Midlands-based agricultural machinery firm Belmac Engineering hit an impressive milestone this year – with owner and founder Michael Gavin celebrating 35 years in business.
Based in Belmont, Co. Offaly, this now family-run firm has been growing steadily over the years, with its products becoming a more familiar sight both at home and abroad.
Speaking to Agriland about the journey over the past three and a half decades, Michael explained:
“We started 35 years ago, back in 1986; I’d been at it on my own from 1983 but I started up with another lad then and we grew it to where we are today. We set up the company [brand] then in 1987.
“At the moment we employ 17 people and we have markets in New Zealand, Iceland and the UK for our slurry handling equipment, and of course here in Ireland as well.”
While Belmac has a sizeable range of products on the go, ranging from agitators, diet feeders and rotary side-spreaders to post-drivers, 0-grazers and grass toppers, the slurry side of things is keeping the pressure on Michael’s team in recent times:
“Our main products for the last couple of years – because of the focus on low emission slurry spreading – is our slurry equipment: tankers, trailing shoes and dribble bars.
“We do retrofitting as well – that’s a big part of what we do.”
This is a far cry from the early days, with the main product back in the 1980s being grass toppers. However, it’s not all been plain sailing, as Michael notes:
“A big, big problem facing our industry is labour – we could probably do twice as much if we could get the skilled labour.
“No youngsters now want to do apprenticeships; there’s a bigger selection of jobs for them.
“I suppose engineering is seen as a dirty, physical job; there’s nothing too glamorous about it – but all the trades are that way, even in the building sector from the electricians to block-layers, all them lads, they’re gone very scarce.
“It’s mental out there – no matter what you’re trying to make now it’s very hard to get people to do it.”
This is in spite of the fact that such manufacturing roles can lead to rewarding careers with opportunities based on on-the-ground skill.
To combat this labour shortage, however, Belmac has built a new workshop, introducing computer numerical controlled (CNC) machines to up production.
“We bought a CNC fibreoptic laser; we’re getting it installed at the moment and a CNC press brake also. We have to move with the times,” Michael added.
In terms of other challenges witnessed over the years, he noted that the last recession hit the firm hard, taking about two years to recover from.
However, there has been significant progress along the way too, with the development of a 0-grazer back in 2009 an achievement in particular to look back on.
“Also, we have been at trailing shoes since back in the early 1990s. I actually thought it was going to take off then – but we were a little bit too early on it.
“We spent a lot of time developing it at the time but it’s only in the past four years that that thing has taken off again. We had to park it in between because there was no demand,” the Belmac owner recalled.
Asked about breaking into international machinery markets as an Irish firm, he said: “We just built up a relationship with distributors over the years; we get on fine and the product is good enough to work out there, so they’re happy enough with it and keep buying it.”
Quizzed about this attitude and record of thinking ‘outside the box’, Michael explained:
“If you stand still you’re going nowhere – you have to be thinking ahead.”
Looking to the future, he explained:
“We’re looking at putting in welding robots as well. The plan is to streamline the business and get it as efficient as we possibly can.
“The car industry and a lot of industries use those now. That’s what we’re looking at, to go the automation route.”
After 35 years – and counting – going strong, Belmac is showing no signs of slowing down – with opportunities aplenty on the horizon over the coming years.