This year, the National Ploughing Championships (NPC) ‘Machine of the Year’ award has been won by RT Sales Ltd of Castleisland, Co. Kerry, who has designed and built a new hedge cutter and a tractor mounting to go with it.
RT Sales Ltd is a new company formed by Padraig Teahan and his father in law, Johnny Reidy, who have been hedge cutting contractors for many years, and it is the shortcomings and issues they experienced with their current machines which got them thinking about building their own.
This gem of an idea was sketched out in 2019 and they now have around 10 machines built, with eight of them running as test mules in the Kerry area, with the NPC being the official launch of the brand.
Patented attachment from RT
Yet, it is not just the hedge cutter that drew the judges attention, the patented mounting system is a major part of the overall package and, according to Padraig Teahan, sets it apart from the competition.
RT has taken, which in retrospect was the obvious step, of using the tractors pick up hitch point as its major weight bearing location point.
By doing so, the unit becomes firmly fixed to the tractor without the need for axle struts, chains or other methods of connection.
This rigidity ensures that the flail head cannot move independently of the tractor, making the cutting operation far more precise.
It also overcomes the growing issue of modern tractors having fuel tanks wrapped around the rear axle, obstructing placing of the clamps, which are often used to hold the cutter body to the tractor.
The mounting also saves weight and can be used for other implements, with a mower being used to demonstrate this versatility in the innovation tent of the NPC this year.
Machine of the Year award
The Machine of the Year award does not set out to find which manufacturer has the greatest development budget, or can apply the greatest sheen to metal and plastic components.
Instead, the aim is to find which firm has brought the most helpful and farmer friendly device, machine or other piece of equipment to the market over the past year.
RT Sales Ltd would appear to be worthy winners of this competition, bringing hedge cutting manufacture to Ireland and creating a ground-breaking mounting system, all in the same package.