In Ireland, we are big users of hedge cutters, but we import the majority of the machines we use. In fact, up to recently, AR Engineering Services, known for manufacturing the ArboCut range of hedge cutters in Kilkenny, has been the only Irish manufacturer of such machines. This is no longer the case, with Kerry company RT Sales Ltd now being the new kid on the block.
Based 8km from Castleisland in Co Kerry, RT Sales Ltd has evolved from RT Hedge & Tree Cutting Ltd, which was set up by Pádraig Teahan and his father-in-law Johnny Reidy in 2008. The name RT derived from both the founding members’ surnames.
Johnny Reidy bought his first hedge cutter in 1993, namely a used, 18ft-reach Arbocut. The machine was purchased to cut the hedges on his own lane.
From there, he began cutting for neighbours and the business grew steadily over the years. By 2005, Johnny was running three hedge cutters by day, and playing in his céili band by night.
Pádraig has always been involved in the business, but it wasn’t until work dried up in the construction industry in the crash of 2008 that he turned to the hedge-cutting work on a full-time basis.
The duo then established RT Hedge & Tree Cutting Ltd, which took on maintenance contracts with the likes of Kerry and Cork County Councils, Coillte and National Broadband Ireland.
Today, they run four hedge cutters with flail heads and one machine with a saw head and typically work for 50 weeks of the year.
Why did they design their own?
“We have always had various niggles with varying brands of hedge cutters, and always said we would like this changed or that tweaked. Some manufacturers were slow to listen, and one day we thought, why don’t we build a machine by contractors for contractors? In 2019, we decided to build our own flail head.
“The biggest problem we had cutting on road sides was picking up wire, which would get into the bearings. It was a nightmare to get it out. We came up with a design to put the bearing housing and grease nipple on the outside of the head, rather than on the inside.
“We then tightened up the spiral, which allowed us to fit two extra flails into the head, allowing for more overlaps and a neater finish.
“The rotor can also be removed on the ground by just opening five bolts, if necessary.
“We decided to build the industry-standard 1.2m head, which we are still using in our own business today. We are continuing to use 1.2m heads, but have the CAD drawings there to make bigger heads, if desired,” explained Pádraig.
The machines are being built by Coastal Precision Engineering in Ballyheigue, Co Kerry.
“After the success of the flail head, we decided to take into building a complete machine. We were very lucky to have Jerry Flynn, a retired engineer who spent all his life working with Liebherr on our team. We built our first prototype hedge cutter in 2020, just as Covid-19 was hitting the country. Using reputable components that we could source locally was top of our agenda. This was especially the case when supply of components was tightening during Covid-19.
Johnny Reidy and Padraig Teahan alongside his two sons Jamie and Alex.
“We wanted to be able to get our hands on replacement parts the same day, or latest overnight, so we decided to deal with Hi Power Limited in Cork for all of the hydraulic componentry and running gear. They sourced us Italian-built Bizarro gearboxes and the French-built Roquet pumps and motors, which are all tried, tested and proven.
“For our first machine, we decided to go with a 6.5m reach, which is the most popular size machine on the market. Putting an emphasis on the cooling system was important. The oil return line on the cutting head runs through the radiator.
“A thermostat on the return line activates the fan, to keep the system cool. We have fitted a three-times oversized radiator to ensure proper cooling. The machines are all equipped with 200l oil tanks.
“In the cab, we have opted for an electronic proportional CanBus control system."
“In the cab, we have opted for an electronic proportional CanBus control system. It runs at a lower pressure compared to servo joysticks. It has two thumb rollers, one for the head tilt and one for the slew. A click diverter allows the head tilt roller to operate the telescopic function,” said Pádraig.
What’s different?
“Our mounting system is unique to us. We wanted to create a design that allowed machines to be easily interchangeable between tractors, rather than needing axle brackets for varying brands of tractors.
“At first, we had two ideas. Firstly, to brace the hedge cutter via top links to the tractor’s lift arms. The second was to brace the hedge cutter on to the tractor’s hitch, which is the tractor’s strongest point. By removing the pickup hitch, you can slot in our unique hitch with two cranked plates, which pulls the hedge cutter down to the hitch. This acts like a stabiliser, and keeps the machine nice and steady.
“In the cab, we have opted for an electronic proportional CanBus control system."
“We think our design is a game-changer for putting on and taking off machines. With this design, two men would easily put a hedge cutter on a tractor in under 10 minutes. When we had the design completed, we were advised to go for a patent, and successfully secured a patent for this mounting system on all implements, for Ireland, the UK and all of Europe.
“We are currently hoping to secure a worldwide patent for the system. We have fabricated the mounting system for several rear-side mounted mowers, which has drastically improved stability. This is also something we will be looking closely at going forward,” explained Pádraig.
The 1.2m rotor can also be removed on the ground by just opening five bolts, if necessary.
At present, the RT ProArm hedge cutter range comes in three models.
