A legend of the Welsh farming community has hooked up with the UK’s leading trailer manufacturer in a new deal.
Entrepreneur John Dalton, a familiar face on TV programmes such as Cefn Gwlad and Ffermio, has signed up as a distributor for Ifor Williams Trailers (IWT) for a huge swathe of Mid and West Wales.
The father of five already heads up Dalton’s ATVs, at Talsarn, near Lampeter, and his sales patch for IWT takes in Newtown, Llangurig, Llanybydder and Llanarth.
He also runs the family farm with the support of his wife, Ffion, and 86-year-old mother, Margaret.
According to John, the agreement with IWT will bring a jobs boost and future proof the business for his children – Tomos, 15, Llyr, 13, Dafydd, 12, Mari, 10, and Erin, six.
He said: “I’ve got young children and I’m trying to think ahead.
“When you get an opportunity from somebody like Ifor Williams Trailers, it’s a real long-term opportunity and you have to take it. It’s like ‘wow.’ We’re really proud.”
“Their quality control is amazing, that’s why they are so good.
“It’s a big thing for us, so when the opportunity came about we grabbed it.
“We have Ifor Williams trailers coming in and out of the yard every day for the ATVs and it kind of just fitted.
“It’s a family business like ours, so it’s a really good fit.”
John already has a selection of Ifor Williams trailers at his Dalton’s ATVs base and is expecting to be fully stocked with more than 70 trailers by the end of October.
He said: “We are very fortunate that we have a big yard, so we’ve got lots of space here.
“A third of the front of the yard is going to be full of trailers and we’re on a main road so you’re going to get that ‘wow’ factor when people come down the road.”
John has taken on local man Josh Lewes for the day-to-day running of the trailers business, and said technicians who work in his ATV company will be offered additional hours of work to cater for the trailer customers.
“As it happens we are in the middle of an expansion programme which fits in nicely with the Ifor Williams brand, so we’ve already built an extension.
“Going forward, I would imagine we would need another technician and possibly another sales person in the future.”
John said customer satisfaction was paramount and that was why people who buy an Ifor Williams Trailer will receive the same excellent after-sales service which Dalton’s ATV is renowned for.
He launched Dalton’s ATVs in 1999, and over the years the firm has become a hugely respected company and it now employs 18 people in total.
He said: “The reason our business has grown is because of the after-sales service we provide.
“The Ifor Williams customer will get the same level of after-sales that they get with our ATVs.
“It is the after-sales service which makes customers want to buy from us.”
IWT has global reach with its market-leading products – made in its six factories in Denbighshire and Flintshire, in North Wales. They are sold in outlets across Europe and as far afield as Australia and New Zealand.
First established in 1958, it is Britain’s largest manufacturer of trailers up to 3500kg gross weight, delivering trailers for a wide variety of purposes.
It invests heavily in research and development to produce the most sought after trailers designed to “meet the needs of real people doing real jobs.”
Dave Robinson, from Ifor Williams Trailers, said the company was delighted to team up with Dalton’s ATVs.
He said: “Dalton’s ATVs are a hugely respected family-run company, and have provided customers with excellent service over many years.
“Their ethos of superb customer service and unrivalled expertise fits perfectly with what we do at Ifor Williams Trailers.
“They will be supplying our high quality trailers and Genuine Parts, bringing exceptional service and reliability to customers across a large part of Mid and West Wales.
“John Dalton is a well-known and widely respected figure in Welsh agriculture and we look forward to enjoying further success together.”
Meanwhile, John paid tribute to his family for supporting him as he grows the business.
And he said he still retained a love for rally driving after enjoying success in the sport over the years, including winning the prestigious British Tarmac Rally Championship in the 1990s.
He has rallied in the UK and in Ireland, supported by his co-driver and good pal Gwynfor Jones.
He said: “I don’t do so much of it now, I don’t have the time, but I still love it.
“It gets you away from everything when you’re rallying you have to concentrate on that wholly.
“We had some great times and brilliant results.”
