FACTFILE: WALSH WESTERN INTERNATIONAL BASED: Dublin (head office); Parteen, Clare;
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Cork. Warehousing in Ireland: 400,000ft2. Overseas depots: six in England; two in Holland (including subsidiary Ploeger Transport); one in Belgium; one in Germany; one in Moscow. FOUNDED: 1969 by Lorry and CoIm Walsh. They later sold to businessman Michael Enwright. CONTACT: Michael Kerin, operations director; (based Clare); Pat Burke, transportation director, (based Dublin). FLEET: 82 vehicles in Ireland, 12 in Russia. Some vehicles also run by Ploeger Transport in Holland. Buys new. Nearly all Scania "for its reliability and fuel consumption". Three Volvos and one MAN in the fleet. SPECIALITY CONTRACT: Dry freight to Russia, European logistics solutions. TURNOVER: £70m. Hauling into Russia has long been regarded as a hazardous occupation. Hassles from the police, threats from bandits and sub-zero-temperature driving conditions all contribute to an uncomfortable ride.
These problems failed to deter Walsh Western, which began transporting goods into the then-Soviet Union as long ago as 1987. But it wasn't easy. "Fantastic credit is due to the drivers," says operations director Michael Kerin, from his office overlooking his yard in Parteen, Co Clare. "We did not break down once but trucks were stopped and we
had to pay over the bribes. It still goes on."
The first contract was to transport equipment for a duty-free area at Moscow Airport on behalf of Ireland's semi-state airport management operation, Aer Rianta. The duty-free lounges are now built but Walsh Western is still involved, delivering stock.
Since the eastern bloc fell the company's involvement with Russia has expanded, as demand increases for greater varieties of goods. It set up a Russian subsidiary, Denview Trading, to handle red tape and personnel issues and appointed a Russian transport manager. Today the company has 12 trucks based in Russia and employs 24 Russian drivers. It opened a transshipment depot at Harclerwijk in Holland from where the Russian drivers collect loads, consolidated from depots throughout Europe. Loads out of Russia are few and far between: instead the Russians collect car components, steel and industrial equipment on their way through Finland and Poland.
These days Walsh Western views itself principally as a supplier of logistics solutions in Continental Europe, Ireland and the UK. Transport is a minor component of the overall picture.
"When we go into a company we bring a transport person, an IT person, a duty manager to advise on duty payments and a logistics manager to advise on staffing," explains Kerin. "We don't go in and ask them what they want, we go in and tell them what they should have."
This could include warehousing, picking and packing or even, in the case of Cork-based Apple Computers, components assembly. As Kerin says: "Companies are concentrating on their core activities. Apple makes computers. Why should it have a warehouse to store them?"
Other customers with Irish bases include Cadburys, Philips and computer software specialist Novell, which runs its Irish operation out of an office. "They take the orders and we consolidate them from their suppliers' stock," explains Kerin.
Walsh Western extends its range through joint ventures. It has a partnership with Emery Worldwide, an American airfreight company that allows it to call on the services of 50 aircraft. In Scotland, a joint venture with Curries, CWW (Curries Walsh Western) provides logistic services for computer firms Compaq and Digital at Prestwick Airport. Its a non-trucking operation.
Consolidated
"Goods are consolidated when they are shipped in and we co-ordinate duty payments on goods flown in from the Far East," says Kerin. "We work out the best deal and what duty is to be paid, Before we stepped in all these companies had their own warehousing and duty managers. We've done away with that."
It has extended the principle of contracting out to allow 28 of its long-serving drivers to buy their trucks and sell their services back to the company.
While some might argue that the employer never loses in this arrangement Kerin points out that owner drivers are guaranteed work: One did 98,000 miles last year."
While the Irish economy continues to thrive, that happy state should continue. The volume of exports greatly exceeds the volume of imports. For Walsh Western this has meant a growth in turnover of 250% in the past decade. It has recently spent £12m on a purpose-built logistics centre in Dublin and it employs 1,100 people across the globe. For now, the horizon is endless.