This includes the RT ProArm JA 2118, RT ProArm JA 2120 and the flagship RT ProArm JA 2122T.
The machines are all equipped with 200l oil tanks.
The “JA” comes from Pádraig’s two sons, Jamie and Alex, the “21” represents the year of production of the first machine, the reach in feet is next and the “T” stands for telescopic.
The JA 2118 and the JA 2120 are fixed-arm hedge cutters with 18ft and 20ft reaches, while the JA 2122T is a telescopic hedge cutter with 18ft to 22ft reach.
The firm has confirmed to the Irish Farmers Journal that an RT ProArm JA 2124T telescopic model is being designed, which extends 24ft.
The JA 2118 (18ft fixed) is priced at €34,000 plus VAT, the JA 2120 (20ft fixed) is priced at €36,000 plus VAT and the JA 2122T (22ft telescopic) is priced at €38,000 plus VAT.
The JA 2118 (18ft fixed) is priced at €34,000 plus VAT, the JA 2120 (20ft fixed) is priced at €36,000 plus VAT, the JA 2122T (22ft telescopic) is priced at €38,000 plus VAT and the 2124T (24ft telescopic) is estimated to be priced at €40,000 plus VAT.
RT designed the head in 2019.
“Our pricing isn’t any cheaper than the other machines in the market, but we are bringing a machine that is tried and tested by contractors in tough Irish conditions.
“We are using all premium componentry and have put a big effort into solving problematic areas,” said Pádraig.
The machines are being built by Coastal Precision Engineering in Ballyheigue, Co Kerry. Current production is two machines per month, but Pádraig noted that the company is moving into a new factory, so they have plans in place to ramp up production in the short term.
The company is planning on turning out four machines per month from the middle of next year.
The painting work is currently outsourced to a company in Killarney.
Pádraig said that all steel is shot-blasted, primed and painted with two-pack paint.
They noted that the orange-and-black colour scheme was selected because it stands out, which is something they wanted their machine to do.
"We have currently sold 10 machines, and have a further four on order."
“We brought the machines to the market locally last year. We have currently sold 10 machines, and have a further four on order. Templetuohy Farm Machinery (TFM) was the first main dealer to come on board with us last year and Corbett Machinery in Mallow followed shortly afterwards.
“We have had another six or seven dealers contact us since, but we are waiting to ramp up production before we take on too many dealers. From there, we plan on breaking into the UK market,” concluded Pádraig.
In Ireland, we are big users of hedge cutters, but we import the majority of the machines we use. In fact, up to recently, AR Engineering Services, known for manufacturing the ArboCut range of hedge cutters in Kilkenny, has been the only Irish manufacturer of such machines. This is no longer the case, with Kerry company RT Sales Ltd now being the new kid on the block.
Based 8km from Castleisland in Co Kerry, RT Sales Ltd has evolved from RT Hedge & Tree Cutting Ltd, which was set up by Pádraig Teahan and his father-in-law Johnny Reidy in 2008. The name RT derived from both the founding members’ surnames.
Johnny Reidy bought his first hedge cutter in 1993, namely a used, 18ft-reach Arbocut. The machine was purchased to cut the hedges on his own lane.
From there, he began cutting for neighbours and the business grew steadily over the years. By 2005, Johnny was running three hedge cutters by day, and playing in his céili band by night.
Pádraig has always been involved in the business, but it wasn’t until work dried up in the construction industry in the crash of 2008 that he turned to the hedge-cutting work on a full-time basis.
The duo then established RT Hedge & Tree Cutting Ltd, which took on maintenance contracts with the likes of Kerry and Cork County Councils, Coillte and National Broadband Ireland.
Today, they run four hedge cutters with flail heads and one machine with a saw head and typically work for 50 weeks of the year.
Why did they design their own?
“We have always had various niggles with varying brands of hedge cutters, and always said we would like this changed or that tweaked. Some manufacturers were slow to listen, and one day we thought, why don’t we build a machine by contractors for contractors? In 2019, we decided to build our own flail head.
“The biggest problem we had cutting on road sides was picking up wire, which would get into the bearings. It was a nightmare to get it out. We came up with a design to put the bearing housing and grease nipple on the outside of the head, rather than on the inside.
“We then tightened up the spiral, which allowed us to fit two extra flails into the head, allowing for more overlaps and a neater finish.
“The rotor can also be removed on the ground by just opening five bolts, if necessary.
“We decided to build the industry-standard 1.2m head, which we are still using in our own business today. We are continuing to use 1.2m heads, but have the CAD drawings there to make bigger heads, if desired,” explained Pádraig.
The machines are being built by Coastal Precision Engineering in Ballyheigue, Co Kerry.
“After the success of the flail head, we decided to take into building a complete machine. We were very lucky to have Jerry Flynn, a retired engineer who spent all his life working with Liebherr on our team. We built our first prototype hedge cutter in 2020, just as Covid-19 was hitting the country. Using reputable components that we could source locally was top of our agenda. This was especially the case when supply of components was tightening during Covid-19.
