Exhibitors will also show off a variety of slurry and dung spreading equipment on maize stubble and grass ground, and reseeding equipment from several firms can be seen on a plot of tilled ground.
Tickets for FTMTA Grass & Muck 2016 can either be bought on the day or in advance from a link on the home page of the FTMTA website, which will take you to the secure ticket sales site.
People buying tickets online in this way will receive an e-ticket by email. Currently, online tickets are available at a cost of €10, compared to €15 at the gate on the day.
A combined ticket offers admission and a breakfast roll with tea or coffee, available online for €13, for a limited time.
Looking good at 70
Zetor tractors have launched a special logo commemorating their 70th anniversary.
The first Zetor tractors were produced in 1946.
On March 15, their flags flew high at the company’s Brno plant in the Czech Republic.
In August of the same year, the Zetor trademark was registered and the history of Zetor began to unfold.
The first three model Z 25 tractors subsequently went into mass production at Brno, leading to hundreds of thousands of the units being produced.
Along the way, Ireland acquired an important place in the company’s history when, in the late-1940s, the first Zetor models were imported and sold here.
Now distributed by McHale Plant Sales, the brand is represented by a national dealer network and just recently announced, a distributor direct sales outlet.
Innovations in tractor design with which Zetor is associated down through its history include the concept of using unified parts and the introduction of the first security cabin with integrated rollover protection.
Looking ahead, Zetor’s determination to boost demand for their products and expand their presence in international markets was flagged recently with their introduction of the Zetor by Pininfarina design study.
The role design will play in Zetor’s plans for future success Is underlined by their engagement with the legendary Italian motor vehicle design and engineering house, best-known for their work with Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Maserati and others.
A new website was also launched, to illustrate the 70 years of the Zetor brand’s evolution (www.zetor70.com).
A competition to find the most intriguing story connected to Zetor will run on the website from April onwards.
There will be prizes for the best entries.
To apply, just send a photo of your Zetor and share your story.
Kildare cab firm expands
Latest in a long line of successful Irish machinery firms is C&G Engineering based at Clane, Co Kildare, established in 1977 as an agricultural tractor and machinery dealership.
In 1985, it diversified into cab manufacturing.
Now, building on the success of its cab and component business, the engineering firm has recently won a number of new contracts that will see it grow substantially.
With numerous product design and development contracts in the pipeline, the company’s turnover is expected to triple, and employment will grow from 12 to 25 employees by the end of this year.
According to company director William Ganly, C&G’s development programme, can-do attitude, and incredible staff are largely responsible for the company’s growth.
In 2010, C&G won a contract with Agco to manufacture replacement doors for the iconic Massey Ferguson 300 series.
These were sold as ‘original parts’ through the Massey Ferguson dealer network worldwide. The firm has just manufactured its 2,000th MF 300-series for Agco in the six years of that contract.
The company continues to manufacture complete cabs for popular Massey Ferguson and Ford heritage models.
The firm also developed and built cabs for a huge variety of other equipment, such as forklifts, dumpers, grass machinery and even boats.
They work closely with another Irish machinery success story, Northern Irish firm NC Engineering, which builds a variety of agricultural equipment, including telehandlers and dumpers for the construction sector.
“Working closely with NC, we developed a ROPS/FOPS-tested safety cab for its four-wheel-drive dumper,” Mr Ganly added. “We shipped the first batch of these to NC just before Christmas, and they have been very well received.”
Hyster-Yale, which manufactures more than 10,000 forklifts annually at its facility in Craigavon, Co Armagh, is another important C&G customer.
To meet the increased demand due to these commitments and other new business, a considerable investment is being made in the C&G plant to further increase its production capacity.
