Renowned John Deere main dealer Meath Farm Machinery have secured the agency for Kramer loaders and telescopic handlers, covering North East, North West, Midlands and Dublin regions from their depots at Kilberry, County Meath and Poles, County Cavan. To coincide with the launch of the new agency as well as John Deere’s 100th anniversary celebrations, we touched base with marketing manager Nicola Timmons to discuss the continued success of this outstanding family-run operation.
Established by Peter Timmons in Kilberry on the outskirts of Navan in 1979, Meath Farm Machinery continue to go from strength to strength. The announcement that they have been appointed as main dealer for Kramer agricultural and industrial loaders and handlers – is another major step forward for this renowned, customer-focused family business that has, for decades, delivered outstanding John Deere tractor and machinery sales and service to generations of farmers from across counties Meath, Cavan, Dublin, Kildare, Westmeath, Monaghan, Longford, Leitrim and sometimes further afield.
Kramer is a long-established German manufacturer of high quality, 4-wheel drive and 4-wheel steer centre boom and side boom telescopic handlers. The range of products includes compact wheel loaders (nine models), telescopic wheel loaders (four models), and compact and large telehandlers (nine models) up to 5.5 ton / 9 metres, produced and developed by Kramer at Pfullendorf in Germany. Combined with automatic bucket return, variable speed regulation and all round visibility, it is a market leader and a reliable machine for any task.
According to Meath Farm Machinery general manager Ian Timmons: “The Kramer franchise represents an exciting opportunity for Meath Farm Machinery Ltd. The broad product range enables us to satisfy our customers’ various requirements and to offer an appropriate machine for every area of application. We are very much looking forward to representing this high-quality German brand in Ireland.”
It was announced in July 2017 that John Deere had invested in German machinery manufacturer Kramer-Werke GmbH to create a “long-term alliance”. This strategic partnership meant that compact, all-wheel-steer loaders and telescopic loaders under the Kramer brand would, where possible, be sold through the John Deere Dealer network. As one of Ireland’s premier John Deere dealers, Meath Farm Machinery was subsequently awarded the Kramer dealership and the new agency was officially launched at their Open Day on Saturday, April 21st this year.
In conjunction with John Deere / Kramer, Meath Farm Machinery can now provide an extensive range of agricultural material handling solutions with a specific focus on hay, forage and arable production systems, as well as contractor solutions.
The partnership between Kramer and John Deere represents a winner all-around for both companies as well as dealers and – most importantly – farmers and contractors, who are now granted access through reputable, tried-and-trusted channels to a premium and comprehensive portfolio of material handling.
It ties in nicely with the 100th anniversary celebrations of John Deere, who entered the tractor business as Deere & Company in March, 1918. The biggest success story in the agricultural machinery industry started with the 27hp Waterloo Boy Model N in the Midwest of the United States. Today, John Deere is the world’s leading manufacturer of agricultural tractors, and the company produces ‘intelligent’ tractors in twelve factories worldwide.
The first John Deere fully green and yellow production tractor was the Model D, built from 1923 to 1953, which became the longest production run of any farm tractor. John Deere became the worldwide tractor sales leader for the first time in 1963.
In 1956, John Deere bought the tractor manufacturer Heinrich Lanz, AG in Mannheim, Germany, expanding its manufacturing business into Europe for the first time. More than 6,600 employees are employed on the Mannheim campus today and total production in 2017 was 27,100 units, with exports to more than 100 countries worldwide.
The first company to offer power steering on tractors in 1954, another major milestone was the introduction of the ROPS (Roll-Over Protective Structure) as a safety feature in 1966, which set the standard for the entire industry.
Today, the tractor is no longer just for pulling implements – instead, agricultural tractors, machines and implements can be effectively connected. For example, tractor implement automation enables a baler to ‘talk’ to the tractor for automatic adjustment of functions such as forward speed, depending on the workload.
Mobile data transfer allows farmers to collect data from drilling to harvesting and send it automatically to the farm office. Field documentation displays data from the entire production chain and increases transparency for consumers. Farmers and contractors can use this data to make agronomic decisions on fertiliser and chemical applications, for example.
All John Deere tractors purchased in 2018 will carry a special 100th-anniversary badge and a number of special offers are available. Contact Meath Farm Machinery to find out more.
Meath Farm Machinery Ltd. offers a wide range of John Deere agricultural machinery (tractors, combines, self-propelled forage harvesters, sprayers, balers, frontloaders, mower conditioners, drills) and homeowner equipment as well as products from a range of other franchises, including Kramer, Kuhn, HiSpec, Tanco, Sulky, Smith Trailers, Sip and NC.
From its prime locations in Kilberry, Meath and Poles, Cavan, the business has access to a wide customer base and prides itself on providing market-leading new and second-hand equipment backed up by unbeatable customer service, including parts, repairs and excellent finance packages.
The service department has developed a great reputation for supply and aftersales service, while both workshops are fully equipped with the latest tools and technology – manned by experienced and factory-trained technicians – to carry out fast and efficient repairs and servicing. Meanwhile, up to 1.5 million spare parts are stocked at any given time to guarantee total customer care, with direct employment generated for a friendly and highly-motivated team of over 30 staff.
Add in the new Kramer partnership and it’s clear to see why Meath Farm Machinery are in such a strong position heading towards their 40th anniversary.
“For us, it has never been just about sales,” says General Manager Ian Timmons. “Service and parts is a huge part of the business and we have a very good reputation for our aftersales service. We have technicians out on the road all the time and place a major emphasis on looking after customers.
“We invest a lot of money in tools and equipment in both workshops as well as regularly upskilling all of our technicians and we carry a comprehensive range of parts. Anything that’s not in stock, we can get it the following day. We invest in the latest technology in our service departments to ensure that our customers are looked after. That’s why we have such a large base of repeat customers.”
The availability of Kramer loaders and telescopic handlers offers customers an even greater choice of products, with the renowned Meath Farm Machinery levels of service always guaranteed.
Meath Farm Machinery Ltd
Kilberry Cross,
Navan,
County Meath
Tel: 046 9023946/28244
Dublin Road,
Poles,
County Cavan
Tel: 049-4323033/4
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 6 No 4, June/July 2018
