For more than three decades, William Foster Tractors Ltd. – the main New Holland dealer for Wicklow – has provided the farming community in the Garden County with industry-leading sales, aftersales and parts services. We touched base with hands-on director Keith Foster to get an update on this fantastic customer-focused family-run operation.
Since its inception in 1992, William Foster Tractors Ltd. in Monaglough, Arklow, County Wicklow has become a byword for quality, leaving no stone unturned in making sure that local farmers consistently receive premium products and a backup service to match.
The business is fronted by father and son team William and Keith, the former boasting 60 years’ experience of agricultural machinery with a particular expertise in parts, while Keith has sold and serviced tractors since leaving school.
Experience and passion are just two of the qualities that set William Foster Tractors apart from the competition. Main dealers for the New Holland range since opening their doors, they have served the iconic blue marque well – so much so that they are currently market leader for their area, with a market share of 27 percent, which is well above New Holland’s national average.
“It’s a small enough area, so an extra couple of machines sold here or there can make a big difference,” says Keith, who is proud of the business’ long-established relationship with New Holland: “We’re with them since Day One, having started off with the old Ford – New Holland franchise.
“The way we look at it is this: if you are going to be selling a product, then you have to be selling a premium product. That should be the minimum requirement. And New Holland is a premium tractor. A lot of our customers hark back to having Ford years ago and they have continued with New Holland. They have an appreciation of the quality of the brand, as do we.
“Another big selling point with New Holland tractors, on top of the performance and dependability, is that they hold their value extremely well, which is obviously going to stand to the customer when they go to trade them in.”
William started out in the industry in 1965, working in the parts department of the former Ford dealership in Wicklow town, Abbey Service, who sold Ford cars, trucks and tractors. “Dad would have sold a lot of parts for old Ford 5000s and 4000s back then. After that garage closed down in ’91, he went out on his own the following year, having been offered the Ford – New Holland franchise.”
William and Keith haven’t looked back since! Indeed, parts remain a big part of what they do today. William Foster Tractors specialise in spare parts and carry a massive stock of parts, especially for old Ford, Fiat and New Holland tractors. “We have an extensive listing of parts that are no longer supplied by CNH, ex-stock, and these are sold to people all over Ireland and we’ve even exported parts to the UK, Europe and as far away as Africa,” Keith notes.
As the planet completes another lap around the sun, Keith looks back on 2024 and ahead to what he hopes will be a busy 2025: “Last year started off very well with the carry-over from ’23 and got a bit quieter in the middle. However, things picked up again in the latter half of the year.
“I’d be cautiously optimistic for 2025 and hope that sales will increase on last year. We probably won’t be as busy as we were in 2023 but there is a feeling that things are starting to turn around again so fingers crossed it’ll keep going in the right direction. December – March is usually our busiest period with tractor sales, and the signs have been encouraging so far.
“There’s still a buoyant market for new tractor sales, while good clean, fresh trade-ins always sell very well, too. There’s also a resurgence in demand for older Ford models – the likes of the TW and 10 series. People are buying them and restoring them.
“We can refurbish any old tractor from a Ford 5000 up to a New Holland T7-270. They all go through an extensive check before we sell them on and even the freshest trade-ins are fully serviced and checked for error codes. We can rebuild a Ford 5000 from the ground up – we have the parts, experience and the technical know-how to carry out any work on any tractor in our workshop.”
The workshop has all the latest tools and diagnostic equipment, while all William Foster Tractors Ltd. fitters are fully factory-trained and up to speed on all the latest technological advancements and expertise. “We have a team of six at the moment,” Keith continues. “There are three lads in the workshop, including a new apprentice we’ve taken on, as well as Trish in admin, myself in sales / parts and my father in parts.
“We service what we sell and the customer always comes first. Service is a big thing here and we are on call all the time to make sure each of our customers is looked after. We get a lot of repeat business and a good few of our customers would have bought multiple tractors from us over the past two or three years, which is always a good sign that you must be doing something right. You are only as good as your name and thankfully we have built up a good reputation locally over the years.”
Complementing the tractor / agri business, William and Keith also sell high-quality New Holland construction machinery, including mini diggers, wheel loaders and skid steers.
Serving the farming community in and around Wicklow with distinction since 1992, William Foster Tractors is the personification of a local family business that puts customers first every time. Going forward, the focus will not be shifting from absolute customer care:
“We’re always looking to expand gradually by taking small, steady steps,” Keith concludes. “We won’t be getting too big, though. We know all our customers on a first-name basis and we don’t ever want to lose that personal connection. We’ll keep going as we’re going, giving customers a premium product and an excellent service.
“We have successfully converted many customers over to New Holland – from Massey Ferguson, Fendt and John Deere – in the last few years and that’s another area we’ll be targeting – to get more new customers to take on New Holland for the first time. It’s a great tractor and any farmer or contractor who gets one tends to stick with them.”
William Foster Tractors Ltd.,
Monaglough,
Arklow,
County Wicklow.
Tel: 0402 35766
Mobile: 087 2606841
Email: [email protected]
Web: fostertractors.ie
Facebook: www.facebook.com/fostertractors.ie
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 13 No 1, Spring 2025
Featured, William Foster Tractors Ltd.
