For 30 years, Derry O’Donovan Ltd has been synonymous with quality farm machinery and buildings in West Cork. From its base in Timoleague, the company offers an unrivalled service to an ever-expanding customer-base.
A one-stop shop for all your farm machinery and building needs, Derry O’Donovan Ltd continues to go from strength to strength by not only meeting, but exceeding its customers’ expectations. There isn’t a farmer or agri contractor in the region who hasn’t heard of the thriving family-business which prides itself on quality, value-for-money and complete client satisfaction. Derry O’Donovan Ltd is also renowned for its exceptional aftersales service on every piece of equipment and infrastructure it sells.
The company is perhaps best known for being Farmhand’s main dealer for West Cork and beyond. It supplies farmers and contractors with an outstanding selection of agricultural machinery from the Krone, Amazone, APV and Quicke ranges. The Krone range includes mowers, tedders, rakes, wagons and balers. Amazone products include spreaders, sprayers, power harrows, seed drills and cultivators. APV is the world leader in grass seeding technology with its range featuring tined grass harrows and seeders. It’s estimated that there are 35,000 Quicke loaders on Irish farms today and these are also available.
Derry O’Donovan Ltd also stocks the full line of Conor, Smyth and Zuidberg products. Conor manufactures slurry tankers, trailing shoes, slurry pumps, diet feeders, bale wrappers, toppers, shear grabs and bale handlers, Smyth are famous for the quality of their silage trailers and dump trailers, while Zuidberg specialises in front linkages, PTO systems and rubber tracks.
Furthermore, the West Cork dealer stocks a wide selection of second-hand machinery from trade-ins, all of which are checked over and fully serviced. Servicing and after-sales service is provided by a team of experienced workshop technicians. The O’Donovan team goes out of their way to ensure their customers are looked after and completely satisfied. To this end, there is a fully-stocked parts counter and an emergency after-hours service.
In addition to parts for the main product lines, Derry O’Donovan Ltd is also an agent for Fastparts. Fastparts is a separate division within Farmhand which was established in 1987 to market a wide range of wearing and fast-moving parts for all makes of tractors and agricultural machinery. There are 30,000 different lines of parts, including parts for ploughs, sprayers, mowers and tractors.
“We’re here to cater for all of our customers’ needs,” Maurice McSweeney of Derry O’Donovan Ltd says.
“Our priority at all times is to look after our customers and keep their machinery on the move. Having a good aftersales service is vital. It’s key to securing repeat business and we’ve been very lucky in that regard. We have a lot of loyal and valued customers, some of whom have bought their ninth and 10th mowers off us. That wouldn’t happen if we didn’t look after them.”
Sales of new and used farm machinery are brisk for the dealer whose catchment area stretches from Cork City down as far as Castletownbere. The majority of its customers are dairy and tillage farmers.
“We cover a big area,” Maurice points out.
“We don’t sell tractors, but sell just about everything else. We’re selling a lot of Amazone GPS section control spreaders at the moment because they are TAMS compliant. Krone have a great line of products which are selling away. There has been a notable shift from trailed mowers to mounted mowers. It’s all about efficiency and value-for-money.”
The other string to Derry O’Donovan Ltd’s bow is farm buildings. As a certified supplier of CE marked structural steel, the company offers a wide range of buildings which are manufactured to the highest standards and to your exact requirements. All types of CE-certified buildings are constructed, including milking parlours, dairy and beef housing units, grain stores, slurry tanks, walls, silage pits as well as industrial / commercial units.
Derry O’Donovan Ltd can design and construct the entire building from top to bottom, including all steelwork and concrete work. A top-class team of erectors, roofers, fabricators and welders have the experience, knowledge and equipment to deliver farm buildings of any size. They are supported and supplemented by the same tried and trusted subcontractors. Quality workmanship, attention to detail, value-for-money and a commitment to working closely with clients to deliver total satisfaction are the hallmarks of this fully-insured business. Health & Safety is paramount.
Only the best products and materials go into making an O’Donovan shed. The company’s main suppliers are Barryroe Co-Op, Irish Roll Forming, Irish International Trading, Duggan Steel and Keohane Readymix. It goes without saying that Derry O’Donovan Ltd enjoys an excellent relationship with all of its suppliers. All of the buildings are solid, secure, attractive in appearance and are built to last.
Commenting on this aspect of the business, Maurice says: “No job is too big or too small. We can do anything from hanging a gate to building a large milking parlour.
“There has been a slowdown in big-scale building. Rising concrete costs and a bit of uncertainty have contributed to this. On the flip side, smaller development works such as re-roofing, extensions and general groundworks are booming. Generally speaking, the jobs are smaller but the workload is still the same.”
Having grown up on a farm, founder and managing director Derry O’Donovan has an innate understanding of his customers’ requirements. He is joined by a 12-strong team, including three in the office, seven onsite and two in the workshop.
“Our people are our greatest asset. Everyone has a job to do and it’s a real team effort.”
No. 1 in West Cork for farm machinery and buildings, Derry would like to take this opportunity to thank his customers and suppliers for their continued support as well as his staff for their hard work, dedication and expertise.
Derry O’Donovan Ltd
Cooligboy,
Timoleague,
Co. Cork,
P72 KR26.
Telephone: 023 884 6053
Email: [email protected]
Web: derryodonovanmachinery.ie
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 12 No 2, July/August 2024
