Connection Logistics celebrate 20 years in business!
20/03/2025
Established in 2005, Connection Logistics has been delivering prompt and professional frozen, chilled and ambient logistic services to the pharmaceutical, medical and food sectors for two decades and counting. As the industry-leading company celebrates its 20th anniversary, we touched base with hands-on managing director Alan Garnett to explore the secret of their success to date.
Running an immaculate state-of-the-art fleet of highly-spec’d multi-temperature vehicles, Connection Logistics has established itself as an undisputed industry leader when it comes to providing fast, efficient and value-added ambient, chilled and frozen delivery services across the 32 counties.
The company, which operates out of Summerhill in County Meath, has developed and evolved organically since its inception in 2005 and, as it travels into its landmark 20th-anniversary year, proprietor Alan Garnett points out that growth and diversification were very much to the fore over the past twelve months, as Connection Logistics continues to deliver exceptional services and customer care to its valued clients in the pharmaceutical and food sectors.
Alan established the business alongside Shay Friery in the mid-‘noughties. The latter retired in July of last year and Alan has since become the sole proprietor. “It really was a typical story of growing from humble beginnings,” the MD reflects. “The two of us genuinely started out with two Transit vans and built the business up gradually from there through offering clients a good service.”
With a proven track record as a specialist provider of temperature-controlled warehousing and distribution services to the pharma and food sectors in particular, Connection Logistics is today reaping the rewards of invariably treating every delivery with a modern, professional and conscientious approach, with undivided attention to detail.
Every truck and van is fitted with the latest vehicle and temperature tracking systems and HD cameras to ensure the transparent, regulated and guaranteed transportation of frozen, chilled and ambient goods.
“Although temperature-controlled pharmaceutical logistics is our fastest-growing area, we are also still very much involved in the food sector,” Alan continues. “Our dedicated pharma vans are highly specialised and we do daily deliveries to pharmacies and hospitals nationwide. This is the critical aspect of the business, whereas you could say food is our bread and butter, no pun intended.
“I won’t let go of the food side because it’s steady, we’ve always done it, and people have to eat. Both sectors are important and we treat them both very seriously, but the pharmaceutical work is where financially you really get rewarded for the quality of your service. And the service simply has to be of the highest quality.”
Connection Logistics is the sole warehousing and distribution supplier to Tazaki Foods – the leading importer, developer and distributor of Japanese food and drinks in the UK and Europe, providing a picking and packing service for them nationwide. The progressive partnership between the two companies was such that Tazaki Foods closed its European hub in the Netherlands and moved it to Connection Logistics’ depot, from which the European market is now serviced (using subcontracted hauliers).
To also compliment the Pharma and Food sides of the business connection logistics now also provide a 24 Hour call out service to pick pack and deliver critical spare parts to the fast growing number of Data Centres nationwide. This side of the business is really taking off and it’s a service that opens many new doors while utilising some of the vehicles through the night.
At the heart of Connection Logistics is a stunning, modern fleet of 25 fresh and regularly-replenished vehicles and a trusty team of full-time drivers, office administrators and warehouse personnel. “We’re up to five in the office now, alongside myself, and we have four in the warehouse,” Alan notes. “They are all critical and we have managed to grow the business through diversifying, with warehousing / storage and European distribution being the main drivers of this.”
Traditionally, Alan has operated a predominantly MAN fleet, although at the time of writing he had a MAXUS van in on trial with Thermoking ColdCube boxes from Ballinlough Refridgeration in the back. “These boxes are independent and you don’t need to insulate the whole van,” he explains. “You can place two boxes in the back of the van independently, at different temperatures, and they are proving very efficient and dependable for runs around the city and nationwide, so it’s an interesting option for when we upgrade the fleet in 2025.
“We’ll definitely be increasing the fleet by at least five units. I’m not sure yet what exactly these are going to be. I’ve bought eleven MAN units over the past 18 months but at the moment I’m undecided with regards to where we’ll go next. We have to keep our options open and you have to find value for money at all times with an after care service that gives small operators like ourselves the support we need.”
As for his vision for the company heading into his first calendar year as sole owner of Connection Logistics, Alan continues: “To stay focused on customer service. The attention to detail we provide is why we got so much pharmaceutical work so we’ll continue with that, keep growing and hopefully keep bringing new customers on board.
“All our vans are temperature mapped, spec’d, calibrated and accredited to the highest standards and that’s what you have to provide if you want to work in these critical sectors for prestigious clients. If you don’t keep the vans up to spec, you might as well forget about it.”
Alan also doubled Connection Logistics’ warehousing capacity last year, adding on an additional 7,500 sq ft of storage, and the plan moving into the company’s 20th-anniversary year is to keep building, keep growing, keep moving and keep progressing…
“We’re going to continue to provide clients with the standard of service we’re known for,” he concludes. “This is very specified work and there aren’t too many doing it, but we want to make sure that we remain ahead of everybody else. By continuing to look after all of our existing customers, hopefully we’ll keep attracting new ones.”
Twenty years in, one can excuse Connection Logistics for pausing briefly to reflect on where they have come from and the journey so far, but it’s forward that Alan and his team’s gazes are fixed.
Connection Logistics Ltd.
Unit 5a,
Summerhill Enterprise Centre,
Summerhill,
County Meath.
Tel: 01 8991015
Mobile: 087 2375395
Email: [email protected]
Web: connectionlogistics.ie
Facebook: www.facebook.com/connectionlogisticsltd
First published in Irish Trucker magazine January/February 2025, Vol 28-1
