Tom Lynch Commercials comes to you!
22/11/2024
For truck and van repairs and service, nobody does it better than Tom Lynch Commercials, who provide an unbeatable mobile call-out and garage service from their Dunboyne base. We had a brief chat with Tom to find out more about this progressive and convenient, customer-orientated, family-run operation.
Due to the stellar services consistently delivered, Tom Lynch Commercials has in a relatively short space of time developed a stellar reputation as a commercial vehicle repair and maintenance specialist of choice. The eponymous proprietor leaves no stone unturned in providing customers – and their vehicles – with prompt, professional and convenient solutions and this is key to the exponential growth of this exceptional family business.
While the well-appointed and –equipped commercial vehicle workshop is based in Dunboyne, Tom prides himself on providing a fast and efficient mobile call-out service across the greater Dublin area, which sees a large percentage of repair and servicing work carried out quickly and conveniently on the client’s own site.
Tom’s fresh and fully-equipped mobile service units are on the road every day, with the vast range of services covering servicing and repairs to all makes and models of commercial vehicles, diagnostics, twelve-week inspections – and everything and anything in between.
If you own or operate a truck or van – or a fleet of them - Tom Lynch Commercials can provide a package that puts you, the customer, at the centre and works around your busy schedule to avoid downtime whilst simultaneously offering dependable, value-added services.
“We provide the service that others don’t,” says Tom, who agrees that the abbreviation of his company name is a happy coincidence as TLC is exactly what vehicles receive from Tom Lynch Commercials: “It worked out lovely and ‘TLC’ really stands out on the new van, which is done in black, with Tom Lynch Commercials written inside the spanner. It’s a real eye catcher and creates the right impression.”
Is the main selling point of Tom Lynch Commercials the fact that they are prepared to go to the customer and work on site? “We pride ourselves on that. We have three fully-equipped mobile units to go to our customers’ yards. Our biggest customer at present, Strathroy Dairies, has 30 trucks at their yard in Ballycoolin and as soon as they come back in – or whenever we get a call – we are ready to go. We are at our customers’ disposal all the time.
“Of course, we also have the garage for work that can’t be done onsite, but we do get most jobs done onsite. Anything that can legally be done onsite, we will do it. That includes servicing, brake pad replacement, diagnostics, 12-week inspections, repairs. If it can be done onsite and we can spare them the inconvenience of the truck or van having to come to the garage, then that’s what we do.”
Tom Lynch Commercials also run a small van as a courtesy vehicle to ensure that customers are given every bit of service they could possible need. “We’re still only small. We’re trying to do our best to give people a service that others don’t and that’s why we have a large customer base going back to when we started out,” says Tom.
Tom Lynch Commercials evolved from Express Truck Repairs, which was fronted by John Sutton for eleven years from 2011. “I worked for John and he was my mentor for those eleven years,” Tom reveals. “He asked me did I want to take over the business and I agreed. John still works with me side by side and his experience is invaluable.
“That was two years ago and I took over fully on my own on January 1st this year. It’s only been six months but it’s been a seamless transition and we are finding our way and we’re flying, to be honest.”
One of the mottos of the business is ‘on your downtime, we come alive’. While Tom is now the driving force behind the company, he acknowledges without being prompted that he wouldn’t be where he is today without the precious assistance and support of those around him:
“I have a great team. John is beside me all the way and my wife, Diana, is a brilliant help. Diana is a bookkeeper, an office manager and a business analyst, so her input is massive. She runs the office, and our son Cameron (18) and daughter Kayla (15) are also involved. It’s a small little family business that I’m trying my best to build up,” says the man who began his career as an apprentice with Harris Hino on the Naas Road in 1997.
“We’re a sharp outfit and we work in all weather,” Tom continues. “We have a 100-tonne king pin press in the garage and specialise in king pin removal, which a lot of garages don’t do. We run Jaltest diagnostics and do a lot of work that others don’t. We fix all makes and models and are experts in Mercedes Actros (because one of our customers has a large fleet of them) – they have a complex gearbox but we can replace and reprogram them, no problem. We also cover DAF, Scania, Iveco and literally all light and heavy commercial vehicles.
“When I took over, the customers we had all stayed with me. Nobody backed away. They’ve been with us for coming up on 15 years and won’t go anywhere else because of the service we provide. I believe a job should be done once and done right and that includes using only genuine, quality parts. Some people are happy with spurious parts sometimes and we will get and fit whatever parts they request, but when it comes to things like brake pads, I’ll insist on only using the best.”
Tom points out that working with quality suppliers has also been instrumental in the company’s success to date. This includes the likes of Radius Components in Clondalkin who he describes as ‘going above and beyond for us’, Dunshaughlin Auto Parts, M50 Finglas, TRP Parts in Ballycoolin, DennPart, Doyle Truck & Trailers and Murfit Brake & Clutch in Finglas.
“We provide a prompt, professional service and nothing leaves our workshop unless it is 100 per cent. The same applies to the work we do onsite. We will not hand that vehicle back unless it is perfect.”
As for the future, the proprietor of Tom Lynch Commercials promises more of the same: “We’ll continue as we are and move forward with small steps,” he concludes. “I’ve only been running the business on my own for six months, so I’ll review it after one year and decide what’s the best way forward. Whether we’ll need bigger premises or to expand our existing premises.
“I think we will definitely get bigger. At this stage, I’m just not sure by how much. We’ll keep giving our customers a great service and see where that takes us.”
Tom Lynch Commercials,
Dunboyne,
County Meath.
Tel: 085 8879489
Email: [email protected]
First published in Irish Trucker magazine September/October 2024, Vol 27-5
