Noel McEllin Ltd. provides professional agricultural contracting and tree surgery services to a host of satisfied customers across County Mayo and beyond. We dropped into the company HQ in Manulla, Castlebar and caught up with the eponymous Noel to find out more about his multifaceted family-run operation.
A long-serving and well-respected agricultural contractor who has been providing exceptional round baling, pit silage, slurry spreading, lime spreading, hedge cutting, ploughing, reseeding and land reclamation services to generations of customers across the County of Mayo for over four decades. This part of the business has served the Mayo man well for many years and is a key area of focus for him in delivering a quality service.
Noel McEllin Ltd has also diversified into the specialist area of tree surgery and has been offering an unrivalled timber / hedge cutting service for a quarter of a century. The company is a professional and highly – experienced tree surgery enterprise, boasting a satisfied customer base that ranges from large public corporations to private domestic clients. Noel and his team offer high quality tree felling and tree pruning services, including stump grinding and log splitting. All tree surgery procedures are carried out by NPTC trained staff and – with their primary focus on safety – they hold full public and employer liability insurance.
Noel McEllin Ltd specialises in the felling and removal of trees. Overgrown or dangerous trees often require specialist equipment on site and Noel not only has the skills required but also the equipment needed for all types of felling and removal works. Other specialist services provided include tree shaping; chipping / mulching (for the efficient disposal of branches, treetops and debris); crown reduction (the removal of branches to decrease the height or spread of large or medium trees); stump grinding / removal; domestic, commercial and industrial site clearance of all green materials including trees, hedges, plants; and – if required – ground reinstatement.
Down through the years, Noel has delivered professional tree surgery services to a large number of private sector customers and large corporations across counties Mayo, Galway, Roscommon and Sligo including Coillte, the ESB, Galway and Mayo County Councils, Shell, Iarnrod Eireann, the HSE, Western Care, Castlebar Urban District Council, Westport Town Council and Roadbridge. Some of the keynote projects undertaken include the Corrib Onshore Gas Pipeline, the Great Western Greenway, National Museum of Ireland – Country Life and Castlebar Town River Works in addition to various hospitals, schools, churches, graveyards and nursing homes.
Reflecting on the genesis of the business and his entry into the tree surgery area, Noel notes: “I started out as an agri contractor, taking over from my father, Tom. I’ve been at that all my life, since I was able to drive. I did some hedge cutting work for the ESB and then took on private work doing tree felling and removal, hedge trimming and taking out plantations. That end of the business just grew from there and one thing led to another. As demand for those services increased, I started to train lads and take on men who were already highly – skilled. It has gone really well for us.”
The timber end of the business has pretty much taken on a life of its own. “Most of the work is in Mayo and Galway but we also go into parts of Sligo and Roscommon,” Noel confirms. “The work in general would involve removing dangerous trees from over buildings, trimming evergreen hedges, site clearance, taking down plantations from close to houses or roadways, stump grinding and root removal. We also do a lot of work timber cutting under ESB lines – with one crew dedicated to this work specifically in the Galway / Mayo area.”
Safety, training, certification and compliance are of paramount importance and Noel leaves no stone unturned in his pursuit of excellence. “You need a lot of certification to be in the business we’re in and that’s the way it should be. There is constant demand to up – skill and our crews are fully competent in this regard.”
To cater for both the contracting and timber sides of his business, he operates a superb fleet of machinery. “You could never have enough tractors,” he points out. “We have ten at the minute – a mixed fleet. The latest additions would be New Hollands – I bought a 200 series this year and a 150 last year – but I’d also run John Deere, Deutz and Valtras.”
The fleet also includes a JCB loader, Claas 890 harvester, Hitachi and Kobelco diggers, a circular saw, slurry tankers and a number of access platforms, one on rubber tracks. The access platforms are also hired out to the ESB.
The tractors and machinery are maintained, serviced and repaired in-house, with two fully – qualified fitters manning a modern workshop. In total, between full-time and part-time, Noel provides employment to 15 men. “They’re all great lads and I’d be lost without them. These guys are hardworking and loyal and this is key to our success as a business” he states. “They do an honest day’s work and you couldn’t ask for better. Good lads are hard to come by these days and we’re lucky to have such a great bunch”.
Generally speaking, Noel is happy with how the business is performing. “We can’t complain, we’re doing nicely,” he comments. “There are a lot of expenses and overheads, with men to pay and machinery to buy and maintain – and fuel is a serious drain these days – but we’re doing really well.”
Looking to the future, the Mayo man is hoping for a period of consolidation. “We’ll keep going as we are and hopefully we will be able to expand a little bit,” he concludes. “The contracting end of the business is also going well. The trend in the west now is for round bales, so we’re doing a lot of round baling, hedge cutting and slurry spreading. I’ve been working for some of our customers for years and years and have built up a good relationship with them. These customers are crucial to the successful operation of the business and we would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of them for their support down through the years.”
As a last comment, Noel points out “I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of my family. My wife Pauline and daughter Linda work in the office and my other daughters Gina and Sara help out as well. It’s great to have that support as well as the continued support of all our customers and staff down through the years.”
Noel McEllin Ltd.,
Manulla,
Castlebar,
County Mayo.
Tel: 094 9032133
Mobile: 087 8109589
Email: [email protected]
Web Site: mcellintreesurgery.ie
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 3 No 7, August 2015
