From his base in Macroom, County Cork, Noel Kelleher provides a range of outstanding services, including tree cutting / harvesting and wood chipping, hedge cutting and site clearance as well as cleaning poultry houses and running a beef suckler enterprise. We interrupted his busy schedule to find out more.
Cork man Noel Kelleher certainly couldn’t be accused of having his eggs all in one basket. As well as exceptional tree harvesting and wood chipping services, he also cuts hedges, clears roads and sites, cleans poultry houses and looks after the home farm. Variety, as they say, is the spice of life.
Noel Kelleher Plant Hire was established in Macroom 22 years ago. Reflecting on the genesis of his eponymous, multifaceted operation, the Cork man notes: “I was farming and I started doing some hedge cutting and progressed from there. I started cleaning poultry houses and still do a lot of that today.
“I purchased the wood chipper in ’09. We had been doing a lot of tree cutting prior to that and decided that wood chipping was the way to go. There had been a lot of talk about biomass, but then the recession kicked in. However, I still got a lot of different work for the chipper, which was used for working for tree surgery companies as well as doing my own jobs. I always had some work for it and that tided me over until the recession started to ease.”
As with everything that’s worth having, the wood chipper represented a substantial investment, setting Noel back a tidy sum of €250,000. It was a big risk to take but has left him in a strong position, able to undertake work that others can’t. Two years ago, he also purchased a new Valtra T193 forestry tractor and crane to pair with the wood chipper and ensure customers of an optimal level of service.
“It’s a terrain wood chipper and there wouldn’t be too many others close by,” he notes. “It’s an excellent machine, heavy and compact and capable of doing work that would be inaccessible to other machines. It weighs 3.5 tonnes on the tractor and is very compact. I’ve done work in forests and in some small groves where you couldn’t get a bigger one in, so it enables us to offer a very flexible service.”
Noel does wood chipping for GP Wood in Enniskeane, County Cork, where demand for wood chip is high, as it can be used in the manufacture of medium density fibreboard (MDF) and paper, as well as for animal bedding, while it can also be utilised as a biomass fuel for renewable energy.
In terms of catchment area, Noel generally operates within a 50-mile radius of Macroom, although he has been further afield in the past. “I’ve been up as far as Offaly with the tree cutting, although I generally don’t travel that far anymore. Mostly, I cover Cork and the surrounding counties, into Tipperary and Waterford.”
In addition to working for Coillte and local authorities, Noel Kelleher Plant Hire also does a lot of work for private companies, including clearing roads around wind farms etc. as well as undertaking private work for farmers and householders – cutting evergreens around houses etc.
There’s plenty to be getting on with and having access to a state-of-the-art compact wood chipper ensures that there’s a steady demand for the Cork man’s services.
Meanwhile, local chicken producers also benefit from a professional and cost-efficient poultry house cleaning service, which Noel has been providing to the highest industry standards for many years. He thoroughly understands the needs of farmers as he comes from a farming background himself.
With two of his brothers farming adjoining land, Noel oversees a 120-acre beef suckler business, with up to 60 cows on the land at any given time. His family help out with the farming, including his wife, ten-year-old son, Evan and daughters Emily and Isabel who are a great help when things get particularly hectic.
Looking to the future, Noel’s plan is to continue to provide the highest possible level of service to all of his customers right across the board. “We’ll just keep going as we are,” he concludes.
“I’m not going to take on anything else or overstretch myself. We’re happy with what we have and will just keep providing a good service.
“Between all three things – the trees and hedgecutting, the poultry houses and the farming – I’m kept busy and I have a few lads working with me, which is a big help. I also have a young family, with a wife and kids aged 16, 10 and 6, so there’s not really a lot of time left in the day. Evan loves the business and I think he is going to be the future. As for myself, I have enough to keep me going at the moment, thankfully, so I won’t be trying to expand beyond what I already have.”
Since starting out on his own in 1994, Noel Kelleher has made tremendous progress. It just goes to show what can be achieved when one provides exceptional service levels using modern and well-maintained machinery. Hard work and customer care have also been vital cornerstones of Noel Kelleher Plant Hire since its inception, and will continue to be.
Alas, out short meeting came to an end and the Cork man shook my hand firmly and reached for his keys. Plenty done, more to do…
Noel Kelleher Plant Hire,
Coolcaum,
Kilnamartyra,
Macroom,
County Cork.
Tel: 087 2364898
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 4 No 6, July/August 2016
