Miller Bedding provides exceptional animal bedding across Northern Ireland. With a background in agriculture and a passion for animal welfare, it was established by the Miller family in 2014 to source and supply animal bedding, primarily for dairy farmers.
A sister company of recyclable material transport specialist DA Miller & Sons (Transport) Ltd and operating from the same premises in Claudy, Miller Bedding delivers a full range of quality bedding products to the farming sector, including bagged, baled and bulk sawdust. Wood pellet fines, which are a cheaper alternative to sawdust, are also available. The sawdust contains no MDF and is Red Tractor Assurance and Farm Quality Assured compliant.
“Business has grown by 50% a year for the last three years. We supply sawdust and wood pellet fines in equal measure to over 100 dairy farmers and counting, and also to the beef, equestrian and poultry sectors,” says Glen Miller, who runs Miller Bedding and DA Miller & Sons (Transport) Ltd along with his father Drew (also known as David Andrew) and brother Ryan.
“We deliver throughout Northern Ireland and take pride in delivering our products personally to your yard, whether it be bags, bales or bulk loads.”
“Miller Bedding happened more by accident than design. We (DA Miller & Sons) were doing walking floor trailer work for a wood recycling company in England called Plevin when they asked us if we’d be interested in becoming distributors for their Snowflake and Woodpecker brands. We have trucks coming back and forth every day so decided to give it a go. We haven’t looked back since.”
Plevin is a family-owned company with a proven reputation for producing high-quality, sustainable products. It manufactures animal bedding, sawdust and wood shavings that are suitable for horses, agricultural livestock and small pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs. All of Plevin’s products are subject to rigorous quality and control checks, and are produced in a state-of-the-art dust extraction system.
Economy, standard and premium sawdust is available from Miller Bedding in bags, bales or bulk loads. Each pallet contains 60 17kg bags or 60 20kg bales. All sawdust is 100% kiln dried and offers excellent absorbency rates which ensure that cattle stay cleaner and drier for longer. A dry cattle bed reduces the risk of harmful pathogens, but is also comfortable for cows to lie on and offers uniform support. Easy to use, the sawdust is suitable for automated scrapers and slurry systems, and provides an excellent and economical bedding choice.
Wood pellet fines are available in one tonne tote bags and bulk (walking floor) loads of approximately 25 tonnes. Wood pellet fines come from the fine particles and dust that are extracted from EN Plus A1 Grade wood pellets for heating appliances. As with their sawdust products, Miller Bedding’s quality wood pellet fines offer excellent absorbency rates which keep livestock cleaner and drier for longer. The pellets travel through a 3mm screen before being bagged which ensures all particles are less than 3mm. As the fragments break down when moisture hits them, you also get a longer lasting bed.
Miller Bedding also supplies economy, supreme and soft chip shavings in 20kg bales (48 per pallet). These kiln dried softwood shavings provide an economical and highly absorbent bed for all animal types and are increasingly used as an alternative to traditional straw bedding.
Recently, the Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute (AFBI) tested the company’s products and found that they compared favourably to other leading brands. The study found that Miller bedding products have the ability to inhibit bacteria and therefore don’t require lime to be effective.
“Recycled MDF or chipboard was being used as animal bedding locally until we came along. We’re able to source 100% natural sawdust and sell it for the same price all-year round. We’re currently developing a new purpose-built storage facility in our own yard to cater for our growing animal bedding business,” Glen adds.
Having started with just one vehicle transporting municipal waste to landfill in 2004, DA Miller & Sons (Transport) Ltd has gone from strength to strength since it began specialising in large volume bulk haulage using walking floor trailers, which are ideal for the recycling industry, in 2010. It now has a second depot at Ellesmere Port.
The dedicated recycling transport solutions provider operates large volume walking floor trailers which have a capacity of 110 metres (140 yrd3) with the ability to reach pay loads of up to 27 tonnes – even with lightweight material such as alloy wheels, farm plastic and dry mixed recyclables.
As a result, DA Miller & Sons is more cost-effective than the competition, transporting more material per load and therefore reducing the cost per tonne of transport. Also, as the material is moved with fewer loads, it reduces the carbon footprint of the recycling process, making the firm one of the most environmentally-friendly transport providers in the industry.
Recyclable materials handled include Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), dry mixed recyclables, sheer aluminium, stainless steel, cooper, alloy wheels, waste tyre and tyre crumb, sawdust, woodchip, waste paper, farm plastic, CRT glass, waste plasterboard, green waste and municipal waste.
Employing highly-trained and professional drivers, DA Miller & Sons prides itself on its courteous and friendly service, from enquiry to payment it aims to be as friendly and efficient as possible. It strives at all times to respond to quotation enquiries within 24 hours and be as flexible as possible to cater for the needs of its customers.
The company runs a modern fleet of 16 trucks, which are mostly DAF, 11 Knapen walking floor trailers, a 16ft Nugent triaxle trailer and a Krone curtainsider with tail-lift, which is used for transporting animal bedding. DA Miller & Sons introduced new blue, white and grey livery in 2012 which was updated in 2015. Employing 18 staff across their two enterprises, the Millers also have a Ford Ranger pick-up truck and a new Bobcat telehandler that is used for bagging wood pellet fines.
Miller Bedding / DA Miller & Sons (Transport) Ltd
330 Glenshane Road,
Claudy,
Co. Londonderry / Derry
BT47 4HP
Telephone: 028 7133 8383
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.millerbedding.co.uk
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 7 No 7, December 2019/January 2020
DA Miller & Sons, Miller Bedding
