While some trailer-manufacturing companies simply build and sell trailers, County Down based Herron Engineering goes that little bit further. Their recently-launched, innovative H2 range of grain and silage trailers is truly exceptional, while the specifications on their tankers are unrivalled anywhere on this island. We dropped into Herrons’ Castlewellan HQ to take a closer look at this market-leading operation which is celebrating 25-years in business.
A family business that was established by William Herron in 1989, Herron Trailers & Tankers is renowned across Ireland and the UK for providing high-quality trailer solutions to both the agricultural and construction industries. Herron Trailers offer a vast range of options to suit individual requirements and can build bespoke trailers to exact customer specifications.
William, who runs the operation alongside the rest of the team at Herrons, has come a long way in 25 years. This has been achieved by designing and manufacturing only the highest-quality trailers and by providing a growing list of customers not just with robust, manoeuvrable products but also by offering a superb back-up service.
William, who hails from an agri background, started making trailers for himself and now employs 25 people.
Today, Herron Engineering Ltd. (Herron Trailers & Tankers) is a market-leading manufacturer of agricultural, grain and silage, root crop, flatbed, dropside and dump trailers as well as low loaders, and vacuum tankers. Herron Engineering also provides a selection of quality second-hand trailers and tankers and carries a huge stock of spare parts.
When you focus on quality products and service, the rest will invariably look after itself… “Thankfully, we have experienced steady growth,” notes the company founder. “There has been a lot of change in the business down through the years and we now manufacture trailers and tankers for the export market, as well as focussing on our Ireland and UK customers.
“Traditionally, I would have built more or less exclusively for the island of Ireland but we now serve a worldwide market, with a lot of stuff going out of the country. They are all built here in the factory in Castlewellan.”
Turning out approximately 600 units per year, Herron Trailers & Tankers broke into the export market and currently export to Norway, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The factory is located adjacent to William’s home place. He built his first shed there in 1989 before erecting a much-larger facility in 2000 to accommodate rising demand for Herrons’ excellent range of trailers and tankers. In response to continued demand for higher quality products, Herron Engineering has constructed a new shot blasting plant allowing all the trailers to be shot blasted before being painted with the superior 2 pack paint. A further phase of expansion is also on the cards to allow the manufacturing side to facilitate higher production in the next year with new office facilities also proposed.
The workshop remains busy all year around. While the silage and grain trailers, tankers and bale trailers are comparatively seasonal by nature, the rest of the units are in demand pretty much twelve months of the year. The rise in exports to the southern hemisphere also decreases the seasonal element.
Herron Engineering’s trailers and tankers are renowned for their innovative design and unrivalled durability. The new H2 range of trailers is superior to previous models and outperforms all other makes on the market. H2 trailers have great manoeuvrability and are easily pulled both on the field and on the road. Boasting a slim-fit hydraulic door system and – as with all Herron trailers and tankers – available with wheels and tyres to suit the customer’s specific requirements, H2 trailers are available in three eye-catching colours – Herron Red, NH Blue or JD Green. The new shot blasting system and painting of 2 pack paint will allow a wider choice of preferred colour, usually to match the tractor.
Since day one, William has instilled an ethos of strong customer care into the business. To this end, a keen and friendly back-up service is provided including repairs, maintenance and spare parts, as well as professional advice and guidance.
When the recession brought the Republic of Ireland to a near standstill, Herron Engineering began to sell more into the UK and further a field to compensate for any loss of business. “The Republic of Ireland business is picking up again and we have sold into literally every county in the Republic,” William explains. “In Southern Ireland we have a network of dealers available and in Northern Ireland, we usually sell directly to the end user.”
Proudly situated at the high end of the trailer and tanker market, Herron Engineering builds only supremely high-quality units. The emphasis is on quality first and foremost and this is never compromised. All workers are highly-skilled and the core of the workforce has been there long-term.
A one-year warranty is provided on all products and Herron also produces a range of ancillary products with their tankers such as: trailing shoes/ dribble bars which directly break the surface of the ground (these are located on an A-frame mast just 50mm from the tanker, providing increased stability and manoeuvrability with their compact nature); Garda sludgigator pump, complete with rain gun; Ferrari sludgigator pump complete with DCI arm; 6 & 8” auto fill arms; overhead booms; dribble bars; the list is endless. There are wheel options and brake options available. Tankers range in size from 1,750 gallons to 4,000 gallons. Up to 2,500 gallon models come with a single axle, while the bigger ones have tandem axles and an option of steering axles. The wheels / axles are recessed on models with capacity of up to 2,500 gallons. All tankers are shot blasted and feature two-pack paint, full LED lighting and rotating beacons as standard.
Meanwhile, the superb new H2 range of grain and silage trailers are available in 14, 16 and 18-tonne sizes, all with five-foot deep bodies and hydraulic up-and-over doors; single multistage rams; LED lights and strobes, sprung draw bars.
These state-of-the-art trailers were launched during the summer of 2014 and they are engineered for strength, offering a multitude of benefits over the competition including modern design, superb manoeuvrability and high visibility for the operator. Options available with the H2 range are steering axles, air brakes, and various wheels, easy sheets for cover at grain and silage levels.
With this exciting new range of products and a proven track record for manufacturing premium quality trailers and tankers, Herron Engineering is well positioned to serve its growing client base at home and abroad for another quarter of a century!
Regarding his hopes for the future, William concludes: “We’ll continue to provide our customers with quality solutions and hopefully this will lead to an increase in sales both in Ireland and the UK and also into our export markets in Europe, and far beyond.”
The new H2 dump trailer will be launched in 2015. It will be built to the high standards and specifications that customers have come to expect. It will be available in 15, 18 and 20 ton models. It has a high lift door for clearance, low sides to allow access to smaller diggers and a wider bottom for stability. The usual options are offered.
All of the original H1 models of the Herron trailers are still being manufactured. The low loaders, available in 10 to 24 tons are manufactured in accordance with the new regulations in the Republic of Ireland. Performance is proven.
Herron Engineering Ltd
15 Herrons Road,
Leitrim,
Castlewellan,
County Down,
BT31 9SR
Tel: 0044 28 4065 0204
0044 7850 301073
Email [email protected]
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 3 No 3, April 2015
