The award-winning Ballinadee Engineering reached the milestone of 30 years in business in 2015 and the Cork company marked the occasion with the launch of the latest addition to their wide and varied project range – The O’Neill Batch Feed Dispenser – at the Tullamore Show in August.
Ballinadee Engineering’s total dedication to innovation, excellence and quality is reflected in five awards awards that they have picked up since 1985. Started from humble beginnings by John and Mary O’Neill, the Cork company is synonymous with high quality agricultural and veterinary products in Ireland.
Their outright success at the RDS Spring Show of 1985 in the Premier award for agricultural equipment (National award) category sowed the seeds for the establishment of the company and the husband and wife duo haven’t looked back since.
“I come from a farming background and got involved in engineering,” John revealed in conversation with Irish Tractor & Agri magazine. “I started my own company in August 1985, 30 years ago, after we won an award at the RDS Spring Show for my Hoofnak product.
“It proved to be a very successful product for us and got the business up and running. We supplied it to a lot of outlets and Co-ops throughout Ireland and exported it to the UK, France and as far away as the United States and New Zealand.
“It is a product that has always been very good to us. We manufactured a set amount every year while this year we’ve manufactured a huge amount of due to the Health & Safety grant. There has been a big increase in demand due to the grant.”
Initially, Ballinadee Engineering operated from a large workshop beside the O’Neill family home in Ballinadee but due to the ever-increasing demand for their products they moved to a much larger premises in 1990.
Nine years later the premises was further expanded by an extra 5,000 square feet bringing the total work area up to 10,000 square feet.
Fitted with the latest manufacturing technology, the company is constantly adapting to changing markets and new trends. They currently have nine full-time employees on their payroll including John and Mary’s children, Catherine, Eoin and Kevin.
Their mission statement reads: “At Ballinadee Engineering our objective is to design and manufacture products that make a real difference to the lives of our customers.”
From concept to finished creation, John has been responsible for introducing a large range of implements to the marketplace.
Their product portfolio includes the O’Neill feeders, cluster dipper, heavy duty water trough, quadtrox, the yardman versatile two way yard scraper, a range of straight, angled and curved scrapers, the hoofnak, cow scratchers, flat-bed pull along trolleys and a wide range of gate fittings to mention but a few.
Then there’s the O’Neill Calf and Sheep Staller which John developed along with his niece Caroline O’Neill who was the outright winner of TG4’s hugely popular ‘Feirm Factor’ series in 2010.
The O’Neill Batch Feeder Dispenser is the latest addition to the O’Neill family stable. For feeding calves, cattle or sheep, the O’Neill Batch Feeder Dispenser can be towed by Quad, 4×4 or tractor and can be mounted on 3 point linkage, on a trailer or on back of open 4×4. It can be filled by loader or auger and boasts a 1/2 tonne capacity.
“We officially launched it on the invention stand in Tullamore,” John explained, “and we are very confident that it will prove to be a success.
“All farmers have troughs but they have to get feed into troughs and that is where this product comes in big time while it can work on any means of transport. We’ve sold some already and the early feedback has been very positive.”
Ballinadee Engineering’s products are designed to make farmers’ lives easier and with a loyal customer base in Ireland and further afield, John is optimistic about what the future holds in store.
“Over the years we have built up good relationships with our export people who keeping coming back to us. We supply the service they want and they’re happy with our products. The reason they’re happy is that we went out and researched our products and manufactured them ourselves.
“We went out and researched and developed the products with farming people. Our products help to make farmers’ businesses more efficient. As well as that, we design and manufacture all our own products all under the one roof.”
He concluded: “At the minute business is going very well. We’ve come through a few tough years but, thankfully, the order book is looking very good at this point in time.”
Ballinadee Engineering Ltd.
Ballinadee
Bandon
Co. Cork
Ireland
Tel: 021 – 4778 176
Fax: 021 – 4778 459
Email:
Website: www.ballinadee.com
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 3 No 10, November 2015
