Based outside of Nenagh, Co Tipperary, Niall Dwan Agri is a leading agricultural contracting company which operates with an impressive fleet from its location in the Premier County. Irish Tractor & Agri touched base with Alan Dwan to find out all about this family venture – from its origins to the state of business today.
Business is good these days at Niall Dwan Agri and the plan for the Dwan clan down in Kilruane is to try and keep things that way right through to next year.
Operating with seven tractors in its fleet, the company has earned a reputation amongst its clients for carrying out excellent work in a timely fashion.
Niall Dwan took over the business from his father in the 1960s and the involvement of his sons Alan and Eoin since makes the venture a third-generation family business.
Irish Tractor & Agri spoke with Alan Dwan recently to learn more about a company which has evolved down through the decades into what it is today.
“My father took over the business from his father in the mid-1960s and right now its myself, my father and my brother Eoin, who is running the haulage side of things.
“We’ve five full-time working here altogether and we’d be concentrating a lot on tillage in Spring time and then maize and corn.
“We also do round bales and cut a good bit of corn for hire. After that, we’d fodder beet in the winter time.”
Alan himself has been immersed in the family business for two decades now and is happy to report that things are ticking along nicely in Kilruane at the moment.
Although, as always, there are a few challenges facing agri contracting business nationwide at the present time.
“Business is good,” he said. “Thankfully, the pandemic hasn’t really had an effect on us. The biggest obstacle at the minute is probably the price of machinery because it’s really going through the roof now.
“Diesel is going up too and then there’s the fact that it’s getting harder and harder to get help. It’s not like it was years ago.
“I’m 20 years here now and I’ve been here basically full-time since I finished school.”
Alan himself always had a keen interest in agri contracting and the machinery that goes along with it from a young age.
He and his brother would follow in the footsteps of their father by becoming involved in the family business and, some 20 years later, they’re still going strong.
Recently, the Dwans have made some new additions to their machinery fleet as the demand from customers remains as high as ever.
“We have seven tractors here, four of them are Massey Fergusons, one Case, one Claas 950 and a John Deere,” said Alan.
“We bought a new Claas Harvester 880 recently and a Claas 360. We also changed our balers to McHale Fusions and changed the Combine from a 770 to a 580.”
So, what has been the secret to success for Niall Dwan Agri after all these years?
What is it about the business that has its customers choosing them first ahead of other local competitors out there?
For Alan, he has always felt that quality work combined with reliability and a broad range of services on offer goes a long way when it comes to keeping agri contracting customers satisfied.
“Repeat business has been a big part of the company’s growth over the years and we’re even still working for the same families that my grandfather would’ve worked with all these years later,” he said.
“We try and do our best for our customers and I think they appreciate that. Most of the farmers want the services that we have for them.
“We cover a wide range (of services) and I’d say slurry is the only thing that we’re not in to at the moment. We’ve 700 to 800 acres of tillage here as well.”
With all of that considered, it’s no wonder why the Dwan family is as busy as it is at the present time with its workload.
Things are moving well on the agri contracting side and Eoin remains very busy with the family’s transport service as well.
Looking towards the months ahead, Alan says they’ll be looking for more of the same with regards the current rate of work at the moment and perhaps some more good weather as they look to get one of their latest purchases to work out in the fields.
“We’ll just be hoping to get a spell of good weather,” he stated plainly.
“We bought a new square baler last year but the weather beat us badly on it, to be honest.
“Hopefully though, this year will be better and we can get it out more often and put it to good use for our customers.”
For all of your agri contracting needs look no further than Niall Dwan Agri in Kilruane,
Nenagh, Co Tipperary, where you can be guaranteed an excellent service each and every time.
Niall Dwan Agri
Kilruane,
Nenagh,
Co Tipperary
Mobile: 087 759 7263
Email: [email protected]
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 9 No 6, November/December 2021
