A natural match

Dennison Commercials and Volvo have had a long and fruitful relationship in Northern Ireland dating back more than 30 years. Dennison Commercials’ Sales Director Tom Gourley waxed lyrical about this enduring double act.

You could be forgiven for thinking that Dennison Commercials and Volvo are joined at the hip. It is hard to mention one without the other. Volvo’s excellent product range is complemented by Dennison Commercial’s state-of-the-art facilities and dedication to customer support.

The association stretches back to the late ‘60s when Dennison Commercials was appointed main dealer for Northern Ireland. Tom revealed why Volvo is such a popular marque in Northern Ireland. “Volvo is renowned for quality, safety and reliability. One of the biggest selling points is the service back-up and the dealer network.”

Dennison Commercials has its sales and administration head office at Ballyclare, Co. Antrim, and has dealerships in Newry, Co. Down, Coleraine, Co. Derry and Dungannon, Co. Tyrone. This geographical spread coupled with an excellent product range has made Volvo “the biggest selling heavy truck in Northern Ireland,” according to Tom.
“The sites were all purpose built to meet our requirements. Ballyclare was built in 1985, then Newry and Coleraine. The Dungannon site was built five years ago. Ballyclare is by far the biggest site for any truck distributor in Northern Ireland. It is built on 13 acres,” he added.

Tom explained the sales and administration functions are located at Ballyclare enabling the other depots to concentrate on supplying high levels of customer service.
“The other depots specialise in warranty work, servicing, repairs and maintenance. The depots are well equipped with spare parts, specialist equipment and are linked by computer to us and directly to Volvo Truck.”

All of Dennison Commercials’ mechanics are trained to the highest standards to keep abreast of technological advances. Tom explained how the system works. “Volvo have a system called “train the trainer”. We send our trainer to Warwick or Gothenburg in Sweden. He comes back and trains our mechanics. We have our own training facility here at Ballyclare.”

All four locations carry an extensive range of spare parts. In the unlikely event of a part being out of stock Dennison’s will pull out all the stops to get the transport operator up and running in double quick time. “We would check round all four locations, and then with our colleagues in the Republic. If we couldn’t locate it that way, we would get it before 8.00am the next morning from Volvo Truck in the UK,” Tom commented.

Dennison Commercials also specialise in contract hire which now represents 20 per cent of the company’s sales. The contracts normally include, tyres, maintenance, road tax, replacement vehicle etc.. However, the contracts can be tailor-made to suit individual customer requirements. “Each package is customised to suit each customer,” he added.

The company also has a fleet of vehicles available for “spot-hire”. We have a spot-hire fleet of new Volvo’s comprising heavy tractor units and rigid vehicles under the banner of Dennison Rentals. These vehicles are available for hire for an hour, a day, a week, practically for any period the customer requires,” Tom remarked.

While the Northern Ireland transport industry has been going through tough times in the last number of years, Dennison Commercials and Volvo have continued to perform well in the market. “Our market share has been growing and volumes have been growing. We put that down to the quality and reliability of the product. The Dennison name, the service back-up and the locations of the dealerships also has a lot to do with it,” Tom concluded.