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THE F 1 ELD
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Last week we profiled four companies shortlisted
for the Irish Road Transport Awards 2004. This week we complete the line-up.
SHORTLIST CATEGORY: OWNER-OPERATOR OF THE YEAR
Driving was in Peadar Barker's blood, he reckons. As soon as his legs were long enough he was driving the tractor on the family farm inTourmakeady."11-actors were small in those days. I'd say! started at around eight or nine and! haven't stopped driving since."
Ten years ago Barker put his early fascination to use in driving for a living. Four years later (1998) he grabbed the opportunity to go it alone when his employer. Michael Corrigan, put a proposition to him to take over one of his trucks. "He had three trucks and he wanted to cut back to two. So I decided to go for it."
Barker has since specialised in the business haulage.Today his fleet I put t e volume , 0 ' 116 / i trucks vvith a sixth o tim er t at s needed f 0 consists of five on order. Most of his sown to the boom in work is for Coillte (Irish Forestry ).The rest is for the company which started him off,ECCTeoranta in Cornamona in the Galway gaeltacht (Irish speaking district). "one of the biggest saw mills in the country". Barker expanded gradually. "In April 1999, almost a year to the day from when I started, I bought my second truck. I stayed with two trucks until 2002.Then got into it in a bigger way." The third vehicle was added in January 2002. In 2004 Barker was running seven trucks but he decided to scale back.
"I reduced my fleet and upgraded because !found the cost of repairs and maintenance too high with the older trucks." Today his fleet consists of five trucks full-time on the road (four 2003 and one 1998 Volvo). Barker has another two which remain static in the forest. He uses those for loading only.
Barker employs live drivers. Recruiting is made easier by the fact that the drivers are all locals. He admits to being"blessed with a great team of workers".Though outsiders are in a majority, he still thinks of his operation as a family business. His two nephews and his brother, his transport manager, play major roles.
Soon Barker will be looking for a new driver to operate his Volvo FHI6. which will he delivered any day. His expansion is due to the huge demand in the timber industry."At the moment I've more than enough work to keep me going. I put the volume of timber that's needed down to the boom in the building industry. Ninety per cent of materials coming into the factories come on pallets."
That demand for pallets alone keeps the flow from forest to mill buoyant and "good enough to keep the bank away from the door". He thinks, however that six trucks will be his limit."I've no plans to expand any further except, hopefully later on this year. I'll replace the 1998 truck.
Barker is a member of the IR HA. He lends his vehicles to support local events. One such occasion was July 2002 when the village hosted a reunion for its emigrants.The scenic Irish-speaking village has exported many people over the years.The get-together was organised by Barker, his brother in Chicago and a neighbour. It was fitting that Barker Haulage provided a truck to act as platform for the band. •
SHORTLIST CATEGORY: OWNER-OPERATOR OF THE YEAR
The reorganisation of Calor Gas in the early 1990s gave Liam Clifford a chance to fulfil his long-held dream. After 20 years as an employed driver he took the redundancy offer and founded Clifford Haulage in July 1992. beginning a new association with Calor Gas, that of contractor.
Clifford makes the daily trip to Dublin's North Wall where he collects the bottled gas and delivers throughout Mayo, east Galway, Roscommon and parts of Leitrim. He has 185 retail customers whose demands vary between weekly, fortnightly and monthly deliveries. His Scania carries the blank orange plate which warns of dangerous substances on board and requires the driver to do safety refresher courses at five-yearly intervals.I run one truck, a 1999 Scania 144," explains Clifford, who works solely for Calor Gas."I never expanded but I use an outside haulier, Cox Couriers, to do deliveries for me as well." It's hard physical, work.
"Everything has to be done by hand;at times up to 100 bottles have to be delivered. It's not easy to get the right kind of helper for the job." Clifford feels you have to offer them a few extras in order to keep them." I pay them well and I offer four weeks' holidays."
At the moment his son is doing the job of driver's mate.This is a trial run for 19-year-old Henri, who is getting a foretaste of the business before he embarks on a four-year degree course in transport management at Dublin's Institute of Technology next Octol Servicing his customers is the most importa aspect of the job in Clifford's view."I have 1 retail customers.There are two things paramount for good customer relations— be the on time and make sure promised deliveries met." Mary, his wife and transport manager adds that Clifford's patience and loyalty to I customers help to keep business relationshi running smoothly.
Clifford is firmly committed to the IRHA He has been a member for the past 10 years "You have to be on the committee to see fill amount of work the association does."
He cites the national fuel dispute of Sept( ber 2000 as an example, when the associatic staged a national day of protest."11 was veq successful and it didn't cause much irritatiol Clifford located himself on the Carrick on-Shannon bridge.A certain amount of leniency was allowed. No one was stopped from going to work and a lane was left open for cars and school buses, "It lasted from midnight to 5.30 the following day. It was harder than any driving," he laughs.
