Based between Tralee and Listowel, Kerry Plant Sales is a new business, not even trading for a year yet, but already making a significant inroad in the plant sales market. With around 40 machines ordered and most of them already sold, even more on the high seas, and now on course to become engcon’s biggest distributor in Ireland, the business has certainly discovered a winning formula.

According to Darragh Crean, the man behind Kerry Plant Sales, the business started trading in October 2025. Before starting up, Darragh had been on the lookout for a Japanese or Korean-built brand to import.

“We searched and searched, but nothing really stood out to suit at the time. I was over in Italy visiting a factory last year when, driving down the road, I spotted a Yuchai U60 digger on a building site. I had never seen the brand before, so it caught my attention. I went back and stopped the driver so I could take a closer look at the machine, his English wasn’t the best, but he said it was a very good machine, so I went away and did my own research,” Darragh said.

“We first contacted the people distributing Yuchai in New Zealand and Canada – as they were English-speaking places – to find out what issues, if any, we might encounter, what the company was like to deal with and what parts we would need to stock, etc.

“They really put us at ease because they had been selling these machines in those countries for many years.

“In some situations, the machines were not only keeping up with the established brands but outperforming them in certain areas.

“Grading being one particular example, due to the impressive hydraulic power going to the tracks, allowing them to push and grade more effectively”.

Yuchai

The Yuchai brand is still rather new to Europe, mainly because the brand previously placed a major focus on markets with less strict engine emissions standards first. It started building mini excavators in 1989 and now manufactures machines ranging from 0.8 to 47 tonnes. Darragh says the biggest machine he has sold to date is a 20-tonne excavator.

“While I was still researching the company, I discovered that Yuchai is also one of the biggest off-road diesel engine manufacturers in China, with over 16,000 employees. It’s spent the last 15 years collaborating with companies like Mercedes, Liebherr and Deutz here in Europe, manufacturing large diesel engines under licence for them.

“I contacted Yuchai directly after my Italy trip and once I had completed all my research, but I heard nothing back for ages. Then, completely out of the blue, they got in touch. They replied to my email, and we arranged a Zoom meeting the very next day. I spoke with the general manager of Yuchai and I just got a good feeling from him. By the end of that meeting, we were already talking about becoming the main distributor for all of Ireland as the timing was right and they felt they had the machine for the European market ready.

“The very next week, they sent us the contracts. We went through all the details, came to an agreement, and officially became the distributor for Yuchai across all of Ireland.”

He says the first batch of machines arrived in November 2025 and went to Reilly Plant Hire, with the next batch landing in early 2026. From the start, Darragh’s motto was to provide his customers with value for money, offering a well-built machine at a competitive price. Darragh, therefore, believes that the components used in Yuchai machines and the build quality put it a step ahead of many other Chinese brands.

“Machines are fitted with leading componentry such as Bosch Rexroth or Kawasaki pumps/motors, Kubota and Yanmar engines in the smaller machines. All machines are fully pinned and bushed to a very high standard.

“They’re not the cheapest excavators on the market, but they’re the only Chinese manufacturer that I believe can genuinely compete with the leading Japanese and European brands while still giving customers a significant cost saving. It doesn’t matter where something is built once it is built with quality components and to the right standards and tested properly.

“BYD, the car manufacturer, hadn’t a presence in Ireland until 2023, but look at the inroads they have since made in the automotive market.”

Another manufactuer he stocks is Swedish manufacturer engcon, which makes tiltrotators and excavator attachments. In recent years, tiltrotators have become a common sight on track machines, which Darragh believes is the result of high fuel prices, labour shortages and people realising that they need to get more from their equipment.

Agreement

“We contacted engcon and they came back to us straight away. We thought it could be a difficult brand to get, but we felt it was worth trying.

“They came over to visit us, we showed them the premises and explained our vision, and we had an agreement signed that evening.” Darragh used front linkage on tractors as a comparable analogy to the rise in popularity of tiltrotators.

“Twenty-five years ago, hardly anyone had a front linkage on a tractor. Then farmers/contractors started fitting them, allowing them to witness the benefit of being able to carry a front mower, a furrow press etc. Now you see bigger tractors come factory-fitted as the demand is so high and customers see the performance gains. It’s the exact same with tiltrotators. They’re like a steel wrist on the end of an excavator arm and customers quickly see how valuable they are.

