Lifting innovation in Monaghan

If your idea of a heavenly Christmas morning is a brand new Lego set strewn about on the living room floor as you carefully navigate the steps of the assembly manual, then your dream workplace might be closer than you think.

With a floor space that is three and a half times that of Croke Park (46,500sq m), Combilift in Monaghan is a design and assembly manufacturing plant that is a whole lot bigger than your living room floor. There are over 650 people employed by the company, which exports to 85 different companies worldwide.

The Combilift name might not be one that the Irish farming community is familiar with, 98% of what the company produces is exported. But farmers will be familiar with the “Moffett Mounty” truck, which may show up in your yard from time to time, on the back of a lorry delivering fertiliser or other farm inputs. Poultry producers may be familiar with the Combi-RT, designed for moving poultry.

Combilift’s CEO Martin McVicar grew up on his family farm and knew that he enjoyed the machinery aspect of farming. He arrived at Moffet Engineering for work experience one summer, where the Moffet Mounty truck was manufactured. Martin did his Leaving Cert and took a summer job with Moffet Engineering. Between being self-taught and completing some night courses, he rapidly progressed to the position of chief engineer. In 1998 Martin and Robert Moffet established Combilift and designed the world’s first multi-directional forklift.

Twenty two years later and there are very few warehouses in the world that have not heard of or bought at least one Combilift truck. Its inventions are patented around the world. Combilift is used by companies like car manufacturer Tesla and Norwegian roof manufacturer Pretre. The main selling point of Combilift is that its trucks can operate in tight spaces, allowing the user to increase the storage capacity of their warehouse by as much as 145%.

The company operates through dealerships worldwide. When a customer approaches them, Combilift’s team of warehouse and site planners will map out, free of charge, a plan of how the customer can maximise their storage capacity using various Combilift solutions.

Few Combilift trucks are identical to each other. There are different ranges such as the straddle carrier, aisle master and rough terrain forklifts. But each one is manufactured to order and customers will have different requirements for each one. This can be as simple as a different paint colour. It could be the inclusion of an air conditioned cab for a truck that is going to be used in hotter climes. Or it could be rollers along the bumper for warehouses with a guided track.

The point is, Combilift is a solutions orientated business and for that reason a culture of learning and education is a key ingredient. With that in mind the company developed a traineeship six years ago. It is a QQI Level 5, starting in September and runs until the following May.

“It became clear to us a few years ago that we were going to struggle to recruit people with the right experience going forward. So we teamed up with the Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board (ETB) to create this traineeship. It was the first industry-led traineeship and we have been putting a full class of 16 to 18 students through ourselves each year since,” Martin McVicar told Irish Country Living. “Within that course there is a huge cohort of school leavers taking part, but also people who have dropped out of college or even completed degrees and looking for a career change.”

Combilift was very involved in developing the course content; there are some modules delivered in house and there is a member of staff solely dedicated to co-ordinating the placements. Students are rotated through the different departments so that they get a well-rounded experience. Martin calls it the “Mechatronics” traineeship as students spend time in the mechanics and electronics departments mostly.

“Coming out of the course you have the option to apply for a job with Combilift and most take up a job with us. Those who complete it have a greater understanding of circuitry and how things operate,” says Martin. “One of our former trainees now operates the CNC Plasma machine, there’s one in diagnostics and one involved in delivering service training to our dealers all over the world.”

Apprenticeship

Developing the traineeship gave Martin and his team the drive to collaborate with other equipment manufacturers to create a four year apprenticeship. Combilift is involved in the “Mid Tier Engineering group” co-ordinated by Enterprise Ireland. The group found that they had a lot of similar skills needs that weren’t being met by the traditional craft apprenticeships.

“Over a two-year period there were 22 companies in a group that discussed the kind of apprenticeship we would need in order to progress with the times and modern technology. We developed a course around the needs of multiple companies and got it approved by QQI.”

The level 6 “original equipment manufacturing” apprenticeship was launched in January 2019 and there were 12 students in its first year; three of those are working with Combilift, others with Dennison Trailers and Alltech Keenan. It is currently running through Cavan and Monaghan ETB but there are plans to roll it out to the Limerick and Clare ETB. Martin believes that it is of value to businesses outside equipment manufacturing as well.

“I was down at the opening of a new Pöttinger premises in Clonmel in January and it was interesting to hear that their dealers in Ireland want to put mechanics on the apprenticeship as it is relevant to the after sale service.”

Martin is a strong believer in the value of apprenticeships and skilled labour, even through what may be a difficult period for the economy in the wake of the coronavirus.

“I’m convinced there is always going to be jobs for apprentices. You never see ads in the papers only looking for people with certain qualifications. Employers want skilled people with experience. As business owners, we want things to happen. We are not in the academic world writing white papers. Our apprenticeship programme is targeting students that are well able to get into college if they want to, it gives students a chance to earn while they learn. Not only that but they can live and work here in Monaghan without having to pay Dublin rent. When students pick out a career it has to be something you will enjoy and not be financially motivated. If you enjoy it, chances are you will excel at it and will go up the career ladder.”

When Combilift opened its new manufacturing plant in 2018, they took almost 100 careers guidance teachers on a tour of the facility to show them what manufacturing looks like today, the career opportunities it presents and that it is not all based in a dark and dirty shed. The scale of Combilift gives its employees the opportunity to travel the world while working for an Irish company.

“We are strong believers in making sure that local school students understand what businesses are in their area. Pre-coronavirus we had a school tour at 11am every Tuesday and we really work with fifth and sixth class primary children so that we can whet their appetite before they go into secondary school and choose their Junior Certificate subjects.”

Combilift also hosted the LegoWeDo project last year. Three primary schools came together to create working Lego models featuring motors and sensors on site. It has delivered continuous professional development (CPD) for engineering teachers, supported Coláiste Dún an Rí in Kingscourt to develop a transition year model and works closely with the junior cycle team in the Department of Education and Skills.

“We don’t make regular products, we design them from the ground up in order to solve a problem for a customer. Farmers are particularly good at this because they are forced to fix things themselves when the dealer is shut at the weekend, so they are usually mechanically minded. Even though I have all the computer design programs I could want, I still like to tinker with Lego to make up a model of a new forklift to see if it will work,” says Martin.

Just goes to show, even the grown ups can play with Lego.

The traineeship is a QQI Level 5, running from September to May. Applications are currently open and all applicants complete an aptitude test and interview with Combilift. For more details see combilift.com/en/training/

The apprenticeship is a QQI Level 6 carried out through a number of different companies. Applications are currently open, more details can be found at combilift.com/en/oem-apprenticeship/ or www.apprenticeship.ie

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