New Tipperary County Council patching machine purchased for a whopping €300,000

Tipperary County Council has taken delivery of a new velocity patching machine which is the latest model in a fleet of machines already in service and will be used to improve roads around the county in the coming years.

The new machine, which Archway Products Ltd manufactures, is one of three new machines purchased since 2020.

The velocity patcher is a one-man-operated machine that delivers a computer-calibrated mixture of aggregate and binder directly into the pothole or road defect under high velocity ensuring a cost-effective, reliable solution to problematic road maintenance issues.

The cost of the velocity patcher was partially funded by a grant from the Department of Transport amounting to €100,000, being 33% of the total cost - which means the machine cost €303,030.

The addition of these vehicles - which will be deployed across the road network county-wide - to the council’s Road Maintenance fleet, introduces a comprehensive and modern approach to road maintenance according to the council. The new machines complement an existing fleet of six older velocity patchers, the oldest being a 2002 machine that was one of the first built by the manufacturer Archway Products Ltd, in Carrick On Shannon.

The Leitrim-based company that makes the velocity patchers, Archway Roadmaster, is a very successful Irish business exporting to Europe, UK and the USA.

On receiving the keys to the brand new velocity patcher, Joe MacGrath, Chief Executive of Tipperary County Council, added: “Velocity patchers provide a much safer work environment for our operatives.”