Whelan’s open days in Loughrea

Well-known FTMTA member Joe Whelan Ltd will be holding two open days at its Loughrea, Co Galway, branch on Friday and Saturday, 21 and 22 March. The recently opened branch is the third site for the Kilrush-based firm and is located in a modern premises at Station Road, Loughrea, close to the local mart. Joe Whelan Ltd is the Massey Ferguson dealer for south Galway, in addition to its Clare operations, and it also offers the Kverneland, Lely, Major and McConnel ranges, among others, to local farmers and contractors. Whelans is providing a full sales, parts and service operation at its Loughrea premises and there will be open-day offers on a range of parts and accessories.

Whelans is also a dealer for Husqvarna forest and garden equipment and there will be a chance to win a ride-on lawn mower worth over €2,000.

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Fellow FTMTA member firm ROTECH will be represented by John Rowe, who will provide advice to customers on best practice in relation to the handling of ultra-low sulphur diesel. ROTECH is one of Ireland’s leading suppliers of fuel, lubricants, fluid dispensing and monitoring equipment.

Tánaiste visits AGCO

As part of a trip to France last week to mark the St Patrick’s Day festival, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Eamon Gilmore visited the AGCO plant in Beauvais. The site is Europe’s biggest manufacturer of agricultural machinery and sources €380m worth of components annually. The Tánaiste was accompanied by representatives of 12 Irish firms hoping to secure new contracts or build on existing ones.

Machinery safety

The recent improvement in the weather and the onset of more spring-like conditions is allowing farmers and contractors to finally get on to the land. The pressure from the delays should not be allowed to add to the poor safety record of the agricultural workplace which, as is well documented, the most dangerous working environment in the country.

FTMTA reiterates the calls for those involved in working with agricultural machinery to be conscious of, and proactive in relation to, the safety of themselves and others.