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FOUNDED: 1992 BASED: Kilhmick, Co Wexford CONTACT: Lorcan Kehoe, depot
Page 46
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manager; Andrew Goldsmith, MD FLEET: 11 vans including a Renault Master and a Peugeot Boxer: 24 rig ids (Renaults, MANs an d Scanias); 17 artics (Renaults, Scanias and MANS): 18 trailers. Buys new.
Most recent acquisition: Renault, Scania and MAN tractors and four Renault rigids, January 2004 SPECIALTY CONTRACT: General haulage, of which half is ambient food. Serves the south-east of Ireland with deliveries including Wexford, Waterford, Wicklow. Carlow and Kilkenny TURNOVER: €4.5m Wextrans depot manager Lorcan Kehoe strongly believes in maintaining communication with his clients. If a driver gets a puncture in advance of a 5pm delivery, for instance, the customer is kept informed and is told that he can expect delivery first thing the following day.The customer, Kehoe points out, then has the option of making alternative arrangements.
This interventionist policy pays divi dends for the company. Wextrans already boasts a 99.7% success rate with its client Johnson Brothers of Dublin, based on Vv'extrans' reliability over the collection and delivery w Goldsmith, of orders.The company also keeps within the 2% margin of error agreed with Edward Dillons, a major Dublin drinks distributor.
All the company's vehicles are owned outright.Wextrans recently bought seven 2004 Renaults from Surehaul Commercial. the Renault dealer in Carrick-on-Suir. Kehoe says that the company likes to give business to local people. Wextrans has also invested in a €150,000 computer system. "It should basically do everything for us." says Kehoe, and that includes a weekly review of the running costs of every vehicle in the fleet.
The company is currently building on a new four-acre site: it hopes to move in by April the route will take them past the primary school which Kehoe once attended. His fondness for this establishment is demonstrated by a collaboration between the company and the school which will involve competitions and free computers.This plan.so far,is only at the developmental stage and will involve more liaising with the school,says Kehoe. Other links with the community have included tapping into the services of a local recruitment agency which specialises in finding employment for disabled people. Wextrans employs one such individual to wash vehicles.Another, with a hearing disability, keeps control of pallets and ensures the yard is kept clean.The company alsc sponsors a member of the local under-18 female hockey team.
Wextrans has always been a member of the I RHA, but Kehoe admits that over the past year the company has been pre-occupied it took over another company last year and doubled in size overnight. -This year we are on top on what we have taken on," he says, and he hopes to become actively more involved with the IRHA again.
Voice in the IRHA I le points out that Andrew Goldsmith, Wextrans' managing director, has been a strong voice in the association and was a chief negotiator in the diesel protest staged some years ago."' think we need to show a bit of a voice in this area again with diesel as the prict is rising again," he says.
Every new driver is assigned to another driver for his first two weeks:the designated veteran is briefed to assist the recruit in all aspects of the job. "These are the elite of the drivers," says KehoeproudlAfter two weeks with the experienced driver the recruit is given the option of driving alone or applying for further training. Because the company handles a large volume of work.if there are any problems with a driver they are reported through the firm's network of managers and, if necessary, to Kehoe himself.