More choice, more value

A business arrangement which has been ongoing for many years between Tullamore-based plant and machinery merchant Joe Sheridan and Korean motor manufacturer Daewoo was officially cemented in February last. As a result, the consumer is in line for a better deal. Want to know more? Read on.

Windows of opportunity are not things Joe Sheridan tends to ignore. A successful businessman who has been engaged in the importation and sale of heavy plant machinery for more than 20 years, Joe hasn’t got to where he is today without showing a capacity to identify the potential of a product or project.

And so it came as a surprise to no one au fait with the man’s business nous when the boss of Tullamore-based Sheridan Truck and Plant Sales decided in February to establish a business arrangement with world famous motor vehicle manufacturer Daewoo.
Negotiations between the team in Tullamore - and the people from Daewoo began in January last.

The visit to the Daewoo plant in Korea was to prove a wholly productive one. The objective was to secure a deal which would see Sheridan Daewoo Commercials becoming the sole Ireland and UK importer of Daewoo heavy-duty trucks.

Partnership
One month after the rendez-vous with Daewoo chiefs, a contract was signed, sealing the partnership.
Less than six months after the initial meeting in Korea between the two parties, the first of the fully assembled Daewoo trucks arrived at Dublin Port - the first such vehicle to make it to Europe, in actual fact.

July 14th - the date of the arrival - was a red letter day for everyone based at Sheridan’s on Tullamore’s Arden Road. Sheridan’s General Manager and Director Dave Mullen doesn’t begin to underplay the sense of excitement and anticipation that’s currently rife among the Sheridan crew.

“We’re in on the start of something new and exciting - the arrival of Daewoo onto the European heavy truck market - and we’re very optimistic that things will go very well for both parties.

“This has been a great year for truck sales in Ireland and we feel we’re introducing the Daewoo truck at a very opportune time.
“The Daewoo truck is a quality product, selling at a competitive price and it has proven to be a great success in other markets and now that it has undergone the necessary modifications to comply with EU regulations, we see no reason why it can’t be similarly successful here in Ireland and Britain.

Market increase
“We’ve done our homework on this. Joe (Sheridan) has been over to Korea on a number of occasions over the last few months and we’re happy that we’re entering into something which has great potential.

“We’re actually now some four months into the arrangement with Daewoo and our faith in the ability of the Daewoo truck to capture anything up to 25% of the 8x4 tipper truck market in this country has increased with time.”

Meanwhile, according to Dave, in the short-term, at least, the main plank of the Sheridan business will continue to be the company’s traditional core activity, vis-a-vis, the importation and sale of construction plant.

The company has been importing almost new machinery such as excavators and diggers from all over the world - including Korea, Japan and the Far East - for upwards on 20 years.

Indeed, the traditional work carried out by the Sheridan enterprise has remained consistently buoyant and is still mushrooming.
“We enjoyed a record year for sales of excavators last year and we’re on target to surpass that record this year,” Dave confirms.

Domestic market
There is little doubt that the team at Sheridan Daewoo Commercials consider that they’re onto something quite exciting and potentially very rewarding in terms of the importation of commercial vehicles such as the 4x2 tractor, the 8x4 rigid plus the 6x4 rigid and the 4x2 cargo (due in early 2001).

Certainly, Dave and co’s enthusiasm ought to be shared by the market as a whole for with the advent of the Daewoo models to Ireland comes more choice from way out east. And with more choice comes more value and a better deal all-round for buyers.

But what sort of response have the Sheridan Daewoo products been getting on the domestic market? Given the products that we are importing and selling, we are confident that we can go from strength to strength.

“We did a small bit of advertising in the run-up to the launch in July but it’s been mainly ‘word of mouth’ ever since so we’re really pleased with the feedback we’ve been receiving before and after the launch.

“A lot of people involved in the sand and gravel business and also plant contractors have been in touch with us and we’ve already sold around 40 units- incorporating both 4x2s and 8x4s - since July which is, more or less, in line with our expectations.
“We’re right on target for the rest of this year with regard to our sales but we’re expecting to retail around 200 trucks in total next year and to steadily add to that figure in the years thereafter,” Dave enthuses.

With a 40-strong team in place and an excellent pedigree in the plant/machinery business, Sheridan’s alliance with a proven name such as Daewoo points to all sorts of success stories being born.

Indeed, Dave Mullen insists that everything is in place in Tullamore - including £500,000 worth of parts - to ensure a viable and profitable operation.

And given that there seems to be no slowing down of the activity so redolent of the Celtic Tiger economy, the outlook is very bright for both Sheridan’s traditional activity and its new venture with Daewoo.

“The country is still undergoing massive changes to its infrastructure and we’re perfectly placed to take advantages of all the improvements that are taking place with regards to the road network, sewerage treatment etc.

“We have a good team in place, including those already named and our vibrant Sales team of Director Brian Coffey and Manager Martin Hough, )who between them have half a century of experience in the truck and plant field).

We’ve rapped up a deal to increase the range to include 6-9 tonne trucks and we expect to have a demonstration model by mid December.