Behind the scenes with Kerry’s masters of the dairy industry

DAIRYMASTER was founded by Ned Harty in 1968 and from humble beginnings the Causeway based company has grown to become one of the world’s leading dairy technology manufacturers.

Initially Dairymaster was set up to import and install milking machines but in the 1990s the company switched its focus and began manufacturing its own products.

Now Dairymaster employs around 300 people and the company has customers in 40 countries selling devices ranging from state of the art animal feeding and milking systems to high tech regulators and monitoring devices.

A love of innovation and desire to harness the very latest technologies is at the heart of the Dairymaster operation and its engineers are as focussed on the latest smart-phone, cloud and internet developments as any Silicon Valley tech company.

The company is now led by Ned Harty’s son Dr Edmond Harty – Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2012 – whose background in and aptitude for mechanical engineering was a decisive factor in Dairymaster’s incredibly successful transition from imports and sales to manufacturing. Dairymaster’s stated aim is to make a better product to make diary farming profitable, enjoyable and sustainable. The company has five key product areas milking parlours, feeding equipment, milk cooling, automatic scrapers, heat detection systems and technology that to connect everything on one platform. All its products – many of which have won major international awards – are designed and manufactured in house at the company’s impressive state of the art facility in Causeway.

Welders put the finishing touches on the outer shells that will house the Dairymaster devices’ complex electronic systems

Diarymaster CEO and Technical Director Dr Edmond Harty and David Fleming from the Dairymaster Design Department watch as a prototype component is produced in one of the factory’s high spec rapid 3D printers

Dairymaster workers on the factory’s main production floor where the company’s products are assembled.

Overseeing operation in the Dairymaster Main Production Unit at the company’s plant in Causeway.

Pat Ryan, Padraig Harty and John Fleming examine some technical plans in the Dairymaster Design Department.

Sparks fly as a one of Dairymaster’s high tech components is produced