Need a new trailer? Look no further than the highly respected Morris Manufacturing Ltd of Enniscorthy, Co Wexford. Ken Morris and his employees would be delighted to hear from you.
Established by John and Joan Morris in the 1980’s, and now run by his son, Ken, Morris Manufacturing Ltd are experts in delivering custom built trailers. All Morris trailers are built to order at a purpose-built facility in Enniscorthy, just off the M11 in County Wexford.
Morris Manufacturing Ltd. designs, engineers and manufactures a full range of high-quality, bespoke agricultural trailers including grain/silage trailers, cattle trailers, bale trailers, low-loader trailers and dumper trailers.
“My father John comes from a farming background, and he served his time as a fitter/welder for years before starting the company in 1988,” Ken informed Irish Tractor & Agri when asked to trace the roots of the long-established company.
“We have two aspects to our business, as well as manufacturing a full range of agricultural and commercial trailers we also have a team or lads that provide services such as contract mechanical maintenance and factory instillations throughout Ireland. we have 12 to 15 lads constantly out on the road, doing factory maintenance for the likes of Glanbia, Red Mills and different animal feed companies. We also look after Murray Timber Products, Irish Country Meats, Gold star oils, Greenstar and Panda waste and other recycling companies.”
A metal fabricator by trade, Ken was reared in the family business before taking over the reins from the now “semi-retired” John in 2017. His younger brother Sean is also a member of the company’s 22-strong workforce.
Morris Manufacturing Ltd prides itself on quality workmanship and superior knowledge which enables it to provide its customers with service unmatched by their competitors. Using the highest quality equipment and materials on the market the Model County-based operation build made-to-order trailers.
“We specialize in bespoke trailers and do a lot of bale trailers for example,” Ken explained. “This year we’ve started manufacturing hydraulic side clamp trailers and they have proven to be very popular, in terms of safety and efficiency, with the customers that have purchased them.
“We have received an excellent response on that. We went back to anyone who bought one, talked to them and made sure they were happy with the trailer. There were one or two minor issues that were changed from the prototype and ever since then everyone is extremely satisfied with them.”
Customer satisfaction is paramount as far as Ken and the Morris Manufacturing Ltd. team are concerned.
“Customer feedback is very important to us. Getting the farmers / contractors feedback is what has developed our trailers over the years to make sure they are fit for purpose and do their jobs as good and efficient as possible. We spent a lot of time developing the first hydraulic side clamp trailer for example. There were other similar models being made but customers came to me and said the other models were ripping bales as the side bars we’re clamping the bales, so straight away we focused on designing our trailer to eliminating these problems. We spent considerable time designing to get the angles right so it was only squeezing the bales not trying to lift them and rip the plastic for wrap bales. That was a key thing, getting it right so we spent a lot of time on the first prototype, trial and error, getting it 100% right. We succeeded in eliminating that particular problem and all the customers were very happy with the results.”
Ken added: “We like dealing direct with the customers and getting their feedback. We place a big emphasis on after service and we’ll stand over everything that we make. If there’s a problem with anything we’ll always sort it but thankfully problems are rare, everything is built and finished to the highest standards.”
Morris’ trailers can be found far and wide and there are ambitious plans in the pipeline for further expansion.
“We sell all over Ireland and we have established a long list of loyal customers,” Ken commented. “I took over the company in 2017, we have a very well organized workshop and all the machinery to do it, so I decided to push and invest into the trailer end of the company.
“Ever since, demand has been growing and customer satisfaction growing. We recently extended the workshop, put in a new blasting and spraying line. We have upgraded machines, such as CNC break presses and CNC plasma all updated to make the process more efficient and, obviously, allows us to get the product to the highest quality possible.
“My father started here, in a garage off the house and has expanded and expanded ever since. Now we have three main work areas and the blasting and spraying line is a fourth set-up. Last year we opened up another bay and put in a 3rd gantry crane in the main workshop to handle the volume of products and increase our efficiency. Having all the machines makes everyone’s job easier and an excellent end product.
“Orders are continuous and the future is looking positive. We plan to continue to invest in the company as we move forward. The plan is to grow year on year. We recently started doing grain and silage trailers again having not done them for the last 10 years. Now that the workshop is set up and with the new machines, it is feasible to do them again.
“We don’t have any dealers at the moment but it’s a route we would like to go down. We sell a lot of trailers in the west and a lot of people don’t want to travel the distance that is involved. We’re contemplating with the idea of maybe getting three or four dealers around the country just to save people travelling to look at trailers. Exporting is something we intend to look at as well and we hope to do that moving forward.”
I would like to thank all our loyal customers through the years and look forward to working with new customers.
To find out more about Morris Manufacturing Ltd’s products and services, give Ken a call on the number below.
Morris Manufacturing Ltd
Tomahurra
Enniscorthy
Co. Wexford
Eircode Y21 HN83
Phone: 087 654 7164
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.morristrailers.ie
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 8 No 4, December 2020
