Close to 3,000 people attended the open days at Kellys’ Claas dealership in Borris, Co. Carlow to celebrate the company’s 60 years in business last weekend.
The open days for the sizeable family-founded machinery business, which took place between Thursday, March 9, and Saturday, March 11, were a “huge success”, according to Maurice Kelly.
Widely known as Kellys of Borris, the dealership is a certified Claas Harvest Centre and carries the full range of Claas agricultural machinery.
It is also an agent for brands such as JCB, Horsch, Smyth, Simba, Joskin, RMH, Redrock, Overum, Dieci, Kato, Kawasaki, McHale, Major and more besides.
The open days were a great success. We had some brilliant guest speakers. Our suppliers were on hand to talk to customers and we had a great selection of stock on offer.
“Ivan Yeats spoke at the event; he complimented the business and the commitment to after-sales service.
“He spoke briefly about Brexit, CAP and Trump, which people really enjoyed. But he told us that he believes it is important for farmers to invest in modern machinery and technology.
“He also said that, if investing, it is important to choose trusted brands that offer a good after-sales service,” Kelly added.
A lot of preparation had gone into organising the event. A new machinery compound was completed where the dealership’s stock of machinery had been laid out, he added.
A celebratory weekend
The open days were run to mark and celebrate the anniversary of the company, which also has a presence in both Abbeyleix in Co. Laois and Kilkenny, Kelly said.
Across the three sites, the business employs a total of 45 people, with the spare parts and service aspects of the business accounting for the majority of that number, he added.
“During the open days, we received an awful lot of goodwill. I have received a lot of text messages congratulating us on the event.
The open days were more of a celebratory event, but they have led to some commercial success. A lot of stock was sold over the course of the three days.
However, Kelly believes that, had it not been for a ‘critical formula’, the business would not have reached this anniversary.
“We have a great customer base, very loyal customers, as well as our relationships with suppliers.
“But those two ingredients wouldn’t work together without a strong group of staff, which I believe we have in abundance,” Kelly said.