Quality service guaranteed at Fingal Transport  

23/07/2024

Established in 1996, Fingal Transport Ltd specialises in logistics work for its clients nationwide. Irish Trucker touched base with its Managing Director Sean Andrews to hear more about two new additions to its superb fleet and what continues to separate the company from the competition out there.

Business is good these days at Fingal Transport Ltd and the plan for its founder Sean Andrews and the rest of the team in Cloghertown, Co Meath is to try and keep things that way for the foreseeable future.

Operating with 20 full-time staff, the company has amassed a reputation over the past 28 years for the excellent service that it provides its clients.

Fingal Transport has 18 trucks and 20 trailers in its fleet these days and it is regularly updated in order to keep up with the demand from customers.

Managing Director Sean Andrews was good enough to take some time out from a hectic schedule to fill Irish Trucker on the two recent additions to his yard Cloghertown, where the gear is regularly updated and maintained to an absolute tee.  

“We bought two new Renault T480 trucks in January and they’ve been flying for us since,” he outlined. 

“I’m buying new ones every couple of years here. I bought four two years ago and two again this year, so I keep updating them and Aaron Clarke is the salesman in Setanta Trucks in Ballycoolin that I deal with. 

“He looks after me very well and the service that Setanta offers is next to none. It’s the best you can get when it comes to back-up, reliability and, if anything ever happens, they’ll get back to you straight away. I can’t fault them.”

While Fingal Transport’s fleet is a mixed one, the majority of its trucks are of the Renault brand and made up of arctics and rigids.

So, why choose Renault?

“We tend to lean towards Renault because of the localisation, really,” Sean stated. “Look at, they’re only 15 minutes away from our place and, as I said, the back-up service is brilliant as well.” 

In order to get the job done right, a company like Fingal Transport simply must have the right vehicles at its disposal and they certainly have that. 

Since its inception in ’96, Sean’s transport venture has been the main haulier contracted to deliver products for the country’s top manufacturer of plastic pipes for plumbing, waste and sewer systems, roof drainage, stormwater management and underfloor heating, Wavin Ireland.

Along with another major contract in Unilin Insulation, it all combines to see Fingal Transport busy year-round and, as Sean himself was happy to report, the first half of 2024 has been very promising business-wise. 

“Business has been quite good for us lately. We were busy during Covid and weren’t that badly affected,” he said.

“Then we got over that and things kicked off. You see we’re mainly supplying the building industry, so hospitals, houses, roads and that type of stuff means that we’re never idle.

“Wavin, of course, is my main contract and they supply all the building sites and hardware stores around the country. I’m working with them for 35 years.

“Then my other contract is Unilin in Navan and we have a half dozen lorries that are pulling out of there and they’re kept going all the time, so we’re having a good couple of years of it.” 

In saying that, Sean also points out that there are plenty of challenges out there at the moment for a business like his.

He cites fuel costs and insurance prices as being the ones that are the most difficult for any transport firm in this country and, indeed, across all of Europe and the globe.

“Don’t get me wrong, things are tough in this game,” said the MD. “You have to keep on top of things. You have to keep on top of maintenance and replacing plant as well. The margins are small, but the quantity is there. Once you have the quantity, you’re better off. That’s what I think. 

“Like, fuel is the major killer and so is insurance. They’re the major costs and then staff wages, but it’s all part of it.”

Nonetheless, Fingal Transport is thriving as a business overall and hopes to keep things that way moving forward.

So, all of that considered, the burning question is what has been the secret behind the success of this transport venture for nearly 30 years now?

How has a small start-up grown into an operation with 20 full-time staff, 18 trucks and an excellent reputation amongst its clients?

For Sean, it comes down to a combination of different factors.

“I suppose longevity and dedication to service. We give it 110% every job that we do,” he stated plainly. 

“We never fail and I’m the type of owner that if a driver rang in not well, I’d jump into the truck myself and do the job rather than let the customer down and I think that pays off at the end of the day.”

Looking at the months ahead for the business, its owner and founder is perhaps as optimistic as he’s ever been for what’s around the corner business-wise. 

“We had high level meetings recently with those two major contracts (Wavin Ireland and Unilin) and the outlook is steady for the whole year. There may be a bit of a blip right now, but it’s forecast to be excellent for the rest of the year,” Sean concluded.

Great to hear.

Fingal Transport Services Ltd
Cloghertown,
Clonalvy,
Co Meath.
Email: [email protected]
Tel: (01) 835 4777
Mob: 086 243 6096

First published in Irish Trucker magazine June 2024, Vol 27-3