With over a quarter a century’s experience in the industry, Jim Breen is the man to consult when it comes to tree care and hedge cutting. Irish Tractor & Agri caught up with the Tipperary native to find out more about his renowned company.
Based in Foxfort, Co Tipperary, James Breen Tree Care and Hedge Cutting Ltd has established itself as a leader in its field over the past 30 years.
James himself has been involved in hedge-cutting and tree care since back in the days when he used to work for his father, gaining the experience necessary to eventually go out on his own and start up his company.
Better known as Jim by his family and friends, he has managed to build up a business which now boasts a glowing reputation in what it does, with tree and hedge cutting being its two primary functions for clientele.
“We’re based in Foxfort in Bansha, Co Tipperary,” Jim explained.
“I guess you could say that the family business is established 50 years now in total, back from the days when my father first started up an agricultural contracting business. I branched out on my own then 30 years ago hedge cutting and that’s the company that still exists today.
“At the moment we’re employing four full-time staff here and myself as well. My son James works with me, so it is still very much a family business, you could say.”
When Jim first went out on his own he primarily focused on local jobs. Over the years, his company’s ability to carry out a highly safe and professional service has helped them to earn a splendid reputation, which in turn has led to Jim gaining contract work with the Electricity Supply Board (ESB).
James Breen Tree Care and Hedge Cutting also carries out work for Eircom, Coillte, Tipperary County Council, Motorway Verge maintenance.
“I branched into work with the ESB and County Council and now most of my work is with the ESB, Tipperary County Council and Motorways maintenance,” said Jim.
“All in all, we’re probably working with ESB close to 25 years now. I’ve done past work for the County Council for about 15 years but we are working exclusively for ESB at the moment.
“What we do is mostly pruning trees, hedge cutting, long-reach services, cherry picker, wood chipping, tree removal and tree maintenance. We do verge and tree cutting for motorways as well, so we’ve a couple of tree surgeons, and the machinery you need for jobs that require a long reach.”
Jim’s line of work hasn’t seen him overly affected by the economic climate. It is, however, fairly dependant on the weather in many ways.
Stormy days in Ireland will lead to fallen trees and power outages and this sees Jim and his staff on call and heading outside, while others stay in, Jim and his crews goes to work with ESB to try and get the lights back.
For Jim, it’s the type of work he has been involved in all his life and he’s happy to report busy times as of late.
“Business is very good at the moment and the downturn didn’t affect us all that much,” said the Tipperary man.
“When the storms hit it brought up a lot of work for us and people need us to be there for them because they’re concerned about the dangers.”
As always, safety is paramount at James Breen Tree Care and Hedge Cutting and Jim explained that when it comes to this line of work, you need to have an ample safety record in order to get these contracts.
Jim and his staff have compiled a top level safety record down through the years and it’s one of the core reasons why the company is flourishing at present.
“The safety record comes into it big time,” he stated. “You have to have a safe system of working and all your lads working for you have to be trained up to standards to operate the machines.
“That comes into play at tendering stage for major contracts and you have to be able to prove you are a safe outfit. That comes back to your safety records and safety management system .
“There can be a very high risk with some of the machines we’re operating here, whether it be a cherry picker or a chainsaw.”
More than 30 years in business has saw Jim’s venture manage to build up a solid reputation, along with an impressive company fleet.
For his hedge-cutting, Jim uses Arbocut, which is Ireland’s leading brand when it comes to the manufacturing of hedge-cutting equipment. He also trusts heavily in the New Holland brand and operates a JCB Fastrac in his fleet as well.
“I have two long-reach saw machines – both of which are Irish built,” Jim explained.
“I’ve Ford, New Hollands and a JCB Fastrac; two wood chipping machines, four vans and a McConnell hedge-cutter as well. The fleet we have is a good size for the amount of work we have on right now and if it continues to get busier we will probably have to bring in some new machinery.
He added: “I find New Holland to be a very reliable brand. We used to have Zetor tractors here but ever since we switched over to New Holland we’ve stuck with them.”
The summer months tend to differ from winter for Jim in that he is mostly pre-occupied with power line clearing and verge mowing rather than hedge cutting and tree removal. He is happy to keep it that way too, so as they’re kept busy all year round.
2016 has been good this far for James Breen Tree Care and Hedge Cutting and their Managing Director is hoping for more of the same as the months roll by.
“The hope is to keep safe and keep going like we’re going at the minute. If we can do that we should be fine,” he concluded.
James Breen Tree Care and Hedge Cutting
Address: Foxfort, Bansha, Co Tipperary
Mob: Jim 086 260 4121
James: 086 821 5891
E-mail: [email protected]
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 4 No 3, March 2016
