Two of the best known companies in North Wales have joined forces in a new partnership.
Ifor Williams Trailers (IWT) has taken on Mona Tractor Co as a distributor for Gwynedd, Anglesey and down into West Wales as far as Tregaron, south of Aberystwyth.
Mona are the latest to sign up as part of the trailer maker’s 50-strong network of distributors across the UK.
IWT also has global reach with their market-leading products – made in their six factories in Denbighshire and Flintshire – being sold in outlets across Europe and as far afield as Australia and New Zealand.
According to Mona’s managing director, John Jones, the tie up made perfect business sense because of their overlapping interests and customer base.
Both are family run companies which were established at around 60 years ago.
John was raised on a farm, Cae Groes, in Ruthin, and his late father, Glyn, launched a farm contracting business before branching out into machinery sales and civil engineering.
The two sides of the business evolved into different companies, with John’s brother, Huw, heading up civil engineering firm Jones Bros.
Mona Tractors was formed in 1981 and now employs more than 40 people at three sites in Llangefni on Anglesey, Llanystumdwy in Gwynedd and Ruthin where they are also distributors for John Deere tractors.
It’s very much a family concern, with his wife, Susan, as finance director and son, Huw, running the Llanystumdwy branch.
In their new role with Ifor Williams Trailers, they have been appointed as their official distributor in North West Wales right down to the Tregaron area.
John said: “Becoming a distributor for Ifor Williams Trailers dovetails nicely with the kind of business we are and our existing customer base is a good match and something we can build on.
“We won’t be just selling agricultural trailers. We will be selling and servicing the whole of the range which includes trailers for every conceivable use. It’s very much a product our customers would want.
“Partnering with Ifor Williams Trailers is an excellent fit for us – they are a market leader just like John Deere.
“We want to sell the best quality products and Genuine Parts and Ifor Williams Trailers are the best at what they do and they have a global reach. You will see their trailers wherever you go in the world.
“They are on our doorstep and a proudly Welsh, family-run company like ourselves.
“The success of Ifor Williams Trailers has been built on making extremely robust and durable trailers that are brilliantly designed for the purpose for which they’ve been intended. Their reliability is second to none and their pricing is competitive.
Son Huw added: “I am really excited about this new partnership because there is so much potential to build on.
“I go to livestock auctions a lot and you just see row after row of their livestock trailers and we sell to farmers all the time so I always thought it would be great to be able to sell them.
“Every single farm has a couple, if not more, of these trailers, so it always seemed like the perfect product for us to sell and thankfully that has now come about .
“They have a fantastic reputation for product quality and reliability and this is a great way for us to evolve and grow as a business.
“By selling all their other products it’s creating a whole new market for us.”
Ifor Williams Trailers sales manager Lois Wynne is delighted that they have signed up Mona Tractor Co as a distributor.
She said: “Mona are a very successful company with a very professional approach to all that they do.
“They’re well-known for the quality of their customer service so in that regard it’s been an easy decision because they’ve given us so much confidence that they will look after our customers exceptionally well.
“It’s a really exciting partnership for everybody concerned and a great opportunity for Mona to continue to grow.
“What I also pick up with them is their strong family values and in that regard they have the same DNA as Ifor Williams Trailers, and it’s brilliant that it’s two Welsh companies working together to mutual advantage.”