MG Plant & Machinery Sales Ltd is celebrating 20 years in business. The company specialises in the sale and export of quality used construction equipment from most of the recognised brands in the market place, and counts many farmers among its customers.
Based in Swinford, Co. Mayo, MG Plant & Machinery Sales is headed up by brothers Martin (managing director) and Michael Gleeson (director). The family-run business has always had strong links with the farming community and actually started out as an agricultural machinery stockist four decades ago.
“We were originally known as Gleeson Farm Machinery,” Michael explains.
“Our late father Mick set up that business after returning home from the UK in the 1970s and it continued to trade successfully until we began specialising in construction equipment in the mid-1990s. We decided to rename the company at that stage to reflect our move away from farm machinery and into construction equipment.”
MG Plant & Machinery Sales was established to satisfy the huge demand for construction machinery in Ireland during the Celtic Tiger years. When the building boom ended, the Gleesons began exporting machinery such as trucks (tippers and tractors units), low loaders, dump trucks and excavators, mainly to the Asian market. This ensured the company’s survival during the recession which now appears to be nearing an end.
“It was either sink or swim,” Michael remembers.
“So we decided to start exporting, which now accounts for about 50 per cent of our business. There were a lot machines lying idle in yards around the country during the downturn and we were able to buy them and sell them on to customers overseas.
“Thankfully, the Irish construction sector is showing signs of recovery and our sales in Ireland have picked up greatly in the past 12 months. We have a nationwide customer-base.”
What also helped to sustain MG Plant & Machinery Sales during the difficult years was the support it received from the farming community. The company has and continues to supply farmers from all over Ireland with good quality used 6-12 tonne excavators.
“We have between 50 and 80 diggers in stock at all times, many of which are within a farmer’s budget,” Michael says.
“Because they wouldn’t get the same use out of diggers as they would from tractors, farmers can’t justify spending big money on a digger so they generally go for the cheaper and smaller ones which they use for odd jobs around the farm. We can also supply them with buckets and all the various attachments.
“We also get a lot of business from companies who specialise in land drainage and reclamation, and who depend greatly on farmers for work. So farmers support us directly and indirectly.”
While it isn’t a main dealer, MG Plant & Machinery Sales carries all the leading brands, including CAT, Case, JCB, New Holland, Daewoo, Hitachi, Kubota, Kobelco, Bomag, Dynapac, Hamm and Barford. Most of the excavators, dozers, dumpers, rubber-tyred machines, teleporters and peripheral equipment such as rock breakers and buckets are nearly new.
The Gleesons source their plant and machinery from all over Ireland, the UK and Europe, and are able to offer customers a cheaper alternative in an era when very few can afford to buy new. The brothers have built up a network of contacts in the trade and will endeavour to source any type of equipment for the customer, while ensuring they receive it as quickly as possible.
They are always on the lookout for new stock, and are willing to pay top price. One of the reasons why MG Plant & Machinery Sales has become Ireland’s leading supplier of used plant and machinery is down to the fact that it stands over everything it sells. Every machine sold is backed up with a warranty.
All products for sale are available to view on the MG website, www.mgplant.com
The company operates from a five-acre site in Swinford, which is only 10 minutes from Knock Airport (Ireland West Airport). A new store was opened on site in 2012 which stocks all accessories, including hydraulic hoses, fan belts, filters, pins, clips, lubricants and hydraulic rams.
Also on site is a yard stocked with machinery and a fully equipped heavy machinery workshop with fully-trained mechanical staff who carry out all machine servicing, repairs and spray-painting. In addition to sales and repairs, MG Plant & Machinery Sales offers a self-drive service. It employs 12 people in total.
Opening hours are from 8.30am to 6pm Monday to Friday and from 10am to 4pm on Saturdays. So, if you’re a farmer and you’re looking for a good quality used excavator or any other plant at the most competitive price, make sure to give the MG Plant & Machinery Sales team a call.
MG Plant & Machinery Sales Ltd
Old Dublin Road,
Swinford,
Co. Mayo.
Telephone: 094 9251209
or 094 9251930
Mobile: 087 2466111 or 087 6685466
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.mgplant .com
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 3 No 1, January/February 2015
