100th anniversary
DOUBLE CELEBRATION FOR WAC McCANDLESS & KOMATSU This year marks a double celebration for construction equipment manufacturer Komatsu and its Northern Ireland dealers WAC McCandless. While Komatsu is marking its 100th anniversary with a number of activities throughout the year, WAC McCandless is also looking back with some well deserved pride on 60 years as a Komatsu dealer, making it one of the manufacturer’s longest established dealers in Europe. With a focused eye on future growth and success, the Belfast based dealership has many positives to reflect on the past, with a proud company history dating back to brothers Rex and Cromie McCandless and a small motorcycle repair shop in Belfast’s Fulton Street in 1943. In 1975 the Gibson Family took over the company with Will and Marie Gibson spending many years working in and growing the
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PLANT & CIVIL ENGINEER
business, which today is now managed on a day to day basis by Ciaran and Gerald Carvill, supported by a dedicated team of sales, service, parts and accounts staff, all of whom continue to contribute to the success of the company. Sixty years ago, motorcycles and light engineering spawned an interest in construction equipment, but the acquisition and subsequent growth of famous brands like NCK-Rapier, Rob Roy, Yale and Ingersoll Rand soon necessitated a move to larger premises on the Limestone Road in Belfast, acquiring the Komatsu agency in 1961. As the sole distributor in Northern Ireland for Komatsu construction equipment and among the manufacturer’s longest established dealers in Europe, the name of WAC McCandless (Engineers) Ltd is now firmly established as one of the major distributors of Construction & Quarry Equipment in Ireland.
The original advertisement promoting the launch of Komatsu at the 1961 Balmoral show.
Over the past 60 years, the Komatsu range of products has rapidly expanded from track shovels and bulldozers to tracked, wheeled and mini excavators, rigid and articulated dump trucks, wheeled loaders, backhoe loaders, and motor graders. The range of other products offered by McCandless has also grown to include Atlas Copco compressors, lighting towers, water pumps and generators since 2014, covering All Ireland, Dynapac asphalt pavers and rollers, soil compactors and a range of light compaction equipment since 2013, again covering All Ireland, and Epiroc hydraulic attachments since 2016 covering All Ireland, and Esco Wear Parts covering NI since 1978.