Service to the community is fairly full-time in the Clifford household.Their daughter, 27-year-old Hilary, has a learning disability so much time is spent working for the Downs Syndrome Association. Church gate collections are a regular task. Clifford Haulage also lent a hand to Henri's school, St Mel's College, last year when the Gaelic football team got into the Leinster senior final.The company sponsored the team's kit bags which displayed its logo.The team won and "the bit of publicity did no harm," says Clifford, though not exactly in terms of increased business.
"A few more people were waving at me. That's all," he laughs.
Clifford Transport has no definite plans for the future "though I'd like to get into tanker work. I'd still be specialising in dangerous goods haulage."And who knows what lavish aims Henri will have when he graduates? Mary Clifford cautions that it is not an easy business. She wonders if her son's generation will be as committed to the long hours and the hardships that she and her husband are willing to endure. •
SHORTL1ST CATEGORY: OWNER-OPERATOR OF THE YEAR
The haulage bug bit three Brennan siblings early when they observed their father Brendan operating his small Leitrim haulage concern. Nowadays, their firm Leitrim Overnight is a tight operation founded in 1997 by Brendan's son Cohn, and involving both sister Una and brother Gavin.
Cohn spent seven years working for Limerick's Freightshift Services, run by his cousin Sean Murtagh, before buying Guckian's Delivery Service, in Leitrim.The business delivers to Dublin Monday, Wednesday and Friday and serves local customers in Leitrim, Roscommon, and Sligo three days of the week, including Saturday.
Cohn says:"Guckian's had been trading for 14 years and had a reliable service built up.We built on the business and still have most of the original customers.They had a 3.5-tonne truck and we now have an 18-tonne and a 12-tonne rigid working," says Calm. Leitrim Overnight delivers to Dublin customers for three local manufacturers; two are involved in timber products and the other in cold display containers.The vehicles run backloads for Dublin operators into their three home counties. These include Carlow Distribution Services, based in Kylemore; European Freight Services and M&G, a pipe and valve distributorThere are now up to 50 clients on the books; some provide regular work and others dispatch occasional but steady deliveries.
As business grew, Leitrim Overnight reviewed its delivery patterns to focus its Dublin drops to central distribution centres. Most drops are now off the M50, says Cohn Brennan. "It doesn't pay us any more to make more drops and to be driving around. The odd time we get small deliveries to the city, we use van couriers in Dublin."The company's regular delivery patterns generate extra business. "Customers know the days we are in Dublin and they in turn pass it on to their customers." However, the company has no plans to expand its fleet in the near future.
The two brothers drive while sister Una handles administration. In 2000. they bought a new Scania 94D 220 and in 2002 added a new 12-tonne MAN 12.174. Both are curtainsiders with tail-lifts.
Trading up
They intend to trade the lighter truck up to 18tonnes within the next two years."Lnsurance is high and affects expansion," says Colm."At the moment we can handle what we do ourselves. There is a lot of expense involved in going beyond two trucks including more workers, a fork-lift, a depot and extra insurance."
Cohn and Gavin undergo driver training with FAS in Cookstown."An hour and a half every few months and it's money well spent," says Cohn.
Image does not stop with clean trucks and uniforms, he says:" Customers stay with us because of the service and we keep up to date with computer training, customer care, and defensive driving courses."Too fully occupied with the business to be involved in 1RHA committees, nonetheless Leitrim Overnight is a committed member of the association. •
SHORTLIST CATEGORY: INTERNATIONAL HAULIER OF THE YEAR
Since he began trading in the late 1980s Joe Murray has seen his share of ups and downs.The operation hauls beef, a market which was badly hit by the BSE and foot and mouth scares of recent times.
"We were caught out with the BSE to a certain extent but we were able to keep on working.Fortunately,the beef industry has been quite steady in 2003," says Murray. pointing out that his workload has increased, leading to the need to purchase extra trailers and appoint subcontractors to boost his driving team of nine full-time and five parttimers. However, forthcoming changes to the way the European Union calculates grants for beef production is creating some uncertainty among producers which may ultimately affect Murray's business.
The business continues to specialise in refrigerated haulage to the UK and, to a lesser extent, continental Europe. Its main contracts are carrying mushrooms for Walsh Mushrooms and beef for Dawn Meats. Backloads include fruit and groupage. A slight downturn in demand for mushrooms has not affected Murray as he hauls for one of the main exporters in Ireland,delivering to regional distribution centres for the UK's main supermarkets. Not content to become a permanent fixture behind a desk, Murray likes nothing better than taking a truck out himself and getting a chance to meet his customers. Customer service is paramount. Either Murray or a member of this team, which now includes his son John, can be contacted 24 hours a day, seven days a week, while all drivers are issued with mobile phones.
"Customers expect you to deliver on time hut we haven't got any complaints on service so far; people are satisfied."says Murray.
He expects to take delivery of two new Scania 164s at the end of this month.The existing fleet of 10 trucks includes Renaults.DaLlveco and Scanias. Replacements are purchased at fly six-year intervals."I like to knock a few yea out of them after paying for them.There isr enough in the business to run all new vehicl explains Murray.
