Located in the heart of rural County Carlow, sits Ireland’s most recognisable agricultural trailer manufacturers, Broughan Engineering.
Broughan Engineering has built its long-standing reputation the old-fashioned way, through hard work, strong family values and a relentless focus on quality. Based in Coppenagh, Tullow County Carlow, the company produced its first trailer in 1999 and has grown steadily ever since.
Founder and leading operations on the manufacturing floor, is Patrick Broughan. He is assisted by his nephew Adam (also in the heart of the manufacturing process) and Patrick’s sister Carole, who looks after orders, marketing and supplies. Broughan Engineering are supported by a work force of 35 highly skilled technicians, from welding, blasting, spraying, hydraulics and finishing.
The business has evolved into a highly respected manufacturer for all ranges of agricultural trailers, including silage, dump, cattle, bale, low loaders and bespoke transport solutions. Over the last two decades, Broughan has become a familiar name, not only in Ireland, but throughout the UK and as far a field as New Zealand and Canada, earning a reputation for durability, reliability and build quality in demanding agricultural conditions.
The business has remained grounded in its family ethos and close-knit working environment with their valued workforce.
“We are proud to have 35 long-standing members of staff, who have played a major role in the company’s success and in an industry where skilled labour is becoming increasingly difficult to secure, retaining experienced staff has become one of our business’s greatest strengths,” explained Patrick Broughan.
That investment in people is reflected in the quality of finished products leaving the yard in Coppenagh each week. Broughan Engineering continues to manufacture between 14 to 15 trailers per week, a figure that has remained consistent, even as trailers themselves have become significantly larger and more sophisticated. The increase in trailer size reflects wider changes within modern farming techniques and agricultural contracting. Customers are demanding bigger capabilities and more versatile machines, which can handle larger loads efficiently.
Broughan Engineering has adapted to those changes while maintaining the same production output. “Whilst trailers have gotten bigger with greater capacity in recent years, we’re still producing the same volume and quality of our trailers”, Patrick said. Business performance over the last number of years has remained particularly strong, with demand increasing across several production lines.
Patrick points to dump and cattle trailers as two of the biggest growth areas currently driving the business. “Business was good last year,” he explained. “We’ve seen an increase in demand for dump trailers in the last two years and cattle trailers are also in high demand, which I suppose is due to the increase in beef prices.”
The surge in demand for dump trailers reflects the growing activity in the construction industry, contracting and earth moving, while stronger beef prices and increased confidence with the livestock sector are contributing to the popularity of cattle trailers. Silage and grain trailers, meanwhile, remain one of the company’s cornerstone products and continue to be among the strongest sellers every year.
“Our top sellers would be silage, grain and dump trailers, next cattle and bale trailers and then low loaders,” says Patrick
Managing production schedules around seasonal demand remains one of the biggest challenges for the business. Silage trailers require careful planning to ensure dealers and customers have stock ahead of the busy summer season.
“Dump trailers are all year round but with silage trailers there’s always a push to have them out on time for the season,” Patrick said.
The demand rarely eases off entirely, according to Patrick, as dealerships continue stocking trailers throughout the year in preparation for the next season. “The silage trailers never stop because our valued dealers are taking them into storage and housing them to have them ready to go. It’s the only way they can really have trailers ready for the market demands.”
Another area that has proven increasingly successful for the company is the trailer nurse tank. Its multi-purpose design has become popular among contractors and farmers seeking additional flexibility from their equipment.
Innovation and adaptability have been central to the company’s continued growth, but Patrick believes the key reason customers continue returning to Broughan Engineering comes down to one thing – build quality.
“They’re well manufactured steel-wise, and just a good strong build which has stood the test of time,” Patrick adds, “A lot of our continued success comes down to the dealers too because they are promoting the product the whole time.”
In an increasingly competitive machinery market, reputation can often make the difference, and Broughan Engineering has benefited from customers seeing older trailers still performing reliably years after leaving the factory floor. Word of mouth recommendations remain hugely important within the agricultural sector, particularly among contractors and farmers investing in machinery designed for long-term use.
While many manufacturers chase rapid expansion, Patrick’s outlook for the future is measured and practical. Growth is welcome, but maintaining the company’s current standards and working environment remains priority.
“If we could remain the way we are, and please god increase staff a little and grow some more that would be great,” he said, “but where we are at the moment, we’re actually in a good place and it’s a nice way to be.”
That quiet confidence perhaps sums up Broughan Engineering best. In an industry often driven by scale and aggressive growth, the Carlow-based manufacturer has carved out its own path through consistency, craftsmanship and quality, coupled together with strong family values.
More than 25 years after producing its first trailer, the business continues to thrive from its base in Coppenagh, building products designed not just to perform, but to last.
For Patrick Broughan, the future is not about re-inventing the wheel. It is about continuing the high standards, supporting the loyal workforce around him and the suppliers and dealers, ensuring every trailer leaving the yard carries the same reputation for quality that has defined the business since 1999.
Broughan Engineering Ltd,
Coppenagh,
Tullow,
Co Carlow
Telephone: 059 916 3697
Email: [email protected]
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 14 No 2, Summer 2026
Broughan Engineering Ltd, Featured