“Nearly all of our machines are going out with engcon tiltrotators fitted because we pair them with the machines we sell. This means customers who always wanted a tiltrotator but couldn’t justify the cost can now afford one.

“Customers are getting a top-quality machine with far more capability due to the engcon tiltrotator for about the same price as a top Japanese brand of the equivalent weight class with only a quick hitch.

“Once we sold the first tiltrotator, it was much easier sell the second, and after a few machines people started contacting us wanting to know more about tiltrotators.

“This year we forecasted that we would probably sell 40 to 50 tiltrotators alone.

“On the agricultural side, we also noticed a massive demand for attachments such as flail mulchers, grabs and grapples to go with the machines.

“We do everything in-house in terms of preparation work, for tiltrotators and attachments like mulchers from making the hoses, fittings, setting the flowrates and pressures to suit the machine, wiring and everything else required before it goes out.

“All machines leaving us here are J1 tested and certified,” Darragh added.

Kerry Plant Sales are also distributors of MDE Machinery, supplying the brand’s full range of attachments in the southwest.

“It’s quite similar to the slurry sector here and the unbelievable growth that was seen for that type of equipment; it’s the same trend with hedging, ditches and tree management due to EU rules.”

Mulchers, tree shears, grapples

This, for example, has resulted in a booming mulcher market, of which MDE offers a huge range of heavy-duty mulchers. The tree shears are another item in which interest has grown as contractors want to handle timber safely, he says.

“The chainsaw is fine when a tree has been felled but climbing up on stony ditches in wet windy weather with a farm-type chainsaw surrounded by briars is not clever. People realise that there is a massive labour shortage and smarter implements are filling this void in the market and there is now an attachment to suit every job.”

With the ban on burning and the reduction in herbicide usage, more farmers are looking towards mulching.

“It’s just a much more efficient way of dealing with brash, branches and bushes because the material is broken down on site. Over time, that material breaks down naturally.

“It becomes a very slow and expensive process if you must fill dump trailers with branches and brash, and then you’re left wondering where you’re going to put all that material. Mulching removes that problem and keeps everything in the field. We want to continue evolving and keep ourselves as a one-stop shop. The secret sauce is having a quality machine ready to work and dropped into a customer’s yard with no delays.

“The customer gets the right machine, the right attachment, they know there is service back up provided right across the 32 counties, parts are available and they themselves can get up and running straight away.”

Impressed by what Kerry Plant Sales has done to date, Yuchai has offered them the distribution for Yuchai parts across Europe and the UK.

“We are fully committed to this now and plant to continue expanding. The next step is to put a second van on the road soon. Right now we are building additional storage and more office space. There are also plans to open a depot around Dublin very soon.

“As the brand continues to grow in Ireland, we will look at appointing a sub-dealer for the North,” Darragh added.

User comment - Michael O’Riordan, Ardfert, Co Kerry

Michael O’Riordan runs a large agricultural contracting business near Ardfert in North Kerry.

His fleet comprises a selection of premium-branded, modern machinery. Michael believes in running quality equipment to minimise breakdowns, maximise operator comfort, and maintain a strong resale value when trading.

Michael says he was planning to replace his six-tonne Hitachi excavator, but knew nothing about the Yuchai brand.

“I contacted Darragh and he told me call to the yard and see the machine for myself and test it out.”

I was stunned by the build quality and the smoothness of the hydraulics. Also, I’d never had a tiltrotator before and when I saw it perform in his yard, the potential was obvious.

“If you have a difficult angle or an awkward position on a ditch, you can adjust the tiltrotator to put the mulcher exactly where you need it.

Struggle

“Before that, you would have had to track into fields, or you might struggle to reach certain areas from the road. It completely changes what the machine is capable of, and the mulcher and tiltrotator combination works extremely well together.

“We’re probably doing close to 30-40% more work in terms of productivity with this set up, with very little idle tracking too, so there’s a big saving in wear there too and marking fields.

“It is a fantastic machine, and farmers love how the mulcher quickly tidies up ditches that are overgrown. Of all the various machines that has ever landed in my yard, this is by far the most impressive machine configuration I must say.

“Its comfort and capability are just incredible, and it can get through an amount of work, and more farmers are seeing the value firsthand,” Michael said.