Located in Tullylease, straddling the Cork-Limerick border, Mike Collins has been operating his own full-time agricultural contracting business since 2004. Focusing on baling, hedge-cutting, slurry and low-loader work, Mike has two part-time staff.

Running four Valtra tractors, Mike has been hedge-cutting since 2016, when he purchased a used Arbocut machine from Pádraig Teahan in Co Kerry. This purchase sparked a friendship between the two, as hedge-cutting and machine maintenance advice often changed hands between the duo.

Roll the clock forward a few years, and Pádraig and his father-in-law Johnny Reidy had just begun building their own hedge cutters. By then, Mike was in the market to upgrade his used Arbocut and upon seeing the RT machine, he decided to purchase the very first newly built RT hedge cutter offered for sale.

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“Around 90% of the hedge-cutting that I do is private work, mainly for farmers. I’m doing around 800 hours of hedge-cutting per year at present, so it makes up a nice percentage of my contracting business,” said Mike.

Who is RT?

Based 8km from Castleisland in Co Kerry, RT Sales Ltd evolved from RT Hedge & Tree Cutting Ltd, which was set up by the duo. The name RT comes from both the founders’ surnames.

Johnny bought his first hedge cutter in 1993 – 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 céilí 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 2008 crash 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 continue to run four hedge cutters with flail heads and one machine with a saw head, and typically work for 50 weeks of the year.

The RT range

At present, the RT ProArm hedge cutter range comes in three models: the RT ProArm JA 2118, RT ProArm JA 2120 and the flagship RT ProArm JA 2122T.

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 22.5ft reach.

The firm has said it also custom builds machines to order, from machines with a 16ft reach right up to the RT ProArm JA 2124T telescopic model extending to 24ft, which is currently being designed.

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.

Machine design

RT said that its biggest problem when cutting on roadsides within its own contracting business was picking up wire, which would get into the bearings.

It came up with a design to put the bearing housing and grease nipple on the outside of the head, rather than on the inside. It then tightened up the spiral, which allowed it to fit two extra flails into the head, allowing for more overlaps and a neater finish.

The design allows the rotor to be removed on the ground by just opening five bolts, if necessary. RT decided to build the industry-standard 1.2m head, but has the CAD drawings to build bigger heads, if a customer desires.

After building its own flail head, the company built its first prototype hedge cutter in 2020, just as Covid-19 was hitting. It uses Italian-built Bizarro gearboxes and the French-built Roquet pumps and motors, which are all tried and tested.

Putting an emphasis on the cooling system, 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.

RT explained that it fitted a three-times oversized radiator to ensure proper cooling. The machines are all equipped with 200l oil tanks.

In the cab, it opted for an electronic proportional CanBus control system. RT says 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.

Mounting system

Johnny and Pádraig set out to create a mounting design that allowed machines to be easily interchangeable between tractors, rather than needing axle brackets for varying brands of tractors. They opted 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 the firm’s unique hitch with two cranked plates, which pulls the hedge cutter down to the hitch. This acts like a stabiliser, and keeps the machine steady. RT has successfully secured a patent for this mounting system on all implements, for Ireland, the UK and all of Europe.

“The mounting system is a game changer,” Mike says. “One day, I had an issue with my Valtra T120 which is my hedge-cutting tractor. In order to stay working, I had to swap it onto another tractor. You would genuinely swap the machine from one tractor to another within 15 minutes.

“Traditional-axle bracket mounting systems would take you a full day to swap between tractors. It’s a seriously well thought out design,” he added.

Machines at work

Despite building its first prototype machine in 2020, it was 2022 before the firm went to the marketplace.

To date, RT has 32 machines working throughout the country. The machines are currently sold through its two dealers, Templetuohy Farm Machinery in Laois (TFM) and Corbett Machinery in Mallow.

RT has recently teamed up with Samco Agricultural Engineering in Co Limerick, which will build the machines for RT. According to the company, it has teamed up with the well-known manufacturer to scale up production of machines, with views to soon began exporting units.

Verdict

“I bought the very first machine that RT retailed, it was a JA 2122T is a telescopic hedge cutter with 18ft to 22.5ft reach,” Mike explained.

“With the exception of one minor oil leak – which RT quickly rectified – the two machines I have purchased haven’t given me any issues whatsoever. The two machines were pretty much the same, with some slight upgrades and modifications on the newer machine. This included the move to some internal steel piping,

“The mounting system is a game changer. It’s so simple yet effective. It’s probably the stand-out feature for me. The cooling system is bulletproof and the machines are seriously well-built. They are strong. I always say that I’d rather be looking at it than for it, in terms of steel and build quality.

“However, in saying that, the machines aren’t overly heavy. I’m running it on a Valtra T120, which handles it no problem. Although neither my previous or current machine are too old, the paint work seems to be holding very well,” he said

“I’m a big fan of the machine, but the service RT offer is top class. They are only ever a phone call away, no matter what time of the day or night.

“If you need parts such as flails at 10pm at night, they will leave them out for you, nothing is ever a problem with them, and because they are in the business themselves, they understand how it works.

“Overall, I honestly can’t fault the machine, it’s done exactly what it’s supposed to do and I’m delighted with it. I will definitely be buying another one, when the time comes to upgrade,” said Mike.