Exciting times at D&M Truck Engineering!
10/11/2025
Having consistently delivered industry-leading light and heavy commercial vehicle testing, diagnostics, maintenance and repairs services for more than four decades, D&M Truck Engineering continues to move with the times and is currently enjoying an encouraging phase of expansion and growth.
The goal at D&M Truck Engineering since its inception in 1984 has been clear: to ensure that all customers - and their vehicles – receive the best-possible care and attention to detail.
This non-negotiable ethos of putting customers first has resulted is a large volume of repeat business at the Kilcullen, County Kildare headquartered CVR test centre / commercial vehicle workshop, where strong (and ever increasing) demand for their outstanding services is such that they are about to embark on a landmark project in the storied history of the family-run enterprise – namely the construction of a new state-of-the art commercial vehicle test centre, comprising two heavy lanes and three light lanes.
This represents an increase of over 50 per cent of capacity and will allow D&M Truck Engineering to test a significantly larger volume of vehicles daily, resulting in reduced downtime for all customers but without compromising on the quality service for which the Dunne family and their expert team are renowned near and far.
It was poignant and fitting that the Irish Trucker team bumped into David Dunne – who runs the business alongside his mother Nora – at Full of the Pipe 2025, which was staged in nearby Mondello Park over the second weekend of July. FOTP is of course an annual celebration of the Irish trucking industry, a community that David knows only too well as he engages with truck and van operators on a daily basis.
“Full of the Pipe is always a great event,” he enthuses. “It’s been in Kildare for a good few years now and we’d normally head over for a look around, and bring the kids over. There’s always plenty going on and lots to see. It’s a great weekend and you get to see the truckers in their finery rather than their workwear. I’d know a lot of the lads and it’s definitely an enjoyable experience every year. This year was no exception – another brilliant show!”
The impending new test centre at D&M Truck Engineering, which will replace the existing one, promises to be a game changer for a business that already excels when it comes to looking after customers. “We’re very, very busy and that’s why we’ve decided to invest in the new test lanes,” reveals David, a fully-qualified vehicle engineer and technician who joined the family business almost a quarter of a century ago.
“We’re in for planning permission as we speak and the new facility will add one additional heavy lane as well as two more light lanes, bringing us up to two and three lanes respectively. It’s going to be a complete new purpose-built test centre. Moving from two lanes to five is a big increase and it’s a big investment, but there’s no shortage of demand here so it makes sense to go ahead with this expansion. The bottom line is that we will be able to improve the service we’re providing and that’s what you are always aiming for.”
With a highly skilled and vastly experienced team of five testers and eight technicians on hand, D&M Truck Engineering Ltd. provides a comprehensive range of invaluable services to commercial vehicle owners and operators across Kildare and beyond.
As well as being a modern RSA-authorised CVRT testing centre for HGVs and LCVs, its state-of-the-art workshop in Kilcullen Industrial Estate possesses the personnel, tools, equipment and experience to deliver unbeatable commercial vehicle servicing, repairs, diagnostics, tachograph and speed limiter calibration solutions, plus any other service a truck, van or bus operator might require.
The ‘one-stop shop’ nature of the business is one of its many strengths, offering convenience and peace of mind to customers whilst making sure every vehicle is back on the road as safely, efficiently and quickly as possible. “Anything that can be done to a commercial vehicle, that’s what we’re here for,” says David. “Operators don’t want their vehicles off the road because they are losing money when it’s in a test lane or workshop. We are very conscious of this and that’s why we’re pushing ahead with the new test centre.
“We’re hoping to have it up and running by late 2026 at the latest. It’ll cut the waiting time for everybody and the quality of the service we provide will remain as high as ever. We pride ourselves on doing great work and that’s not going to change.”
Customers can rest assured that the new test centre will be adjacent to the existing well-appointed D&M Truck Engineering test centre in Kilcullen Industrial Estate, which offers ease of access. “We bought an extra couple of acres here and that’s where we are going to build the new test lanes. The workshop will be remaining at the same location.”
At the heart of D&M Truck Engineering’s wonderful, long-established commercial vehicle testing, servicing and repairs business is their fantastic team of testers and technicians, although David quite rightly points out that not enough emphasis is placed on the value of trades and apprenticeships in Ireland – an area where as a nation we sadly remain stuck in the past:
“It’s very hard to get good lads, so when you get them you have to try to hold onto them. Schools don’t seem to be promoting apprenticeships the way they should be, and for me that’s a major problem. Apprenticeships and trades are still being sold as a last chance for a career for somebody rather than the best chance for a person with the right aptitude. That’s wrong. Third level education is being pushed, but it doesn’t suit everybody.”
As for the future of D&M Truck Engineering, as they prepare for the next chapter of looking after commercial vehicle owners’ every need, David states: “The goal is to stay steady, expand, and invest where we can.”
D&M Truck Engineering Ltd.,
Kilcullen Industrial Estate,
Kilcullen,
County Kildare,
Tel: 045 481 639
Email: [email protected]
Web: kildarecvrt.ie
First published in Irish Trucker magazine November/December 2025, Vol 28-6
