Mastek Ltd was established in Cootehill in 2000 and initially developed a stellar reputation manufacturing forklift masts for the material handling industry. However, since 2009, Mastek has concentrated solely on the manufacture of specialised, value-added, low-emission agricultural machinery. All products are regularly updated in line with the latest technology and innovations, ensuring unrivalled efficiency backed by a high-quality finish.
During the summer of 2020, Ireland’s leading low-emission slurry spreading machinery manufacturer, Mastek, launched its brand-new Micro Trailing Shoe. Renowned for providing specialist slurry solutions, Cootehill, County Cavan based Mastek has been manufacturing innovative agri equipment tailor-made for the Irish market since 2009. We touched base with sales manager Noel Markey to find out more.
A farmer-orientated trailing shoe system designed for smaller applicators, Mastek’s new tanker-mounted trailing shoe is designed to provide the ultimate value, with a simpler design that’s easier to operate compared to their original Eco Trailing Shoe and other trailing shoes on the market. Like the Eco Trailing Shoe, each spring on the Micro Trailing Shoe is capable of putting up to 8kg of pressure on the coulter to ensure that slurry is placed under the grass cover, preventing contamination.
Offering the best of both worlds, the 100%-galvanised Micro Trailing Shoe is light but also very strong and robust. Fast and easy to open and close, this machine features a specially designed hydraulic system where it lifts and tilts for headland turning and continues to fold the booms for transport with one single hydraulic service. All lift-and-fold pins have grease points and replaceable bushings.
With the continued success of Mastek’s Professional Universal Dribble Bar (PUDB) – which has to date recorded sales of over 2,000 units – the brand-new 7m & 7.5m Micro Trailing Shoe fills a niche in the market and is already proving to be a major success.
Designed to be used in conjunction with a slurry tanker, the chassis-mounted farm-spec Mastek Micro Trailing Shoe solution, which is straightforward and easily operated, can be retro-fitted to existing tankers equipped with brackets or on new tankers. Depending on specification, prices start at just €18,000 inclusive of VAT.
“The Micro Trailing Shoe has been developed to fill a gap that was there in the market,” confirms sales manager Noel Markey. “We are already the market leader for retrofitted and new dribble bars on tankers but, to complement the Eco Trailing Show, we recognised the need to develop a trailing shoe for smaller applicators and this one will definitely catch the other end of the market.”
Meanwhile, the SuperCut Micro Macerator included on the Micro Trailing Shoe is also new. A variant of the proven, award-winning SuperCut version for 12.0m booms, the 35% lighter Micro Macerator is designed for smaller applicators.
As the SuperCut Macerator was designed for 12m booms with 48 outlets, it was often inefficient to use it on 7.5m applicators, where only 28 of these outlets were required. Just like its big brother, the SuperCut Micro Macerator is capable of macerating high-fibre slurry, plastic and other foreign objects. It is also capable of distributing slurry evenly on hilly land.
It was the arrival of the state-of-the-art SuperCut Macerator, which was five years in development and launched at the 2017 National Ploughing Championships, that really put Mastek on the map. Fitted to all Mastek products by default, the SuperCut Macerator is proven to perform in extreme Irish conditions. Capable of cutting high-fibre slurry and offering even outlet distribution, the dual-purpose, low-maintenance SuperCut Macerator features six blades with unique V-shaped cutting teeth (comprising 2.5m of long-life combined blade edge in total), which, when rotating, shears long fibre and plastic as it passes through the exit holes.
“The vast majority of our products are tailored to the Irish market,” Noel continues. “To achieve this, a lot of time and work is invested into making sure you get everything just right. For the SuperCut Macerator, for example, we had to be certain that it was working perfectly ahead of its launch in September 2017. The response has been brilliant. Farmers are giving positive feedback to other farmers and Mastek is already on their minds even before we start a conversation.
“We do advertise but positive word of mouth is king for us. It’s amazing the amount of people who remember you when you provide them with a good product and excellent service.”
Noel estimates that around 50% of Mastek’s Professional Universal Dribble Bars are retrofitted onto existing tankers: “A lot of farmers would have tankers that might be only three or four years old and they would have bought these to suit their ground, so it’s more efficient and affordable to put a new dribble bar onto that and they can still receive the grant without changing their tanker.”
A substantial local employer, both directly and indirectly, the business continues to grow exponentially year on year, reporting huge demand for their systems not just at home but across Europe and the globe, with Spain and New Zealand being particularly busy export markets.
As both Noel and Mastek’s founder / MD Paul Quinn are farmers themselves, customers can rest assured that all products have been designed and manufactured by people who implicitly understand farmers’ requirements.
“Mastek have recently purchased a swathe of land only 500m away from there factory to use as a testing R&D facility for new products and which will be used for demonstration purposes into the future,” Noel concludes. “If you don’t test products prior to launch, you are going to find problems out on the field. Everything we bring to market has been thoroughly researched and trialled to make sure that we are using the latest innovations to offer farmers efficient, low-emission slurry spreading solutions.”
Mastek Ltd is also Ireland’s premier manufacturer of high-quality umbilical slurry solutions (reels, dribble bars / trailing shoes) and distributor of Bauer pumps and Snaptite Lay Flat Hose. Designed and manufactured specifically to cope with Irish conditions, Mastek’s products are also sold throughout Europe, the UK and Scandinavia and as far afield as Australia , New Zealand and China. A strong focus on innovation means all products are efficient and durable.
Mastek Ltd.,
Cootehill Business Park,
Cornacarrow,
Cootehill,
County Cavan.
Noel Markey Sales Manager 087 4309631
Tel: 049 5555953
Fax: 049 5555954
Email: [email protected]
Web: mastek.ie
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 8 No 4, December 2020
