Last year, Maxwell Concrete celebrated its 50th anniversary. The County Tyrone based company is renowned for supplying the agricultural sector with high-quality cattle slats, precast flooring and wall panels as well as a range of water troughs and collection tanks. We met up with Jonathan Maxwell to take a closer look at the success of this outstanding family-business.
A long-running business based on the outskirts of Castlederg in County Tyrone, Maxwell Concrete has established itself as one of the premier precast manufacturers in the province. Built on over 50 years’ experience the Maxwell family name is renowned throughout Ireland for producing high-quality agricultural products at competitive prices.
Founded by Craig Maxwell as a small quarrying business in 1963, Maxwell Concrete soon expanded, producing grant-approved cattle slats for four decades. In 2007, a new production line was installed within the precast division, highlighting the company’s commitment to producing a wide choice of agricultural precast flooring.
Customer satisfaction has always been of paramount importance and the team at Maxwell Concrete work closely with their customers to provide a product that fully meets their requirements. The fact that they are now in their 51st year – and have in some cases been supplying three generations of the same families -speaks volumes for their exemplary track record in consistently producing reliable and accountable solutions.
The prestressed division of the company opened in 2009, offering a wider and varied range of products including wall panels and grain dividers. The same year also marked the launch of their latest range of fast flow drinkers, with an innovative centre core pipe protection system designed around the general rule that water should be clean, fresh and readily available.
Today, the full range of agricultural precast products comprises the MEGA trough (which can facilitate up to 14 cows at any given time), fast-flow troughs (available from 100- to 300-gallon capacities), tractor weights, agricultural stock walls, single slats, field troughs, L-walls, retainer walls, passage slabs, support beams, cattle slats, cubicle bases, manhole slabs and safety slabs.
The award-winning company also develops a very popular range of precast tanks – silage effluent collection tanks and dirty water tanks.
Maxwell Concrete presents the Irish farmer with a varied and practical product range. Their highly-acclaimed cattle slat, available in 6-inch increments from 7 foot – 13 foot, is designed to meet the needs of beef and dairy farming and is developed in accordance with British and European standards.
At the manufacturing facility in County Tyrone, all products are produced in accordance with a rigorous quality management system, which guarantees customers an excellent product at all times. Only the highest-quality cement and aggregate goes into producing the entire range. Animal comfort and safety is important and no stone is left unturned in ensuring that products are 100% animal-friendly. And, of course, a happy animal means a happy farmer!
Regarding the genesis of the company, Jonathan Maxwell – son of founder Craig – notes: “My father would have started out in the quarry and making blocks for the housing market and he then developed into manufacturing agricultural slats about three or four years later. At first, the slats were in single wooden moulds but he then bought in new slat lines from Italy, having identified slatting as a market with great potential.”
Maxwell Concrete concentrated solely on the manufacture of concrete slats up until 2007. At that stage, Jonathan and his sister Kirstin took the reins and they began to make some changes:
“We recognised that we had to add new product lines. After the slurry tank grants for the slatting ended, we knew there would be a big lull in what we had been doing and that we would have to introduce new products if we were to keep our workforce together. We diversified into water troughs – from 15 gallon to 600 gallon, various types of wall panels, the silage effluent and dirty water tanks, and free-standing walls as well. Meanwhile, slats and cubicle bases are still a big part of our everyday work.”
In total, the family-run company provides gainful employment to a team of eight as well as generating considerable indirect employment. “We subcontract out all of our fitting and transport work,” Jonathan continues. “We used to operate our own fleet up until last year but we are much more flexible now.”
In terms of the catchment area covered, Maxwell Concrete provides its products throughout Northern Ireland and the border counties. “Traditionally, we would have covered the upper nine counties of Ireland. Now, while we still do some into Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal, most of our business tends to be here in Northern Ireland.
Looking to the future, Jonathan is optimistic that Maxwell Concrete will continue to go from strength to strength: “You have to keep moving. We have won awards for innovation and design down through the years and you have to always have your thinking cap on.
“We can stand alongside any of our rivals and are very proud of any product we manufacture. We provide a good product with a high standard of finish. Our slats stand the test of time and are generally still standing up to 40 years later – this in very hostile conditions.
“We use only the best-quality raw materials. Even though we are surrounded by local quarries, we use only Cookstown sand and gravel and Blue Circle cement. This ensures that we produce the highest-quality concrete products available.
“We stand over all of our work. We never leave a farm unless the farmer is 100% happy with the job. We realise that you are only as good as your last job and we treat every new job like it was our first one. Every job is a priority. Our ethos is that if you treat a customer right, there is a good chance he will come back and do business again.”
It’s been working for 51 years and counting…
Maxwell Concrete
22 Folliard Road, Castlederg, County Tyrone.
Tel: 048 8167 1326
Fax: 048 8167 1736
Email: [email protected]
www.maxwellconcrete.co.uk
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 2 No 2, June/July 2014
