‘EACH BRAND HAS ITS FANS — THERE IS GREAT BRAND LOYALTY’
New Holland T6.175 tractor. This tractor is available for weekly hire at a price of €600 plus VAT or a 52-weekly annual price of €11,000 plus VAT.
For all hired tractors, WR Shaw stipulates that the hirer must provide comprehensive insurance in addition to those the country, even leasing down as far south as Cork. Our rates would see us hire out our John Deere 6175R on hire for €600 per week plus VAT.
“We prefer to hire out for a month at a time if possible but we do shorter-term leases for a week here and there as well if we know the customer and they are nearby.”
For those looking for a smaller tractor Fingal Tractor Hire have a Landini 10,000 (105hp rated) that is available to hire for €400 per week plus VAT.
Kieran Plant Hire in Dundalk is another company that has a range of tractors available for hire in Ireland.
They have a variety of makes ranging from Fendt, Deutz and New Holland and their tractor hire fleet has a good range in power from 130hp to 300hp.
They also have a range of agricultural equipment available with the tractors such as big square balers, bale chasers, hedge cutters, ploughs, sowing machines, rollers, trailers etc.
The key question contractors or farmers who are thinking of going down this route should ask is: if I only need the tractor for a limited number of weeks or hours per year, can I justify the capital and depreciation cost involved in buying the tractor outright?
It certainly provides food for thought. BRAND loyalty is a big issue when it comes to renting trailers, according to John Stafford, who runs a hire business in Co Wexford.
“The concept of the business is to give fellas an option where they maybe need a good size trailer for three or four weeks in the year for hauling bales or drawing silage or grain, but who don’t want to have the trailer sitting depreciating in their yard for the other 49 or 50 weeks of the year,” he says.
The Stafford hire fleet, based in Enniscorthy, consists of 16 trailers. This includes four bale trailers, six grain trailers, three grain and silage trailers, two dump trailers and a potato box trailer.
As can be seen from the pictures, it’s an impressive line-up and there is an option there for most lines of farming or contracting work.
There is no preference in terms of brand for Mr Stafford – it simply depends on what the customer wants.
“We have trailers in the fleet from Broughan, Thorpe, Smith, Deery, McCauley and Predator,” he says.
“Each brand has its own particular fans and I’ve noticed since I started the business that there is great brand loyalty – a Broughan fan will generally stick to Broughan for their good finishing, while Smith trailers would often be in demand by silage men due to their axle being further back and helping to place more weight on the tractor drawbar.
Those looking for a good grain trailer would often look for an axle that is slightly further forward, thus keeping more weight off the tractor’s drawbar.”
Prices for trailer hire generally range from €150-€300 per week depending on the trailer, the customer and the length of the hire period.
The price would be on the lower end of that range if the hire period is longer. The price is also lower for a known, trusted customer looking for repeat business and who previously returned the trailer in good condition after the hire period was up.
A new trailer in the fleet will command a higher hire price, for example a new Broughan silage trailer would be charged at around €300 per week. Similar to the tractor hire set up, the customer must insure the trailer as part of the hire agreement.
For more details, phone 087 2792747.