Johnny Reidy and Padraig Teahan alongside his two sons Jamie and Alex.
“We wanted to be able to get our hands on replacement parts the same day, or latest overnight, so we decided to deal with Hi Power Limited in Cork for all of the hydraulic componentry and running gear. They sourced us Italian-built Bizarro gearboxes and the French-built Roquet pumps and motors, which are all tried, tested and proven.
“For our first machine, we decided to go with a 6.5m reach, which is the most popular size machine on the market. Putting an emphasis on the cooling system was important. The oil return line on the cutting head runs through the radiator.
“A thermostat on the return line activates the fan, to keep the system cool. We have fitted a three-times oversized radiator to ensure proper cooling. The machines are all equipped with 200l oil tanks.
“In the cab, we have opted for an electronic proportional CanBus control system."
“In the cab, we have opted for an electronic proportional CanBus control system. It runs at a lower pressure compared to servo joysticks. It has two thumb rollers, one for the head tilt and one for the slew. A click diverter allows the head tilt roller to operate the telescopic function,” said Pádraig.
What’s different?
“Our mounting system is unique to us. We wanted to create a design that allowed machines to be easily interchangeable between tractors, rather than needing axle brackets for varying brands of tractors.
“At first, we had two ideas. Firstly, to brace the hedge cutter via top links to the tractor’s lift arms. The second was to brace the hedge cutter on to the tractor’s hitch, which is the tractor’s strongest point. By removing the pickup hitch, you can slot in our unique hitch with two cranked plates, which pulls the hedge cutter down to the hitch. This acts like a stabiliser, and keeps the machine nice and steady.
“In the cab, we have opted for an electronic proportional CanBus control system."
“We think our design is a game-changer for putting on and taking off machines. With this design, two men would easily put a hedge cutter on a tractor in under 10 minutes. When we had the design completed, we were advised to go for a patent, and successfully secured a patent for this mounting system on all implements, for Ireland, the UK and all of Europe.
“We are currently hoping to secure a worldwide patent for the system. We have fabricated the mounting system for several rear-side mounted mowers, which has drastically improved stability. This is also something we will be looking closely at going forward,” explained Pádraig.
The 1.2m rotor can also be removed on the ground by just opening five bolts, if necessary.
At present, the RT ProArm hedge cutter range comes in three models.
This includes the RT ProArm JA 2118, RT ProArm JA 2120 and the flagship RT ProArm JA 2122T.
The machines are all equipped with 200l oil tanks.
The “JA” comes from Pádraig’s two sons, Jamie and Alex, the “21” represents the year of production of the first machine, the reach in feet is next and the “T” stands for telescopic.
The JA 2118 and the JA 2120 are fixed-arm hedge cutters with 18ft and 20ft reaches, while the JA 2122T is a telescopic hedge cutter with 18ft to 22ft reach.
The firm has confirmed to the Irish Farmers Journal that an RT ProArm JA 2124T telescopic model is being designed, which extends 24ft.
The JA 2118 (18ft fixed) is priced at €34,000 plus VAT, the JA 2120 (20ft fixed) is priced at €36,000 plus VAT and the JA 2122T (22ft telescopic) is priced at €38,000 plus VAT.
The JA 2118 (18ft fixed) is priced at €34,000 plus VAT, the JA 2120 (20ft fixed) is priced at €36,000 plus VAT, the JA 2122T (22ft telescopic) is priced at €38,000 plus VAT and the 2124T (24ft telescopic) is estimated to be priced at €40,000 plus VAT.
RT designed the head in 2019.
“Our pricing isn’t any cheaper than the other machines in the market, but we are bringing a machine that is tried and tested by contractors in tough Irish conditions.
“We are using all premium componentry and have put a big effort into solving problematic areas,” said Pádraig.
The machines are being built by Coastal Precision Engineering in Ballyheigue, Co Kerry. Current production is two machines per month, but Pádraig noted that the company is moving into a new factory, so they have plans in place to ramp up production in the short term.
The company is planning on turning out four machines per month from the middle of next year.
The painting work is currently outsourced to a company in Killarney.
Pádraig said that all steel is shot-blasted, primed and painted with two-pack paint.
They noted that the orange-and-black colour scheme was selected because it stands out, which is something they wanted their machine to do.
"We have currently sold 10 machines, and have a further four on order."
“We brought the machines to the market locally last year. We have currently sold 10 machines, and have a further four on order. Templetuohy Farm Machinery (TFM) was the first main dealer to come on board with us last year and Corbett Machinery in Mallow followed shortly afterwards.
“We have had another six or seven dealers contact us since, but we are waiting to ramp up production before we take on too many dealers. From there, we plan on breaking into the UK market,” concluded Pádraig.
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