40 Masseys bound for snow patrol at Dublin Airport
The contract to supply the machines is held by Holden Plant RentalsLtd. of Mullinavat, Co. Kilkenny, which sources the tractors from Suir Garages Ltd. in Waterford.
On hire
40 tractors are a welcome deal for any company and Eddie Lynch of Suir Garages is all set to meet the requirements of Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) this autumn.
However, the tractors are only on hire to the DAA for the winter period, which runs from the beginning of November up until April.
Come the spring the machines are returned to Holden Plant Rentals, which works in conjunction with Suir Garages to sell them onto farms in an almost new condition.
Regular start ups
Eddie points out that they are well looked after by the DAA, being started and ran once week while waiting for some snow to fall.
Should they have an easy winter then they will come onto the market with as little as seven or eight hours clocked up, and it is unlikely to be more than fifty, even with harsh weather being experienced.
All the snow blowers and dozer blades are owned by the DAA which mounts them onto the tractors themselves.
Blades and blowers at Dublin Airport
24 of tractors will be fitted with blades and 11 will have blowers. The larger machines are 180hp models and are equipped with a front linkage and power take-off (PTO).
The smaller 165hp models have front linkage only, for the snow blades, and are fore end loader ready.
Generally speaking they come with a good specification and are in fact purchased with the main aim of making them attractive to farmers after their spell at the airport.
When they are released for sale they will carry a 2023 registration and will still be covered by the full warranty, all at price which will compare very favourably with factory-fresh machines.
Make not specifieder
Although Holden Plant Rental held the contract last season and turned to Suir Garages to supply the tractors at the time, the go ahead was only given at very short notice, causing the companies to scramble around looking for machines.
This last-minute rush meant that not all the tractors on the contract were Massey Fergusons; some other makes were used, leading to the impression that the DAA has switched its allegiance this year.
Dublin Airport itself is brand neutral. Holden Plant Rental is required to supply a certain number and type of machine and they have established a good working relationship with Suir Garages, which is the main Massey Ferguson dealer, over many years.
Easily sold on
Eddie lynch points out that Massey Ferguson tractors are easy to sell with excellent backup due to their popularity throughout Ireland. He adds that many of this batch already have customers waiting for them.
The others are still there to be sold on a first come, first served basis, although they will not be available to collect for another six months.
Nonetheless, it is good to see that the first tractors that visitors to Ireland are likely to encounter upon landing this winter are those with such a strong association with this island.
