Over the past two decades, P&M McKenna Agri Supplies has developed an excellent reputation for itself as Northern Ireland’s premier supplier of hay, straw and sawdust – and a whole lot more besides. We travelled to their Fintona, County Tyrone HQ and caught up with Mark McKenna to discuss the proud history and current well-being of this exceptional father-and-son operation.
P&M McKenna Agri Supplies was established twenty years ago by Peter McKenna, who has since been joined in the running of operation by his son Mark. During the intervening years, the father and son business has become renowned across Tyrone and beyond as a premium supplier of a wide range of agricultural products and services, including hay and straw, sawdust, lime (White Rhino), meal, licks and minerals, grass seed (DFL), fencing posts and wire, agri diesel, lamb and calf replacer, field gates and hurdles, troughs and drinkers.
A grass seed sowing service is provided using an Air Stitcher, while White Rhino hydrated lime is available in one-ton bags. With a low-dust content, White Rhino protects herds from disease and infection and absorbs 150 times more moisture than cubicle lime.
The Fintona-based agri supplies specialists are known near (covering all of Northern Ireland) and far (having sold into Counties Dublin, Monaghan, Tipperary, Roscommon etc.) for high-quality hay and straw as well as kiln-dried sawdust. Their fine whitewood sawdust controls mastitis and goes further than any other product on the market.
Full and part loads can be supplied (60 bags per pallet; 16 pallets per load) and it can be applied using the newly-designed lime and sawdust dispenser stocked by P&M McKenna Agri Supplies – a robust, waterproof, 24-volt double-battery, 165-litre capacity dispenser, which yields considerable cost and labour savings.
The highest quality Irish and English hay and straw (barley and wheat) is supplied in various bale sizes to customers throughout the North twelve months of the year.
Both Peter and Mark (P&M) McKenna come from agricultural backgrounds and, as farmers themselves, understand implicitly the needs of their customers. “My dad set the business up in the mid-90s and it grew from there,” notes Mark. “He came from a farming background and started to diversify more and more into supplying straw and one thing led to another. It just took on a life of its own. I’ve been involved in the business in one way or another since I was a child but have been here full-time for the last ten years.”
Sawdust and straw are the biggest sellers. Around 80% of the hay and straw sold is imported from the Republic of Ireland and the rest is sourced in England, along with all of the sawdust.
“We sell by the lorry load or, if customers prefer, they can come in and collect it themselves,” Mark notes. All of Northern Ireland is catered for – and sometimes further afield – and the vast majority of customers are of the long-term variety.
To keep overheads down, all the haulage is subcontracted out. “That’s the handiest thing for us and it works out very well,” says Mark. “We have several hauliers who work for us and all of them provide an excellent service – Declan McGorman of DJ McGorman & Son Transport in Ballygawley, Francie Corey in Armagh.
Quality and service has always been to the forefront of everything P&M McKenna Agri Supplies does and this is why 100% customer satisfaction is guaranteed at all times.
“They want quick delivery and we are fairly fast in getting the stuff out to them,” Mark confirms. “When a customer rings in looking for something, we will have it out to them either than same day or the next day. At the end of the day, it’s all about giving customers a good-quality product while also putting up a good service. Once you look after them, there’s every chance they will do business with you again.”
Peter and Mark run the business between them and also provide employment to one full-time employee as well as a couple of part-time workers – not to mention the indirect employment generated by deliveries and collections.
P&M McKenna Agri Supplies has made great progress since its genesis and the business continues to experience growth today. “We do have plans for further expansion,” Mark reveals. “We will have to extend the premises in the not-too-distant future to accommodate the ongoing growth of the business. Anything we supply, we stock. We store up to forty lorry loads of straw and sawdust and we are going to have to extend the storage sheds soon. You are always hoping to grow your business another bit. It’s going well for us at the moment and we are in as strong a position as we’ve ever been.”
Aged 61 and 30 respectively, Peter and Mark McKenna between them boast a wealth of knowledge and experience of the agri sector. They intend to continue providing customers in the local catchment area – and beyond – with market-leading products and services for many years to come.
“The farmers know us and where we are,” Mark concludes. “Word of mouth is the best advertising of all and once you have a good reputation then you won’t go too far wrong. No farmer that we have supplied has ever fallen out with us, so we must be doing something right. If they aren’t 100% happy with anything we sell them, we will replace it without any qualms whatsoever.”
P&M McKenna Agri Supplies
5 Legamaghery Road,
Fintona,
County Tyrone.
BT78 2HA
Tel: 028 8284 1578
Mobile: 07894 533233
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 3 No 7, August 2015
