Four young inventors from Mountcharles have won the Innovation Arena’s People’s Choice Award at the National Ploughing Championships 2018.
The IT Sligo Mechanical Engineering students built an ingenious ‘Monte Loader’ product which gained 25 per cent of the overall People’s Choice vote on the Irish Farmers Journal website and app.
The winning team members are: Patrick Masterson, Brian Griffin, Dylan McBrearty from Mountcharles and Cormac Donnelly from Donegal Town.
Monte Loader
The Monte Loader is a fully registered design and is universal to any tractor via the three point linkage. The loader can lift to a height of over three metres and is designed to safely lift one tonne weight. It is compact in size allowing it to tuck neatly behind a tractor and it is possible to tow a trailer while having the loader attached.
The Donegal based company, founded by Patrick Masterson is one of 50 companies exhibiting at the 2018 Innovation Arena at the Ploughing Championships, which opened today after Storm Ali cancelled activities on Wednesday.
James Maloney, Senior Regional Development Executive, Enterprise Ireland said: “Patrick Masterson represents entrepreneurial talent at its best, providing a concept which cuts down on costs and improves efficiency on working farms. We wish Patrick and Monte Loader all the best and Enterprise Ireland looks forward to working with him in the future.”
Eoin Lowry, Deputy Editor, Irish Farmers Journal said: “The Innovation Arena showcases the agri-technology that will help farmers both here and abroad to become more productive and competitive into the future. We are pleased with the overall response to the competition through the Irish Farmers Journal website and our Ploughing App. I’d like to congratulate Patrick and Monte Loader, an excellent example of the great possibilities that lie in the Irish agricultural sector.”
Anna May McHugh, Managing Director, National Ploughing Association said: “The strong levels of engagement in the Innovation Arena’s People’s Choice Awards this year is testament to the appetite from a digital audience to engage and promote Irish agri products and services. This award gives the public the chance to have their say and acknowledge the great work and innovation within the agri-tech sector that is being produced across the country. I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate Patrick and Monte Loader on the Award and wish him every success for the future.”