O’Regan Plant Sales (Yanmar Ireland) took on the Yanmar franchise last June/July.
The business (based in Watergrasshill, Co. Cork) now holds the agency for much of Yanmar’s construction and agricultural machinery – for the whole of the Republic of Ireland.
Sales manager Stephen O’Regan explained: “We were previously a Terex-Schaeff dealer, but Yanmar bought that product line out last year.
“We brought the Yanmar machines to the National Ploughing Championships [September 2018] and we got an excellent response.
Our focus now is to show what these compact loaders are really capable of. We’ve already sold nine to farmers during 2018 [including some white-liveried Terex-Schaeff models]. They’re happy with the machines’ output and capability.
He went on to say that these loading shovels go from around 50hp to 100hp, with lift capacities of between 3t and 4.5t.
Stephen said: “These loaders have Deutz engines, hydrostatic transmissions, Bosch electronics, hydraulic quick-hitches and excellent visibility.
“There are package deals too, including shear-grabs, bale handlers and other attachments.
“Prices range from €42,000 up to €74,000 (excluding VAT) for the loaders we’re offering here in Ireland. That’s very affordable for German-built machines with two-year warranties.”
Yanmar Ireland will shortly be embarking on a series of demonstrations, in which one of the machines will be paired with a Tanco (loader-mounted) bale wrapper.
According to Stephen, this approach will have appeal for agricultural contractors.
‘Manned or unmanned’ tractors
Elsewhere in the world, Yanmar is busy selling tractors. Recently, it unveiled ‘autonomous’ machines – or so-called ‘Robot Tractors’ to use Yanmar’s own lingo.
It is also introducing a line-up of so-called ‘Auto Tractors’ – manned machines designed to operate with “minimal human operation”.
Operation and settings are controlled via a 10in tablet. This approach, says the company, allows one person to operate two tractors – as the tablet in the manned tractor can be used to operate an unmanned tractor side-by-side.
Because the positioning system is based on RTK signals – using two from global navigation satellites (GNSS) and a base station, it can supposedly provide information with “pinpoint accuracy”.
For more information please visit: www.yanmarireland.ie; or call Con O’Regan on: 087-2847594.