Johnston Brothers Agri Engineers & Steel Fabricators have been manufacturing since 1962 and can undertake custom work to your specifications. Irish Tractor & Agri heard all about the Co Tyrone-based family business from William Johnston recently.
Based in Fintona, Co Tyrone, Johnston Brothers is an engineering and steel fabrication business which specialises in agricultural trailers and attachments.
The company was founded in 1962 and currently employs 15 full-time staff from its location along the Carnalea Road, where it’s very much run as a family business.
Victor Johnston founded the company 58 years ago before his wife Audrey came on board as a director, along with their son William.
William Johnston was good enough to take some time recently from a hectic schedule to fill Irish Tractor & Agri in on all the details of the business.
“We’re established since 1962 and right now there are 15 full-time working here,” he explained.
“There’s four of us in the family involved, my parents Victor and Audrey and then there’s myself and my wife Beverly.
“The company itself specialises in manufacturing shear grabs, they’re our real bread and butter to be honest.”
Known formally as Johnston Brothers Agri Engineers & Steel Fabricators, the company currently has 11 different models of shear grabs available to its customers, including rear-mounted shear grabs.
While shear grabs are its speciality, the business also manufactures trailers and other kinds of attachments, including buckrakes, bale stackers, buckets and block grabs.
On the custom end, the company also makes cattle bodies for Dunnes trailers.
“We have tipper trailers here, cattle trailers, silage trailers, buckakes, loader buckets and bale spikes as well,” said William.
“We offer our customers a wide range of trailers and attachments and also provide them with custom work to their own specifications.”
The year after next will see Johnston Brothers marking six decades in business, and where they are now is a far cry from where they were when Victor Johnston and his brother first set-up their business all those years ago.
“My father and his brother would’ve started up back in 1962 and they moved it from being an agri contracting business to my father doing his own buckets,” William explained.
“In 1986, he manufactured his own shear grab and won an award for it that year for best design. It just took off from there and we would probably manufacture 300 to 350 shear grabs per season now.
“In the summer time, we switch to buck rakes and I suppose you could say that that keeps us steady here all year round.”
As for William himself, he has spent more than two decades working in the business.
After leaving school when he was 16, he studied at Enniskillen Agri College and has been working in his family’s company ever since.
Right now, in spite of all the challenges out there, business is flourishing according to the Co Tyrone native.
“It’s extremely busy. I have to say we’re very busy at the moment,” he stated.
“We’re booked up until Christmas now and even a good bit of January as well, so that’s a good sign for next year hopefully.”
He continued: “It seems to be that we’re always looking for more staff and growing rapidly here.
“We installed a robotic welder last year in order to keep up with the demand from customers and we’ve now got a man full-time on it.”
Since delving into manufacturing their first shear grabs some 35 years ago, Johnston Brothers has seen repeat business from clients down through the years as being key to the success of the business.
Clients tend not to stray elsewhere after the company has manufactured a product to suit their specific needs.
“It’s a lot of repeat business here and a lot of those that buy shear grabs from us the first time end up coming back to us,” said William.
“From what famers tell us, when it comes to cut off silage, it always leaves a very clean and neat finish.”
As business continues to thrive, William and the rest of the Johnston clan are hoping for more of the same in 2020.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, famers still need trailers and attachments to carry out their day-to-day work and there aren’t many companies better equipped than Johnston Brothers to supply them.
“Hopefully, we can keep going like we’ve been going and stay at a steady pace,” William stated.
“You just never know what’s around the corner these days and if it happens that one thing does slow down on us, maybe we’ll look at something else.”
One person that won’t be slowing down, going on form, is Victor Johnston.
The company’s founded remains very much involved in the business to this day and continues to play an integral part in its success, as his son explained:
“My dad’s 75 now and he’s supposed to retire, but he’s a man that doesn’t like holidays,” he laughed.
“He’s still a great addition to us around here at 75 and it’s great to have him for his knowledge of the industry and his experience over the years.”
For all of your agricultural trailer and attachment needs, do not hesitate to give Johnston Brothers Engineers & Steel Fabricators a call today.
Johnston Brothers
6 Carnalea Road,
Fintona,
Co Tyrone
BT78 2BY
Tel: +44 (0)28 8284 1365
E-mail: [email protected]
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 9 No 1, January/February 2021
