Blarney Skip Hire has plans to expand

Blarney Skip Hire based in Blarney, Co. Cork was established by Breda O’Connor and her daughter Valerie two and a half years ago. On a recent visit John Loughran discovered the fledgling company has plans for expansion.

Two and a half years ago Breda O’Connor was contracted to Cork Corporation to collect refuse. She was given the option of taking on the work in a private capacity and after much deliberations Breda and her daughter Valerie decided to seize the opportunity. They have never looked back and now own and run a thriving waste disposal and recycling business and have plans afoot for expansion.

The company now specialises in collecting domestic waste throughout mid-Cork for disposal at Cork County Council’s landfill site at Rossmore, Carrigtwohill. It also specialises in commercial and industrial waste collection using skip-loaders in the same geographic area.

Cork County hope to open a new licensed landfill site at Bottle Hill some eight miles from Blarney in 2004 solving the county’s medium term waste management problems. However, Breda believes that recycling will play an ever increasing role in the Ireland’s waste management strategy because of spiralling landfill charges.

“The cost to the householder and to the commercial user is going to get very expensive in the next few years. All our domestic refuse is going to landfill at the moment. However, we are recycling plastic, timber and cardboard from our commercial and domestic customers.”

She elaborated: “The prices we charge our domestic waste customers is governed by the tipping charges at the landfill. If tipping charges increase we will be forced to pass that increase on to the customer.”
With an eye on expansion the company moved into skip hire having seen a gap in the market 18 months ago. “It is still early days with the skip hire and we are building up the business. We anticipate further growth in this area in the coming years,” Breda commented

She continued: “We bring the waste back to the yard and pick out the cardboard, metal and timber which goes for recycling. The residue goes to landfill.”
At present the company is achieving recycling figures in the order of 30 per cent. However, Breda is confident this figure will rise in the future. “We feel it is important for us to buy some land and develop a transfer station. It will represent a big investment for us, but I feel it is the road we have to travel. Expansion will also entail adding another one or two trucks to the fleet. In doing that we will be able to increase what can be recycled. In turn that will reduce, the amount going to landfill.”

To facilitate the smooth running of the business, the company runs two 1995 registered “six wheeler” refuse collectors - Scania and Dennis the preferred marques. Breda commented: “We brought the trucks in from England. We tried everywhere in Ireland but we couldn’t get what we were looking for. It would have saved us a lot of money, if we could have got them here, because of the exchange rate. We will run them for three to four years and then we will change them again.”

The company plumped for “six wheelers” because of their size and manouevrability. “We wouldn’t be able to use an eight wheeler in a lot of the rural areas we cover. They wouldn’t be accessible in a lot of the housing estates either.”
Blarney Skip Hire also runs a 1989 Mercedes “single axle” which it uses for the delivery and collection of commercial and industrial skips. “We intend to change that truck later in the year. We are looking at the possibility of changing to a new Volvo FS 6,” Breda revealed.

Running a fleet of just three trucks the company sub-contracts its maintenance to a local fitter. “It is a question of time. We would rather concentrate of waste collection and let somebody else look after repairs and maintenance.”
Like practically every haulier in the country, Blarney Skip Hire has been adversely affected by soaring insurance premiums. This year alone the company’s motor insurance premium rocketed by 65 per cent. “It increased from £11,000 to £18,000 for the three trucks. We’ll have to try and pass that on to the customer, but it isn’t always easy to do that because of the competition,” Breda remarked.

Operating in a market where competition is keen, Blarney Skip Hire endeavours to offer all of its customers a first rate service. “In some areas I have no competition, in others I would have a lot. The competition keeps you on your toes, which is good for the customer,” she quipped.
“Service and reliability is very important especially to our commercial customers. If they want a skip on site at 7.00am it must be there 7.00am. We pride ourselves on giving all our customers, both domestic and commercial high levels of service.”

Word of mouth, according to Breda generates most of the company’s new business in both the domestic and commercial sectors. “We keep all our trucks and skips neat and tidy and we have stickers on them. It is very important to portray a positive image to the customer.”
Breda - who deals with accounts and administration - is looking to the future with optimism in the knowledge that waste management and recycling is a thriving sector of the economy.

Ireland may be 20 years behind its European counterparts in terms of waste management, but this hard working Cork company is intent on doing its share to close the gap.