Bord Na Móna Auction

On Saturday 30 July from 11am, Wilsons will be conducting a public auction at the premises of Bord Na Móna, Derrygreenagh, Co Offaly, with over 200 lots of surplus equipment on offer. The auction will contain more than 35 tractors, including a selection of very collectable Massey Ferguson 135 two-wheel-drive tractors, (135 & 165), five Cat excavators, 14 Caterpillar bulldozers including a Caterpiller D6 H, vehicles, along with a large selection of tyres, engines, starting motors and much more.

Ricky Wilson, head of Irish operations at the Dublin branch, said: “This is the second on-site auction event Wilsons Auctions will have held at a Bord Na Móna premises and we expect it to be as busy and successful as the previous auction. This is a great opportunity for the agricultural community to get their hands on very desirable items. We urge everyone to come down to the viewing days to see what’s on offer.”

The viewing days take place on Thursday 28 July and Friday 29 July from 10am to 5pm and on the morning of the auction from 9am.

Online bidding is available with registration, for further details call 014642800 or email meganmallon@wilsonsauctions.

JCB earns £214m in 2015

JCB achieved underlying earnings of £214m during 2015 despite difficult market conditions in most developing markets around the world and slower than expected growth in North American and European markets. Overall, the global market for construction equipment dropped by 14% during 2015. Market conditions in the first half of 2016 remain fragile with the exception of India, where there has been a return to growth after four successive years of market contraction.

Earnings for full-year 2015 on an EBITDA basis were £214m (2014: £294m) before one-off restructuring costs of £10m (2014: £11m). Sales turnover was £2.34bn against £2.51bn the previous year, and total machine sales during 2015 were 59,844 (2014: 64,028).

JCB CEO Graeme MacDonald said: “JCB’s trading performance during 2015 was resilient in the face of a further deterioration in market conditions around the world, particularly in the economies of Brazil, Russia and China. The global market is still uncertain and fragile during this year. ”

Tractor sales down in UK

The UK tractor sales figures are back by 9.8% for the first six months of the year. This continues the trend downwards since 2015 where 10,842 units were sold, down from 12,433 in 2014. The latest figures from the Agricultural Engineers Association show that the year to date sales is 5,382 tractors. The mid-size tractor sales between 121hp and 160hp have dropped by 47%, while there has been an increase in sales by 45% in the 161-240hp segment.

25 years of the JCB Fastrac

The high-speed tractor by JCB started development in 1987 and was not seen in public until 1990. The tractor could reach speeds of 47mph. A more detailed look at the Fastrac will feature in next week’s issue.