Health and Safety is paramount when it comes to the agricultural industry. There have been far too many accidents on Irish farms over the years, many of which could be avoidable.
Unsafe machinery is high on the list of causes of accidents and this includes worn and defective tyres, which should not be the case in this day and age.
Your tyres, being the only part of your vehicle to touch the road, are critical to ensuring safe driving and with the majority of machinery travelling on our roads; it is not just the drivers’ health that is at risk, but other road users as well. Tyre maintenance and timely replacements will actually save you money and help avoid accidents.
Tractor and machinery tyres may not be the easiest to source, but that is certainly not the case in the south-east as Carlow based Nolan Tyres Autocentre have been supplying a wide range of tyres to not only the agricultural industry but for cars as well as the commercial and industrial sectors.
Established in 1978 by the late John Nolan and his wife Marian, this family run business has expanded over the years and from their headquarters in Ballon, Co Carlow, they have added branches in Bunclody (Wexford) and Tullow (Carlow).
The customer base has grown considerably over the years and this is not just confined to the counties mentioned, but too all of Leinster, such is the company’s reputation.
The business has been built on providing a friendly efficient and reliable service to their customers while offering a 24-hr service, which is very popular amongst agricultural contractors, especially during peak times.
These days the business is run by John and Marian’s son Cormac, while manager Padraig Denton spoke to Irish Tractor & Agri about the success of the business.
“We stock all the major brands of tyres available including more notable brands as Michelin, Kleber, Goodyear and Firestone to name just a few and in total we would have in the region of 15 brands to choose from, which gives the customer plenty of choice at competitive prices. Tyres are a very important piece of equipment on any vehicle,” said Padraig.
The range of services has expanded over the years and this is not just a place to buy tyres as Nolan Tyres provide a number of services.
“We also offer full mechanical servicing, which includes brakes, shocks, wheel alignment, timing belts and autosmart approved valeting. These are available in all our branches, while we also provide Pre-NCT checks on our state of the art Pre-NCT test lane.
“There has been huge investment made in recent years and we are basically a one-stop shop for our customers needs.”
Padraig added that agricultural and haulage tyres would make up around 60% of their business. “We have a wide range of tyres for tractors and two of the major brands would be Michelin and Kleber. We also offer tractor wheel alignment which is a big factor on tractors as if alignment is wrong it not only increases the wear of the tyres but also increases the fuel consumption and reduces the horse-power of the tractor.”
The 24-hr service that we mentioned earlier has been on offer since the early days of the business and it is something that the customers are grateful for.
“We have two tyre breakdown vans on the road and as you can imagine during the summer months, these are kept very busy. Our aim is to get to a customer as quickly as possible as we know that downtime is not an issue that they want to be dealing with.”
Nolan Tyres give their customers the safety of mind that when buying a tyre, they know that they are getting a good product at a competitive rate. “We offer the most competitive prices across our vast array of tyres. We don’t compromise on quality or safety with any of our tyres and expect only the best from the brands we stock.”
There are ten people employed throughout the three branches and Padraig revealed that all are trained to a high standard, while being more than capable of dealing with any queries that a customer may have. Padraig himself is after completing an intensive course with Michelin and is a Michelin Certified Agricultural Technician, as is Dion McKay who works in our Tullow branch.
“The skill and experience of our staff is a priority. Our aim is to bring top quality service and the keenest prices to our customers. We stock a large range of tyres at our centre however we can order any tyre to suit a customer’s particular needs. You can count on our staff being the best around to make sure their vehicle is cared for the way they would expect.”
Michelin tyres are currently offering a deal where customers who buy their products will receive fuel vouchers and this too has been very popular with customers.
“Given the price of diesel and petrol, the fuel vouchers are very popular amongst customers. We have petrol pumps and forecourt here in Ballon, while there is also a coffee shop.
“Customers can go in there while they are waiting for their vehicle to be worked on and have a cup of coffee and relax. We are there to ensure that they have a new experienced and are eager to come back to us.”
Nolan Tyres Autocentre
Ballon,
Co Carlow.
059-9159219
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 3 No 3, April 2015
