Malone’s continues to expand grass machinery product range

Malone Farm Machinery is one of those interesting businesses that has evolved and adapted over time.

Founded by Mike Malone in 1999, the company started out manufacturing post drivers from a small shed at the rear of Malone’s family home in Co Mayo.

After moving to a purpose-built engineering facility nearby, the business quickly took off following the introduction of the first REPS scheme in Ireland in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The surge in demand for fencing equipment meant Malone was soon manufacturing 800 post drivers per year.

However, Malone cut his teeth working with McHale, the Ballinrobe-based baler company, and always had an eye on making his own range of grassland machinery.

The company first started manufacturing grass mowers and slowly developed its sales network throughout Ireland and the UK.

Over the years, the company has continued to evolve its range of grass machinery products and now manufactures toppers, trailed and mounted grass mowers, grass rakes or tedders and self-loading silage wagons.

Having started out as a one-man operation, Malone Farm Machinery today employs 32 people.

Product range

As its product range and employee numbers have grown, so too has the company’s range of export markets. Today, Malone Farm Machinery exports to 14 countries, including Chile, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Sweden.

After recently showcasing its products at two of the world’s largest agricultural machinery shows, Agritechnica and Lamma, Malone Farm Machinery now has its eye on a number of other markets such as France, Denmark and Australia.

New product development remains a key part of the company’s growth strategy, particularly for machines in the grass-machinery segment.

The company’s latest product innovation is a round bale chaser, with capacity to carry 16 bales at a time.

This year, Malone Farm Machinery entered its new bale chaser in the 2020 Innovation Awards and won the overall award in the established engineering category.

Telescopic mast

With a weight capacity for 26t, this new bale chaser from Malone is designed with two loading arms on each side of the trailer, which can load and unload bales at ease.

The bale chaser also incorporates a telescopic mast that can elevate eight bales to a higher elevation, which allows for another eight round bales to fit underneath.

Judges at this year’s Innovation Arena were impressed with the superb design and high quality of engineering with the machine.

Malone Farm Machinery see significant opportunities for this new bale chaser among farm contractors in Ireland, as well as in export markets like Germany and the Netherlands.

The company continues to test its new bale chaser and plans to formally launch the product to the market at the World Ploughing Championships in 2021.