Grant is great ‘tree-umph” for Islandmagee business

An arboriculture business in Islandmagee has been able to expand its services following a grant of £50,000 from the Rural Development Programme.

SPR McGowan Tree Services is a well-established business owned by Stephen McGowan, who provide a range of services throughout the North and South of Ireland.

This includes tree felling and removal, tree surveys and inspections, forestry maintenance and thinning and land clearance for construction.

The core services of the business generate huge amounts of wood from felling trees that are deceased or damaged by weather.

The business where processing the wood manually in order to turn it into firewood however this was proving extremely time consuming, labour intensive and not cost effective.

With the approval of the £50,000 grant from the Rural Development Programme they have been able to purchase a firewood plant processor.

This machine will significantly reduce the manual process as it is able to take large lengths of broad diameter trunks and perform all the cutting and splitting automatically. It also incorporates bagging and crating.

This will allow for the utilisation of green waste obtained by the business and transform these into high quality firewood.

Speaking about the grant received and the benefits the processor will bring to the business, Stephen said: “The addition of the firewood processor has allowed my business to responsibly recycle waste timber.

“This means that I am able to convert into firewood more efficiently and expand my business.

“I would like to thank the Mid & East Antrim Local Action Group (LAG) board, staff team and DAERA for the funding that was available to my business.”

As a direct result of the project, the business will employ a full-time and part-time process operative.

They also hope to export to the South of Ireland in the near future.

To find out more about the services of SPR McGowan you can contact them on:

W: www.sprmcgowan-treeservices.co.uk

T: 028 9335 3037