Conly Agri Contractors in Ballybay, Co Monaghan continues to offer its clients the full package and a speedy service year in and year out. Irish Tractor & Agri caught up with David Conly recently to learn more about the business.
2017 was another busy year for David Conly and his staff at Conly Agri Contractors and the trend looks set to continue out Ballybay way for the next 12 months ahead.
It’s the way it has been since David himself took over the running of the business from Robert Sloane, who for over 40 years provided a top quality service to a large customer base as the agricultural contractor built up a reputation for reliability and efficiency.
David helped run Robert’s operation and when his boss decided to sell on the business, David grabbed on to the opportunity with both hands, decided to branch out on his own and hasn’t looked back since.
“I took over the business in January (2015) and its been a case of so far, so good,” David explained to Irish Tractor & Agri.
“There was already a big customer base there, and we do silage work as well as slurry and a small bit of reseeding.”
Operating from David’s hometown of Ballybay, Conly Agri Contractors’ customer base covers parts of Monaghan, Louth and Meath and the man himself outlines that to ensure customer satisfaction it was important to get the job done as quickly and efficiently as possible.
“The main aim is to get in and get the job done as quick as you can,” he said. “With the weather being so unpredictable, there is only a small window of opportunity to make silage, so it is a case of working 24/7 during that period.
“I have a modern fleet of machinery that is very up to date and this avoids any unnecessary breakdowns that may occur. During the summer months, there are ten lads working here, while off-peak, I’d have three lads.”
Indeed when the summer months roll in the farming community points to one thing in particular – making silage.
The adverse weather conditions in Ireland mean that cutting silage is not a procedure that can be achieved at the same time every year, but when we do get ‘dry spells’, it is essential for agricultural contractors to move quickly.
To do this, they need a modern and efficient fleet of machinery that will stand up to the demands of this hectic period.
Right now David is operating with three New Holland tractors as well as a Claas tractor he bought recently. John Deere and McCormick are amongst the other tractor brands while David has also invested in a new JAGUAR 870 forage harvester, rake and mower from Leinster Farm Machinery as he eyes more work ahead in 2018.
David has always a strict policy when it comes to debt and its management: he always pay his bills in full and on time. Diesel is paid for monthly, while machinery repayments are structured to match cash flow. His aim is not to change a machine before it has been paid for.
David’s customer credit policy is sensible and fair. They do not bill customers upon completion of a job, but rather leave it for a week to 10 days as they feel an immediate bill can look a “a bit pushy”.
Generally each customer pays at the same time each year. They try and avoid working for customers who change contractor every year since these jobs generally get awarded to the cheapest contractor and usually prove hardest to get paid from.
With regards to his company’s health and safety policies, David insists they will not run a machine without a PTO cover in place. Staff will not be allowed to wear baggy clothes which may become entangled in a machine and all staff must wear steel-toe boots.
All of the drivers at Conly Agri Contractors have adequate training on a machine before being sent to operate it. The aim is to match an operator’s responsibility with his or her experience.
David has also been a member of the Farming Contractors of Ireland (FCI) for the past four years.
Its main aim as an organisation is to provide a fair playing field for contractors North and South of the border. They will lobby government bodies at local, national and EU level on their members’ behalf. They are open to all contractors, both large and small. They want the small contractor to be as much involved in the organisation as the big contractor.
“FCI is owned and run by its members for its members,” David stated. “We will educate ourselves at FCI as well as help educate and advise all our member contractors. The FCI aims to make local branches as active as possible and to facilitate group discussion and possible group action on issues that affect their businesses.”
David’s great strength of being financially sensible and adopting the latest machinery will ensure he remains a viable contracting business for years to come. But what is it that attracts customers to his company in the first place?
He feels it comes down to one quality in particular.
“I think it’s because of the service that they get,” said David. “There’s no messing about with us, when we say we’re going to be there we’ll be there.
“There’s always more work to be done as far as we’re concerned but we do look after the customer first and next year (2018) we’ll be looking to add another man to our team.”
Round baling is something which Conly Agri Contractors have been concentrating heavily on since 2016 and so far it has been a case of so far, so good with their McHale machinery.
Aside from the agricultural contracting, David is also a funeral undertaker, a role he has been doing for the past 15 years now and one which has been keeping him busy all year round.
Conly Agri Contractors
Mullin,
Ballybay,
Monaghan
Mob: (086)8743188
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 6 No 2, March/April 2018
