Celebrating 50 years in business this coming January, SM McKee Ltd is a leading supplier of products and services to dairy farmers in Northern Ireland. The family-run business is a main supplier of Fullwood milking equipment, including the Fullwood Merlin Robotic milking system which is attracting more interest than ever.
Established by the late Sam McKee, SM McKee Ltd is now run by his sons Angus and David with the help of David’s wife Elsie. The Moneyreagh, Co. Down-based company employees eight staff, including four milking machine engineers, and is a one-stop shop for all your milking requirements.
“We supply everything that the dairy farmer needs,” David McKee says.
“We cater for everything from the supply, installation and servicing of milking machines to the supply of milk tanks, heat recovery systems, dairy spares and consumables. We have a large and loyal customer-base throughout Northern Ireland and won’t be beaten on service, quality and value-for-money.”
Milking automation’s growing popularity means this is an exciting time for the long-established dairy engineering specialist which is an exclusive supplier of Fullwood Merlin Robotic milking systems in Northern Ireland. Every Merlin is constructed of heavy duty, high quality steel. You can expect totally reliable, 24-hour performance from the Merlin which is recognised as having the best capacity in the industry with an average of 2.8 milkings per cow each day.
“The robots have really taken off in the last two years,” he continues.
“Many farmers see them as the future of milking. They offer higher efficiency compared to conventional milking systems and reduced labour hours and costs. They also increase milking frequency and can collect valuable data and information like the individual cow milk production, the quality of the milk, cow activity and cow rumination data. On top of that, less water and cleaning chemicals tend to be used with the robotic milkers.”
The Fullwood Robotic Slurry Scraper is also becoming increasingly popular with dairy farmers. It is suitable for use within any size of cubicle housing with slatted passageways. The scraper, which is fitted with high capacity batteries for long working intervals, operates at a speed of 4.0 to 5.5 metres per minute, enabling it to cover large areas with ease. It is available with blades from 1 metre or 2.1 metres wide and can cover an area of 5,800 or 10,000 square metres per day respectively.
In addition, SM McKee Ltd supplies a range of process control equipment and software which measure yield, conductivity, temperature, blood, pedometer activity, animal weight and feed intake.
Fullwood is a household name in the design and manufacture of milking systems. It has been supplying the dairy industry with all types of solutions from conventional herringbone, parallel and rotary parlours to the very latest automated milking robots for over 70 years. With a complete range of milking systems and herd management tools, Fullwood has helped farmers in more than 80 countries to maximise the productivity and profitability of their dairy businesses.
While there is a growing market for robots, conventional milking systems remain popular with Northern Ireland’s dairy farmers.
“The decision comes down to cow numbers, the labour aspect and the layout of the farm when a farmer is thinking of whether or not to invest in a robotic system,” David says.
“We only recommend what is best for the customer. Most farmers know what they want, but we’re happy to offer advice if they need it. We want what’s best for the farmer. That relationship starts at the point of installation. We pride ourselves on our aftersales service, which kept us busy during the recession. Our aftersales service and the quality of our equipment are second to none.”
SM McKee Ltd was responsible for the supply and installation of a Fullwood 32:32 milking parlour with handling facilities specifically designed with student education in mind at Greenmount College near Antrim town. The state-of-the-art dairy unit also provides “best in class” demonstration facilities to address issues such as greenhouse gas mitigation measures, cow management and welfare, environmental best practice and legislation, labour and energy efficiency and IT adoption (including data capture).
The Cafre unit was officially opened in June 2013 when over 1,000 farmers and visitors attended a series of Open Days to view the facilities.
Apart from Fullwood, SM McKee Ltd are agents for Kilco, Cotswold, Dairy Spares, Deosan, Kingston, Rutland Electric Fencing, Agroserve, Provita Hoofsure, Endurance and Diversey. In addition, the Refcom-registered company supplies spares for Fabdec milk tanks and Gascoigne Melotte milking equipment.
“We carry a large stock of consumables like Kilco and Deosan chemicals. Hygiene is vital for optimum performance in every dairy herd.”
David concludes by thanking SM McKee’s customers for their business over the past half century.
“We very much appreciate their loyalty and continued support. It’s all about the customer for us and giving them the best service we possibly can. We are with them every step of the way.”
SM McKee Ltd
Unit 7,
Maryland Industrial Estate,
Ballygowan Road,
Moneyreagh,
Co. Down BT23 6BL.
Telephone: 028 90449099
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.smmckee.com
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 4 No 8, October 2016
