Civil engineering contractor Shannon Valley Group has bought Ireland's first 552hp Fendt 1052, a 14t tractor supplied by Dublin-based dealer Farmworks Machinery. The dealer describes the 1052 as the largest Fendt in the country.
The machine uses a 12.4-litre, six-cylinder MAN engine producing 2,650Nm of torque. Owner Mick English said the power was a main reason for upgrading after first seeing the model at Agritechnica. The company bought a 1050 three years ago and has put 4,000 to 5,000 hours on it; satisfaction with that machine led it to choose the new model, he said.
The 1052 will carry a 3.5t front weight and a 9t hybrid stone-crushing and soil-stabilisation machine on the rear. English said he takes advice from attachment manufacturers when buying tractors, and that they consistently recommend Fendt; he described the brand as the Rolls-Royce of tractors.
English rejected the suggestion that large tractors are merely for show. He said the 1052 is at its limit when working in the ground to mill limestone boulders and hard clays, and that having more power makes the work easier on the tractor.
English, from Co Leitrim, has 35 years of earthmoving experience. His father began in 1976 with a Massey 35 and then a Massey 165, machines without a cab. English said that in 1970s Leitrim, a Massey 165 was the equivalent of today's Fendt 1052, and that he still has those tractors. His father started a business in London in 1966 with new JCB 3C diggers and moved it back to Leitrim in 1970. Shannon Valley Group now has more than 200 diggers, including a 75t Hitachi Zaxis 690-7 bought in 2020, which was then the first of its kind sold in Europe. English said he will probably buy another Fendt 1052 next year.