Farm engineering service

dextadave

Hello everyone just throwing this idea out their, or looking for advice what ever you call it
I currently work as a pipe welder but have a workshop on the farm at home, and have been thinking of setting up a mobile welding/engineering/repair service
I do an aray of this work for local farmers but woul like to go at it full time

So to you out their who do you call when you need new lines in the parlour, sheds modified, machinery repaired, or any farmer work like this in general

Just trying gauge if theirs interest in do it all men or do garages/ specialist dealers have the work sown up

I'm in the laois area by the way

_Brian

We would do most ourselves.
After that local small engineering firm oblige with anything "fancy" that needs doing. I worked with them for a while so can even get use of equipment if needed.

dextadave

I think a lot of farmer do try now days, I'd be more aiming at the dairy end really as I do stainless pipe work all day
Also devloping a rotary cow brush at the minute, trying to build a unit that's good as the rest for around the 1000 mark hopefully their will be a market

Sam Kade

Same here as I'm a cheapskate I do it myself

dohc turbo2

Anything structural needs ce marked , going to get strict , and expensive to do the course

Timmaay

Same here, do alot of myown, then again I am a qualified engineer ha. Abit like Brian I got a local engineering workshop who I know well and can borrow and use the odd bit of equipment. Having said that I know my limits (usually time), most the local engineering workshops will send out a lad to do any few bits on the farm if needs be. But if you got afew alternatives in the pipeline like the cow brush then it might be a runner. Actually on the cow brush, if you do commercialize it, I know of 2 different lads who got stung selling stuff through Glanbia, Glanbia refused to pay for anything until it was sold out of their yard, so they ended up badly stung for cashflow! Just keep that in mind if your dealing with them ha.

dextadave

Cheers for the advice lads
Yea the structural is very expensive to do its a good thing in a way, but it's been let to the county councils to implement a bigger shower of cow boys than the lot

Yea I think the cow brush should do well, think you really need new and creative products nowadays to stand out from the crowd

_Brian

I think most dairy stuff is done by the machine installers, I worked at it for 5 years and can only think one parlour where the stainless was done by someone else, and it was a pig of a job :cool:

I have to be honest with stainless welding experience you should be aiming at an industry that has deep pockets rather than farming..

Maybe sub in to some of the companies working in the dairy, food or pharma sectors, these pay well..