Ktwo trailers was founded by Terry Kelloway at Haddenham in Buckinghamshire in 1988 and it was four years later that the young company started making muck spreaders, a product for which it is now best known.
Fast forward to 2019 and the purchase of Warwick trailers in Hampshire, a decision that appeared to be perfectly logical at the time, offering as it did, extra capacity when space was running short at the original site.
Unfortunately, this purchase and the associated investment in manufacturing equipment coincided with a quiet trading period and despite the uptick in business during the Covid-19 period, the bank appeared determined to foreclose, despite Terry being able to organise alternative financial arrangements.
Redrock to the rescue
In April of this year the business was placed in receivership and was eventually purchased as a going concern by Redrock Machinery of Armagh.
It is now run as a self-contained brand within the Redrock company with many of the same staff still in place and the reputation for a top-of-the-market product intact.
Indeed, there has been no adjustment to the quality and the spreaders are still offered as a premium machine with no changes to the specification of components or manufacturing standards.
Terry, who, in theory at least, should have retired some years ago, has come to accept the turnout of events and is content to see that jobs were saved and he has retained ownership of the Buckinghamshire premises.
Ktwo quality
At the Tullamore Show in Co. Offaly yesterday (Sunday, August 11), the company had a range of spreaders on display with the Ktwo Bio 1600 being the benchmark unit as far as specification is concerned.
The Bio range has horizontal beaters which tear the muck from the rear of the trailer and drops it onto two spinning plates, which, the company claims, can give a spreading width of over 50m.
The gear boxes and other transmission elements on this 16t spreader are all from Rogelberg, which is claimed to be the top manufacturer of these items, while everything else about its construction appears to be heavy duty and robust.
Loading height is 2.46m and the minimum power requirement is 160hp, although, given its weight and the chance of it being taken on to softer ground in Ireland, it may be wiser to have a little more available.
For the time being, the Ktwo brand will be kept apart from the Redrock range and is available alongside it from the same dealers here in Ireland.
