Just shy of celebrating 25 years in business, S&M Engineering continues to manufacture some of the finest everyday equipment for everyday farmers. Kyle Alexander is a partner with the Co Tyrone-based company and told Irish Tractor all about the thriving business.
Everyone likes a success story and S&M Engineering certainly fits the bill. First founded by Sydney Alexander almost a quarter of a decade ago, the Omagh business has blossomed to become a leader in agricultural equipment in Northern Ireland.
With an address at 27 Corlea Road in Omagh, Co Tyrone, S&M Engineering now employees 22 staff and has customers all throughout Ireland using their products, which have even made their way to Scandinavia in recent years.
Sidney’s son, Kyle, is a partner with the company and was good enough to take out time and fill us in despite a very busy schedule these days.
“We manufacture everyday products that you’d use on a farm and they are all galvanised locally,” Kyle explained, before going into his own role in the family outfit.
“I’m a partner here. I came in eight years ago and my father Sydney owns the company. My brother Lee is working here as well. Lee does most of the farming for us and we would have about 150-160 acres of land that we farm.”
As farmers themselves, the Alexanders have been able to grasp better than anyone else what exactly it is that the customer looks for when it comes to the equipment they rely on a daily basis. They also understand the necessity for that equipment to be safe (for you and the animal), reliable, durable, and to have a long life span. Therefore, you need something expertly crafted.
Offering a wide range of agricultural equipment, the team at S&M Engineering are on hand to help design the perfect product for you and your farm.
How the idea for the company first came about is easy to relate to when you consider Sydney Alexander’s predicament at the time.
“Basically, my father made the stuff because he didn’t have the money to buy it at that time,” Kyle explained.
“Nowadays we are very busy. We’re exporting to Norway and also have leads to Denmark and Finland, so hopefully we can start getting our products in those places soon as well. The company that we work for now from Norway are called Ifor Williams. They were in Northern Ireland a couple of years back and saw our product and really liked it. They got on to us and basically the relationship took off from there.”
Fane Valley, Windy Hill Farm, John Denny Ltd, Gibson Agri Services, Homeland (Aurivo Co-Op), Quinn’s Group Baltinglass, Ulster Livestock Care and Farmline in Dromore are some of the customers which have come to appreciate the calibre and reliability of S&M Engineering’s products.
So why do their customers choose them first?
Kyle explained: “We deliver our products in 3-4 days maximum. The price is right and the quality is very good, I think that’s why our customers choose us before others and we intend to keep on supplying them with a quality product.”
The products on offer at S&M Engineering make up a large selection of equipment from ring feeders and troughs to hayracks and cattle crushes. They also design weighing equipment for sheep, cattle and pigs, creep feeders and troughs for feeding. For more specialised equipment you should consult the company’s website (www.sandmengineering.co.uk).
How the equipment is tested is pretty straightforward, according to Kyle.
“We use it ourselves and if we feel that it’s good enough we will sell it. All of the steel that we use is from Barrett’s Steel in Belfast and Met Steel Group,” he said.
He continued: “We recently started manufacturing sheep hurdles as we seen a gap in the market in the north as there was only one company manufacturing them and figured we could add a bit of competition. It also doesn’t hurt that sheep hurdles are also being grant aided in the south which has helped to rise the profile of our hurdle.”
Grant-aided or not, it seems that where ever S&M Engineering carry their products to they are earning rave reviews for their quality.
In 2014, S&M Engineering’s expertise in exporting their products was highlighted when they were nominated for the Invest NI Growth through Export award.
The ceremony, which took place at the Kelly’s Inn in Dungannon, Co Tyrone, saw S&M Engineering finish inside the Top 3 following a stellar year in which they targeted the export market, which accounted for 39% of turnover in 2013.
Having entered the Norwegian market, they supply Ifor Williams with nine outlets scattered across the Scandinavian country. Sales in Norway now account for 9% of S&M’s total turnover and plans are now in place to grow the export market, having also been buoyed by some recent success in Kuwait.
It all makes for encouraging news and you expect plenty more nominations to come in for the Alexanders in the future as they continue to expand their market.
S&M Engineering
27 Corlea Road
Omagh
Co Tyrone
Northern Ireland
Phone: 028 8224 9681
Web: sandmengineering.co.uk
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 3 No 9, October 2015
