BY JESSICA SHINE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

As we were headed into bike week , we jumped over to Ireland to meet a client aiming to establish U . S . distribution . What a cool story came from that ! Quad-X makes ATV and UTV attachments for agriculture , homesteaders , and ground care … but it did not start out that way .

THE IRISH MADE FX 300 The owner and managing director , Sean Blaney , built custom race quads and dirt bikes as a young man . While he was passionate and enjoyed what he did , his father helped him to realize that it probably was not a sustainable future to leave a legacy for his family , so he began making equipment for farmers to use and attach to ATVs and UTVs . Manufacturing began over 30 years ago with sowers , livestock trailers , sprayers , booms and yard scrapers , expanding into a larger range of quad equipment including herbicide applicators , mowers and other specialized equestrian equipment .

Quad-X is a leading manufacturer of quad accessories in Europe , offering over 140 attachments for ground care , grass care and livestock care . When we visited the factory , the assembly team was finalizing a large container order of weed wipers bound for Australia .

Quad-X comes from humble beginnings and is built on an ethos of clever design

and quality craftsmanship . And with three decades of engineering experience , the brand continues to develop across the world .

We had a great time touring the facilities and watching the products in use . The home on the property is where Blaney was born and is still occupied by his family today . Situated in lush countryside , Quad-X headquarters boasts ample grounds for the equipment testing . It is easy to see how the strong Irish grass and difficult terrain have made for proven , reliable machinery .

Where is Quad-X today ? The company shares it is driven by ingenuity . Most of the company ’ s R & D team are from an agricultural background . And coupled with their professional engineering qualifications , ensure that those involved in product development understand the problems customers face and the importance of simple to use , easy to fit , robust , reliable and ultimately competitively priced attachments .

A couple of examples of its latest innovations include the Weed Wipeout 2 ( shown in photo , lower right ). The world ’ s first intelligent weed control system for ATVs / UTVs which accurately detects when weeds are present and automatically reapplies chemical when required , removing the need for guesswork , leaving the user free to drive .

The Wipeout kills weeds , yet leaves the grass untouched which significantly reduces chemical use , resulting in a cost savings and minimal environmental impact . It features

The Commercial Flail Mower takes down weeds and mulches them finely to boost grass growth for animal grazing .

Sean Blaney built and raced custom “ Quads ” before starting his company Quad-X .

Quad-X recently acquired a piece of history . The gear cutting machine was used by the ship builders who built the Titanic .

include dual rollers that rotate in opposite directions for optimum chemical application and a 97 % reduction in chemical use compared to traditional sprayers .

This sophisticated technology maximizes efficiency in weed control , by detecting and automatically targeting weeds , applying chemicals to the underside of the leaf for better results than boom spraying with options for application in grassland or row crop farming .

The Commercial Flail Mower ( above ) takes down weeds and mulches them finely to boost grass growth for animal grazing .

Quad-X offers an extensive range of durable and innovative machinery . Almost all metal components for attachments are made in its factories to ensure high quality , reliable machines that are made tough . The machinery used for production is equally remarkable . One particular machine holds its own unique story . The machine featured in the photo ( above left ) was acquired by Blaney as part of a larger purchase from a specialist gear manufacturing company , and a full set of machinery . It was originally used in a little old British shipbuilding company , called Harland & Wolff . If you ’ re not a history enthusiast , then you wouldn ’ t be expected to know that this was the company that built the Titanic . The long and the short of it … The machinery made some of the transmission gears on the Titanic and now sits in the Quad-X building . We thought that was pretty cool . Especially since we had just visited the Titanic exhibit in Belfast a day before our visit .

We have been showing the Quad-X product range to dealers all over for the past

Quad-X fabrication facilities are still on the active family farm so we had time to make some new friends !

12−18 months , and there has been a lot of interest . We are working to get importers set up in the U . S ., so interested parties are welcome to contact us for more information . It is a fantastic opportunity for pro-active distributors to represent the extensive Quad-X range in U . S .

Blaney told us that Quad-X offers some of the largest and most innovative agriculture equipment for ATVs and UTVs anywhere . These vehicles make perfect workhorses that can be teamed up with Quad-X equipment for use by homesteaders , small farmers and groundcare professionals alike .