Operating out of Millstreet in Cork, Denis Quinn Plant Hire is firmly established as one of the Rebel County’s premier pit silage contractors. We returned to the banks of the Blackwater and touched base with the eponymous Denis to get an update on the magnificent fleet of machinery at his disposal to promptly, efficiently and professionally deliver a wide range of agri and plant hire contracting solutions.
For coming up on three decades, Denis Quinn Plant Hire Ltd. has been providing farmers within close proximity of Millstreet, County Cork with exceptional pit silage contracting services.
At the heart of the agri contracting arm of this versatile and diverse business – which also provides digger / plant hire services to both the construction and agri sectors – is a fleet of John Deeres comprising six tractors and a 7700 silage harvester as well as an assortment of trailers and loading shovels.
“Thankfully, we have built up good relationships with local farmers and the silage contracting is all repeat work,” Denis confirms. “When you provide a good service using good, reliable machinery, then customers are more likely to keep doing business with you.
“The tractors are a valuable asset as they are also useful for the low loader and dump trailer work. While the silage contracting is a vital part of the business – and is what we did initially – digger and plant hire is our main source of work now and we provide those services to both agri and construction.”
Complementing the fresh and immaculately-maintained harvester, Denis Quinn runs half a dozen John Deere tractors – three 6920s, two 6930s and a 6190r. The silage trailers are from Bailey, Smyth and Broughan – all 18ft or 20ft.
“The loading shovels are a Komatsu 320 and a Volvo L90,” Denis reveals. “When it comes to silage, the trick is to get in and out as quickly and efficiently as possible and the loaders help us move faster, coming after the harvester to tidy up.”
Needless to say, in order to operate one of the most modern fleets of agri contracting and plant hire equipment in Ireland, continuous investment in replenishing, expanding and maintaining the machinery is a prerequisite. “Yes, investment is ongoing as you need the best equipment in order to provide the best services,” says Denis. “You are always changing and upgrading the machinery. We source a lot of the equipment in England and we keep them all in good condition.”
To this end, Denis runs his own workshop, looking after maintenance, servicing and repairs in-house.
On the plant hire front, some of the many services provided include land reclamation, site excavation and development, rock breaking, quarry work and landscaping services, catering mainly to construction works, covering building, roads and wind farms.
Supplemented by earthmoving and demolition equipment, Denis can call upon more than 20 excavators (mainly Case but also Volvo and Hitachi) ranging from 13 tonnes to 50 tonnes, all of which can be supplied with rock breakers and GPS systems, as well as a fleet of four Volvo A25 dump trucks and as many Renault tippers.
Depending on the workload at any given time, Denis Quinn Plant Hire generally generates employment for between 15 and 25 men, although numbers can peak even higher at the height of silage season. The Cork man says his staff perform a central role in the success of the business as quality machinery is of little use without experienced and skilled operatives behind the wheel. He adds that it simply would not be possible to keep Denis Quinn Plant Hire going as a viable commercial entity without the support of wife Maura and daughter Ruby.
When we spoke to Denis in mid-summer, he was flat out providing silage services to farmers while the plant hire service was also in big demand, with machinery in place on a host of sites: “We’re extremely busy with the digger / plant hire work, to be fair, and are working on a variety of different projects including housing, roads and wind farms.
“For example, we’re working on the Macroom Bypass – a very big project which started last year and is still ongoing – and also numerous Cork city housing developments and various other projects around the city and county. The wind farm work takes us all over the country and we regularly find ourselves working as far away as Galway, Mayo and Donegal.”
It’s all about service at the end of the day and this comes with a willingness to go wherever the work is, whenever the phone rings. This applies equally to agri contacting and plant hire services. “The customer is king,” Denis concludes. “There’s no such thing as 9 to 5 when you are at this work. You are always ready to go and you have to make sure you have the machinery and personnel to provide your customers with the quality of service they deserve.”
Denis Quinn Plant Hire Ltd.,
Flintfield,
Millstreet,
County Cork
Tel: 029 21939
Mobile: 087 2890446
Email: [email protected]
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 9 No 5, September/October 2021
