A professional service guaranteed at Chris Hughes Transport

23/11/2020

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Based in Portadown, Co Armagh, Chris Hughes Transport Ltd is a haulage specialist company which has earned a reputation for its excellent work throughout Ireland and the UK. Irish Trucker learned more from Chris Hughes himself about the success of the business and the recent addition of a brand new Volvo FH500.

Business is good right now at Chris Hughes Transport Ltd and the man himself intends on keeping things that way as his fast-growing company approaches eight years this October.

For Chris Hughes, haulage has been in his blood for more than two decades now and it’s what has motivated him to grow his business into a leader when it comes to general haulage and traction services.

Today, Chris Hughes Transport Ltd employs 15 staff and has superb fleet of Volvo and Scania trucks which he is immensely proud to have on the road.

Irish Trucker heard all about it from the Managing Director when we caught up with him recently.

“We cover Ireland and the UK and right now things are going from strength to strength here,” explained Chris.

“We’re on the go seven years and have added a new Volvo FH500 to the fleet this year which has been going well for us.

“Volvos are a driver’s truck and I’ve always got a great service with them – they’ve never let me down.”

Chris has been a truck fanatic since even before his teenage years and, as he puts it himself, has “always been involved in haulage” from the day he started working.

His mother, Anne, and father, Patrick, are both involved in the business that he runs today.

The decision he took to go out on his own back in October 2012 was one he felt he simply had to take, despite the tough times that the Irish economy was going through in that particular period.

“I come from a haulage background,” he stated. “At 23 years of age, I just decided that it was the right time for me to go out on my own.

“It was a new company and I felt that there were plenty of possibilities out there. I gave up my own job and when I set-up the first two or three years were difficult but we eventually got going and, as I said, we’re going from strength to strength now.”

He added: “Back when we started there was definitely a bit of a dip and we felt it at the beginning. But, thankfully, it’s come strong since the downturn and we’re growing now.”

Indeed the growth at Chris Hughes Transport Ltd seems to be happening year on year, with a team of 15 members in its staff and some state of the art trucks on the road.

The Volvo FH500 added to the company’s fleet this year is a supreme machine which cannot be beat for quality and reliability, according to Chris.

Right now it sits as the jewel in the fleet, although it could soon have competition as there are sure to be a few more excellent additions next year give the current state of business.

“It’s a great truck, there’s no doubt about it, and we are delighted to have it on the road week here in, week out,” he said.

Last year the Orchard County native had dealings with Scania UK in order to help bolster his company’s fleet and keep up with demand.

“We took delivery of three brand new Scanias last year on a contract lease through Scania UK,” outlined the Managing Director.

“I have to say they’re fine trucks too and, thankfully, we need every one of them with the way business is going at the moment.”

It’s not a bad way to be at all.

Well into the second half of 2020 now and Chris Hughes Transport Ltd is optimistic over even further growth in business.

Before you know it, the company will be coming up on a decade and who’s to say where things can go from there?

As usual, Chris isn’t getting too far ahead of himself as he looks to maintain the growth of business up in Portadown while keeping his feet on the ground.

“Hopefully, we can just keep doing what we’re doing here. We’ve been busy the last few months so we’ll be certainly looking to push on from there and keep growing,” he concluded.

Christopher Hughes Transport Ltd
16 Derryvore Lane,
Portadown
Co Armagh
BT63 5RS
Mobile: 00 44 7900 573 098

Published in Irish Trucker & Light Commercials magazine, Sept/Oct 2020, Vol 23 No 4