Vanfleet’s winning line-up keeps delivering the goods!
10/09/2024
With a long and proud history going back 90 years, Vanfleet Transport Ltd. is an industry-leading family-owned business operating a stunning fleet of trucks and trailers to provide a clockwork delivery service to Dunnes Stores outlets nationwide.
Firmly established as one of Ireland’s premier distribution companies, Vanfleet Transport Ltd. is an outstanding family-run operation celebrating 90 years at the forefront of the industry.
The genesis of the company dates back nine decades to when the late John Fitzsimons set up a transport business focused on customer service and dependability. Today, those same traits and values are at the very heart of the third-generation family business, which is now fronted by John’s grandsons and grandaughter , Tom (managing director) Paul (transport manager) and Gretta Duffy (Fitzsimons) company secretary.
Tom is understandably proud of the tradition of excellence established over the years, nay decades, by Vanfleet, which at the latest count operates a stunning fleet of thirty five artics and twelve rigids delivering textiles and homewares to Dunnes Stores outlets the length and breadth of Ireland.
“A lot of Irish businesses are family-based and go back down through the generations,” the MD notes. “For three familymembers to be still running a family business after all these years is a huge landmark and it’s something we’re very proud of. Transport is a very competitive industry and in this day and age you wouldn’t last anywhere near this long if you weren’t providing the right level of service.”
With resplendently-presented and high-performing Mercedes-Benz Actros units now very much to the fore, the current Vanfleet Transport in-house fleet of 44 lorries and 42 trailers is supplemented by three additional units of third-party carrier Sean Buckley in Cork which are with Vanfleet full-time.
Regarding the decision to migrate the entire fleet over to the Mercedes marque, Tom reveals: “We started to make the change around 2019. We had dealt with Harris and the Hino brand since 1977 but they ceased importing Hino in 2015, so we went into the market for a new manufacturer.
“We’d run Ivecos before and we brought in a new Iveco and a new Mercedes and ran them side by side for a year before picking the vehicle that would become our profile truck for the next five years. In the end, we went with Mercedes because they were more suited towards our payload. There’s mothing wrong with Iveco – also a great truck – but they are stronger and probably better suited to a heavier payload. We felt Mercedes was better suited to the payload we are carrying.”
Vanfleet Transport deliver textiles and homewares to all Dunnes Stores retail outlets island-wide, covering the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. They also distributed to the UK and Spain in the past but ceased operating in that market a few years ago.
“On outward work, we do 1,000 pallet spaces five days a week and 700 spaces on a Saturday. We then come back with the vehicles 60 – 70 per cent full with dry cardboard and plastic looking after Dunnes Stores’ recycling transportation in conjunction with Panda Waste in Cappagh and Walkinstown. It’s very efficient to have the trucks going out at 100 per cent and coming back at 70 per cent capacity – there aren’t too many fleets in the country who can say that.”
Something that can never be reiterated often enough is that wonderful state-of-the-art equipment is of little value without the right professionals to operate it. To this end, Vanfleet directly employs a vastly-experienced and highly-skilled team of 40 drivers alongside 6 subcontracted drivers on a full-time basis and they are also covered by service agents with additional labour as and when needed. “There’s a huge amount of flexibility in our work – one day you might need ten to fifteen additional trailers whereas another you might only need two or three,” says Tom.
Considering that retail tends to peak at certain times of the year, is the work seasonal at all? “Volume-wise, there’s not a huge difference between the first six months of the year and the second six months,” the MD replies. “However, there is a huge difference in the peaks. There are certain weeks where you’d have more peaks. In the run-up to Christmas, for example, the volume can go to 9,000 pallets in one week.
“Even though we don’t have anything to do with delivering food, the increase in demand for food and groceries at Dunnes Stores will also lead directly to more work for us as we are drawing back all the recyclable waste.”
In an ideal world, where qualified and dedicated drivers were easier to source, Vanfleet could expand by up to 25 per cent in a heartbeat. “Drivers are like gold dust these days,” Tom points out. “Ten years ago, I could pick up the phone and get 20 drivers in the blink of an eye; today I couldn’t get three. If we could get drivers in, our staff levels could go up by 10% . We have the capacity there but can’t get drivers. In fact, we have had a situation in the past where there was a brand-new lorry sitting in the compound with nobody to drive it.
“To tackle this, I’m thinking of perhaps starting a small drivers academy in the business. At the moment we are working with our rigid drivers and we have told them that if they get their artic licences we will subsidise that for them.”
In terms of tapping into new technology, innovations and other developments to introduce cost efficiencies to the business, Tom explains that it is often a waiting game as it’s not always easy to gauge when these improvements are at their most advanced stage. For example, how much more efficient and lighter will electric vehicles be in two years compared to now? A delicate balancing act is required to keep the business performing at optimal level and providing the client with the most dependable and value-added service possible.
As for the constant strategy of regular fleet replenishment – something the Fitzsimons family know a thing or two about over the past nine decades! – Tom concludes: “We buy our vehicles over a five-year plan and they have a seven-year life cycle, so we have time to react and plan during that two-year period after the truck is paid for. Normally, we tend to replace eight or nine vehicles a year. We’ve added three rigids and five artics this year. Last year was very busy – we got 15 new artics and two rigids. Generally, it averages out at around nine a year.
“Trailers have a longer life cycle: we buy them over five years but keep them for ten. You are always keeping an eye on everything and thinking on your feet – obviously preventative maintenance is a big part of it, too. If you buy the best and keep everything in excellent condition, then that’s a great start.”
With an exceptional fleet and unfaltering customer service, the team behind Vanfleet Transport have been delivering distribution excellence for 90 years and counting. And one gets the distinct impression that there’s a lot more to come from this model third-generation family business!
Vanfleet Transport Ltd.,
Unit 1B,
Rosemount Park,
Ballycoolin Road,
Blanchardstown,
Dublin 11.
Tel: 01 866 5440
Email: [email protected]
First published in Irish Trucker magazine July 2024, Vol 27-4
