Shannon Valley Group, the civil engineering company owned by Mick English, has bought Ireland's first 552hp Fendt 1052. The 14-tonne tractor was supplied by Dublin-based dealer Farmworks Machinery, which said it is the largest Fendt in the country.
The machine is powered by a 12.4-litre, six-cylinder MAN engine producing 2,650Nm of torque. English said he decided to move up to the 1052 after first seeing it at Agritechnica. The company had already run a Fendt 1050 for three years, putting 4,000 to 5,000 hours on it, and was satisfied with that tractor.
Heavy-duty role
In service, the 1052 will carry a 3.5-tonne front weight and a 9-tonne hybrid stone-crushing and soil-stabilisation machine on the rear. English said he takes guidance from the manufacturers of those attachments when choosing tractors, and that they consistently recommend Fendt. He described the brand as the Rolls-Royce of tractors, while making clear that this was the equipment makers' assessment rather than his own.
English rejected the idea that a tractor of this size is mainly for show. He said the machine is worked to its limit when it is lowered into the ground to mill limestone boulders and hard clay, and that the whole tractor is pulled down in those conditions. In his view, more power makes the work easier on the tractor.
Family experience
English comes from Co Leitrim and has 35 years of earthmoving experience. Like many contractors, he has been involved with tractors from a young age. His father began with a Massey 35 in 1976 and later used a Massey 165, a machine without the luxury of a cab. English said that in 1970s Leitrim, a Massey 165 was the equivalent of today's Fendt 1052.
He remembers the family's 165 as a mark one model with round axles and a small Perkins 203 engine. He recalled climbing onto it at the age of three when it arrived in the yard and jumping off again in tears because of the noise when the throttle was opened. The family still has those tractors.
His father started the business in London in 1966, buying new JCB 3C diggers, and moved it back to Leitrim in 1970 with the JCBs and other equipment. Shannon Valley Group now operates more than 200 diggers, including a 75-tonne Hitachi Zaxis 690-7 bought in 2020, which was the first of its kind sold in Europe.
English said he will probably buy another Fendt 1052 next year.