Flexibility is the key for diverse farm machinery business

Hoare Machinery Ltd was established in 1975 by Michael J Hoare and his wife, Clare.

It is located outside the town of Killorglin in Co Kerry. It is a unique place; a one-stop shop for many farming and construction needs along with many other bits and pieces.

Hoare Machinery Ltd is the main agent for brands such as Zetor, Fleming, Cashels, Nugent, Fransgard and McCauley, to name a few. They also have quality secondhand equipment, new parts, genuine second-hand parts and a lot more besides.

In 1975, Michael travelled to London seeking employment. He felt that there was opportunity to buy secondhand equipment and retail it locally back home.

Michael passed away in 2010 but his legacy is still strong today as it remains a family-run business with his wife, Clare, and son, Tim, now involved in running it along with six full-time staff and a few part-timers.

Mike Clifford, sales manager of Hoare Machinery Ltd, says: “Michael Hoare had the farming background, the truck licence, he had built up the contacts from his time over in England, he knew his way around and that was the start of it all.”

Michael purchased his first tractor, a Massey 35X, with a loader in Cambridge and with strong demand at home for good machines he knew it would sell easily and, from there, the business grew.

Today, Hoare Machinery Ltd is spread across a sprawling six-acre site and whether you’re looking for new or secondhand farm equipment or plant machinery – from lathes to lamp posts and truck tarpaulins to bog mats – this really is an Aladdin’s cave of equipment racked and stacked in containers and curtain sider truck trailers of which there must be between 20 and 30.

Mike says: “We bulk buy off the various machinery manufacturers, and this enables us to sell a bit cheaper than others at times. We are about 60/40 in relation to turnover between farm machinery and plant.”

He says they didn’t “go mad” with hi-tech farm equipment for a number of reasons, but mainly because it is so hard to get mechanics now.

“We find with more simple farm machines, they are well priced, they are easy to set up and operate, they hold their value well and we don’t need a fleet of vans on the road chasing them to keep them going.”

Machinery transport

Given that Michael started out as a truck driver, the transport fleet remains a key component of today’s enterprise. The business was built on the ability to move goods quickly to and from the UK.

Mike explains the transport fleet is simply another string to the bow of today’s business as it makes the company very independent and able to flex as per various requirements. “We could get a last-minute call telling us there are tractor tyres, for example, in such a place in England and are we interested.”

The beauty, he says, with having their own trucks and drivers on the road is they are constantly over and back so can build loads to suit quite easily.

“We carry new and secondhand equipment over to England and on the way back we could pick up tractors, or farm machinery for farmers here in Ireland that buy in the Cambridge auction or directly from farms or from dealers over there.”

The big issue Mike says with the UK now is the paperwork since Brexit. According to Mike, “Brexit has hurt the Irish farmer through no fault of his own and the volume of paperwork now plus the extra time and the cost it has added, is beyond all.”

In 2019, the stores were revamped and more stock added. Out in the yard, there are truck trailers full of genuine parts that came from England over the years. Mike says they get calls from vintage enthusiasts all over Ireland looking for genuine hitches, drawbars and lift arms for David Browns, Fords and old Fergusons, for example.

Mike reckons they have a filter for every engine made and paint to suit too. Carrying a great variety of stock is important as word spreads fast among farmers when they are talking among themselves.

“Our parts range for farm machinery has expanded, so whether it’s a slurry tanker or a flail for a topper, we either have it or can get it the next day from our suppliers.”

Mike says that with hydraulic hose repair, it is essential to have the large stock of all the various fittings to help get customers up and running fast.

Out in the back stores there are generators, IBCs, pressure washers, tyres, wheel rims, stacks of pto drive shafts and much more.

Mike says with “the cost of new machinery, you can see farmers want to mind them and maintain them because it’s costing money when you’re broken down”.

Whether it’s GAA, rugby, soccer clubs or even golf courses, another unique offering Hoares have added is diversifying more into the sports and turf equipment market. Mike says that with the professionalism in sport nowadays, clubs need pitches maintained properly. Therefore, this means they want the correct equipment, so Hoares do tailored bundles to suit them, ie a mower, an aerator and a sprayer or spreader.

“We can even supply line painting equipment!”.

Along with standard Zetor machines, Hoares sell the VST tractor brand which, according to Mike is the exact same as a New Holland boomer and is in the region of €11,500 plus VAT and suits the sports turf market very well.

These are light weight, four-wheel drive machines, with an eight-speed gearbox and can be fitted with grass tyres or agri tyres. Mike says that “a few part-time farmers have purchased them too as they are so simple and very reliable machines which are just serious value for money”.

Mike says the “green agenda” might not be as green as the Government thinks.

He explains that in the past they bought steel beams, purlins, cladding, railway sleepers, fencing and a host of other materials from demolition sites and auctions in the UK. A lot of this was shipped to Ireland where farmers repurposed or reused them to build sheds or cattle pens.

Mike is at pains to point out that, of course, the environment is very important but, today, this steel is all shredded on site and concrete products are crushed. This takes a huge amount of energy and it still all must be transported and remelted or reworked in some form or another. All of these building components before were reused, leaving little to no waste.

According to Mike, contractors love the dual-fuel pumps as they can have road diesel in one dispenser and agri diesel in the other and they can monitor accurately their usage. At about €1,000, plus VAT, he believes they are a bargain.

Mike explained how the business is constantly evolving. “We imported a lot of Japanese equipment in the boom times, particularly excavators and jeeps, but it’s no longer feasible. It would now cost in the region of €6,000 to move a track machine from Japan with the increase in shipping costs. The market was different and there was value then, but not today.”

Hoares held the first auction hosted by Euro Auctions outside Northern Ireland in their yard in Killorglin in which there were 106 track machines alone lined up outside. They still sell plant equipment but while not in the same volume, other markets have grown, and they diversified accordingly.

Quad bike equipment, sports turf and utility equipment, for example, are big now, he points out.

Grants too, he explains, are pushing certain machines but the paperwork can be painful. This he feels is something that needs to be made easier for all involved. He foresees the organic farming sector growing more in Ireland the way Europe is incentivising it. The likes of dung spreaders are making a comeback.

Hoares are also looking more at France and Spain now too to see if value can be got there. “You have to keep trying all the time,” Mike outlines.