Staff relations Murray keeps a close eye on new drivers ut he is sure they meet the highest standards a believes in treating them well when they ar on board."It is very important to have a go+ relationship with your drivers," he explains Some years back Murray did charity runs to Romania and Yugoslavia. He is on the management committee of the IRHA this year and prefers action to talk."1 feel you h to get in there and give some help. It cannot left to the few who do it all the time.Therei: something I'd like to see, but! probably no will... I'd like to see hauliers more united,s Murray, who also made the short fist in 2002
SHORTLIST CATEGORY: INTERNATIONAL HAULIER OF THE YEAR
Despite being formed more than 30 years ago Shannon Transport can boast that some of its drivers have been with it since its early days. Director Patrick Murrihy, whose father was one of three co-founders of the business, says that 80% of its more recent recruits have served for 10 years or more.
With 140 staff. the company is, in haulage terms, a relatively large employer. It also provides work for a further 25 subcontractors on domestic, UK and Continental work. In-house driver training covers customer service and equipment operation.
Specialist companies are brought in to provide training on hazardous goods,materials handling and mechanical handling.
The company has established an ethos of motivating its drivers through benefits including a good wage and a decent pension scheme, factors which have knock-on effects. "We like our drivers to treat customers as if it was their own truck and as if they were working for the people we are working for," explains Murrihy. The resultant feedback from customers on driver punctuality and demeanour bears witness to the benefits of this approach.
Most of the company's fleet is purchased new apart from the occasional unit for local work while its in-house workshop services the 65 trucks and 180 trailers. It also offers third-party servicing to other operators and has an authorised DOE test centre for trucks and trailers where it can conduct plating and tachograph calibration.
Shannon Transport was an all-Volvo user up to a year ago but decided to trial different marques and has added two MANs and two Daf XF Superspace cabs. It is awaiting delivery of a third MAN in February. Its account executives visit clients through the year, in addition to daily operational contact.An annual golf classic for staff and clients is held in May and provides an ideal environment for informally reviewing present and future plans.
Murrihy says the company continues to target potential new customers and has warehouse space to accommodate their business. A new contract secured in November requires 25 loads a week to be carried from Limerick to the UK. "We are looking to expand the logistics business of which haulage is just a part." Services include breaking down larger loads for local delivery and adding goods from different suppliers to a customer's order. "We offer a wide variety of services-added value,people would call it we are prepared to do anything with it. and then we deliver it.
As a member of the IRHA, Shannon Transport was at the forefront of the fuel protests towards the end of 2000. Its community involvement includes contributing to a number of charities and societies and it sponsors local sports clubs through the year.
Above all,Murrihy is a man with an ambitious dream he wants to see the Shannon region become the western logistic hub for Ireland.The company hopes that its adherence to high standards will enable it to play a major role in making this dream come true, "A lot of our work is in the food industr3 and you have to have good and clean vehicle: to supply those people. As a result,we continue to grow." says Murrihy. •
SHORTLIST CATEGORY: INTERNATIONAL HAULIER OF THE YEAR
1 ncorporated in 1982, Cavan-based Virginia Ti-ansport's history goes back to the 1950s, when Johnny and Bridie Cole expanded from their general merchants store in Maghera into the haulage industry.
Today, the company has a fleet of 45 trucks and 135 trailers, a staff of 54— including 48 drivers — and an annual turnover of €8m. In addition, it has a 930m2 warehousing facility.
Despite its size, the operation continues to have a very strong family involvement. Johnny and Bridie's son Sean is the managing director, while his brothers James, Ray,Eamon and Brian also work in the company in various capacities. Bridie still contributes to the business, and Sean's son and daughter work in traffic and accounts respectively. Food transportation accounts for approximately 75% of the company's work and customers include Glanbia, Kepak, Liffey Meats and Unilever.
The company transports 10 tanker loads of cream every day from Virginia to Baileys' sites in Dublin and Belfast. It also delivers computers, synthetic fibres and tobacco. Around 65% of the work takes place on the Continent: the fleet operates throughout Europe, from Sweden and Denmark down to Spain,Portugal. Italy and Greece. In 1998, each truck was fitted with a satellite tracking device, while the fridge units were kitted out with a computerised temperature control system.
According to Sean, the ability to monitor every truck's location on a minute-to-minute basis is a major advantage. Cole attributes the company's success to having first-rate equipment,delivering on time and providing very good customer service. Virginia Transport's high standards and attention to detail have been formally recognised since 1994, when the company was first awarded ISO 9002 accreditation.Training is an important element of ISO 9002 and all drivers do health and safety refresher courses twice annually. In addition, two members of staff have completed the advanced training course in driving and are now involved in passing on their knowledge to their colleagues.
While there are no plans for major expansion in the haulage side of the business over the next couple of years. the company is preparing to develop its warehousing operation.The current facility, opened in 1997, stores both incoming raw materials and finished products for existing customers and new clients who just avail themselves of the warehousing service.
"We initially went into warehousing because it complemented what we were already doing.Sean explains."It has been successful and we're usually full to capacity.The business is also easier to control than haulage.We now want to expand and have a planning application in to extend the facility by another 3,700m2." Sean has been a member of the IRHA for a number of years and attends all the local meetings.The company is involved in local activities and sponsors a number of charities. •