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The team at TJ Booth & Sons pride themselves on customer service.
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.J. Booth & Sons is long established as one of the largest family owned manufacturers and distributors of animal feeds in County Tyrone and the surrounding area. The company's proud traditions and history spans well over a century through four generations of Booth's.Â
The company is based in Ballygawley, where all its activities, from production of feeds in its state-of-the-art mill to distribution, are controlled. A trace of the company's roots reveals that T.J. Booth & Sons began trading as Collumbrone Stores in 1904. The firm was founded by Thomas James Booth (1872-1955) and continued by his sons Ernest (1912-1986) and Wesley (born 1922). Back in 2004, it's centenary year, it was under the guidance of his grandson, Arnold who has now passed on the baton to to his two sons, Graham and David. T.J. Booth was one of two sons of Mr John Booth of Collumbrone who farmed at Collumbrone and who had earlier been a butler for the Moutrays at Favour Royal. His brother William Booth was a corn miller and sub-postmaster at IRISH TRACTOR & AGRI
Ballinasaggart before moving to the mill at Milltown, Ballygawley. T.J. began buying eggs as an agent for the newly established Augher Co-OP in 1902 and then set up on his own two years later. His remuneration in those days was 3d per 10 dozen eggs delivered to the Society's store at Augher. He was also a milk carter to the Co-Op in those early years. His first premises were in a shop in the corner of his father's two storey dwelling house at Collumbrone. This was a new house built by John Booth in 1869 just seven years after he came to reside in the townland. It was one of the few two storey slated houses in the area at that time. The shop in those early years served the retail needs of a country district that was two miles from Ballygawley and three from Augher. It had the usual trade in provisions, light hardware, boots and shoes and paraffin oil. The first major diversification from the egg trade was in meal. The Newforge Co in Lisburn, who manufactured minerals, installed a meal mixer around 1920. It was at this time that the shop moved to new premises beside the house which now traded as Collumbrone Stores.
In the early days some of the shop hands boarded with TJ. This was to enable them to get up in good time in the morning. T.J. normally rose about 5 o'clock and had his doors open by 8.00. He worked long hours in the old shop which had an open fireplace encourage some customers to keep late night calling. In fact, he regularly used to have to call 'Time' at 11.45 on Saturday night as he would not countenance trading on the Sabbath. By 1930 he had developed a poultry exporting business as well as egg collecting. He was handling turkeys, geese, ducks and chickens and kept two pluckers going night and day. There was also a great demand for
CONTACT DETAILS T.J. Booth & Sons
Cullembrone Lisdoart Ballygawley Co. Tyrone BT70 2LZ Tel: 028 8556 8229
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