Gordon Hegarty & Sons Ltd have been trading since 1968 at Tullow, Co Carlow, where Gordon Hegarty and his wife Ellen first established their farm machinery business. Irish Tractor & Agri spoke with their son, Henry Hegarty, who, along with his brother Gordon, is currently preparing to mark the company’s 50th anniversary.
On September 18th, 2018, Gordon Hegarty & Sons Ltd will reach the magnificent milestone of 50 years in business.
Sons Henry and Gordon joined the business in 1975 as it expanded to a new larger dealership premises at Slaney quarter. Daughters Carmel and Mary Jo have worked in the dealership since the early days and are now back as part of the expanded team.
Gordon Hegarty & Sons Ltd has been associated with a large selection of prestigious brands for more than 49 years of unbroken service.
The company has been a Deutz-Fahr tractor dealer since 1977. Hegartys have been Taarup and Welger dealers since the company began in 1968, selling and servicing many silage harvesters and balers down through those years.
The Kverneland franchise has also been in the family business since the early days. Added to these now are some more quality machinery lines and, like their own business, they too have been trusted by farmers for generations.
In 2010 Gordon Hegarty & Sons opened a second branch at Blanchfields Park, Clifden Co. Kilkenny.
Three generations of the Hegarty family are involved in the new venture that brings a tradition of providing an unrivalled service and parts back-up to Kilkenny farmers and contractors.
Grandson Jason, Henry’s son, joined up to make the third generation Hegarty in the business when he came on board in 2007.
The new Gordon Hegarty & Sons dealership in Kilkenny has also secured a host of quality farm machinery agencies to give farmers and contractors the best choice of modern and efficient farm machinery.
“Personal service, back-up and good franchises,” answered Henry Hegarty without hesitation when asked: what are the secrets behind Gordon Hegarty & Sons’ longevity?
“We’re always available at the end of the phone and our customers know if they have a problem they can get in touch with us straight away.
“We’re very strong on repeat business and we’d like to thank all of our customers for their loyalty down through the years.”
Henry also pointed out that their staff is trained to high standards so if their customers have any questions they will be happy to provide friendly and professional advice.
“We consider ourselves very lucky with our staff. We employ 16 in total between both branches and we’re fortunate to have a high calibre of people working for us who have great experience and knowledge of the business.”
In addition to new and used sales, Gordon Hegarty & Sons are the main supplier of parts in Carlow, Kilkenny and Wicklow for Deutz-Fahr Tractors and Combines.
They also stock Kverneland, Hardi, Strautmann, Lely, McConnel, Hi-Spec, Fleming, Weidemann, Rabe, Vicon and Nugent Spare Parts.
Their parts department also has a wide range of tractor seats, batteries, LED lighting, grease, belts and P.TO. parts on its shelves.
Seven years have elapsed since the Hegartys spread their wings by opening up their second branch in Kilkenny and, according to Henry, it is very much a case of so far, so good.
“We’re relatively new to the Kilkenny area and sometimes it can take a while to break into a new area and, while our established Tullow branch would be a lot busier, we’re very happy with how things have gone so far for us in Kilkenny.
“We have six people employed there and it has allowed us to broaden the area we cover and expand our customer base. We now cover Carlow and Kilkenny as well as parts of Wicklow, Kildare, Wexford, Tipperary and Waterford.”
Gordon Hegarty & Sons’ reputation is built on quality, excellent service, friendly staff, good value and an indomitable determination to please their customers.
Nearly 50 years on and the team at Gordon Hegarty & Sons show no signs of slowing down. They have expansion plans in the pipeline to coincide with their 50th birthday party.
“At the moment we’re installing a new fence and gate at the road of our Tullow branch,” Henry revealed. “We’ve also been successful with a planning application to extend our store size. We’re hoping to start the building work on that next Spring so it will be ready to open for September.”
Let the celebrations begin!
Gordon Hegarty & Sons
Tullow Branch: 059-9151199
Address: Slaney Quarter, Tullow Co.Carlow
Opening Hours:
Monday-Friday: 9.00am – 6.00pm
Saturday: 9.00am – 1.00pm
Sales Department: 059-9151199
Sean Minchin
087 6280710
Kilkenny Branch: 056-7733037
Address: Blanchfields Park, Clifden Co. Kilkenny
Opening Hours:
Monday-Friday: 9.00am – 5.30pm
Saturday: 9.00am – 1.00pm
Sales Department: 056-7733037
Jason Hegarty
086 8262683
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 5 No 7, October/November 2017
