Irish mushroom farms investing in new EP equipment
Posted 03/06/2015
The mushroom industry in Ireland is acknowledged to be one of the best in the world. It is the largest horticultural sector in Ireland with a farm gate value of €112 million, of which close on 75% is exported to the UK. It employs over 3,200 people with potential for a further 300+ jobs in production and distribution plus possibly another 100 in added value developments. The success of the mushroom industry is largely attributed to the entrepreneurial spirit of the key stakeholders including marketer’s, growers, compost suppliers, the Producer Organisation CMP with the support of state bodies such as Teagasc, Bord Bia, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) and AFBI, Northern Ireland.
Clearlift Material Handling have just supplied two mushroom farms in Ireland with their new material handling equipment. The first mushroom farm McKenna Mushrooms are based in Tara Co. Meath and the second company Munster Mushrooms are based in Cashel Co. Tipperary. Both Companies supply their mushrooms to supermarkets throughout Ireland and therefore an important part of their operation involves the distribution of their product. The material handling equipment needed for both companies needed to be reliable and robust to meet their daily operation.
McKenna Mushrooms decided to hire an EP FD30T-NE98 Diesel counterbalance forklift along with an EP iMover powered pallet truck for moving pallets around in their store room. Munster Mushrooms decided to hire an EP FD25T-NE98 Diesel counterbalance forklift with a 4th function to enable them to use a special bucket attachment for tipping compost.