Some serious fabrication

Longford-based Willie Monaghan & Sons specialises in general steel fabrication. As part of this, the company has developed into a leading commercial body builder with a reputation for excellence that stretches far and wide.

Willie Monaghan's business has been on the go over 18 years

Willie Monaghan & Sons was established by its eponymous proprietor in 1987 and has since gone on to forge quite a name for itself in the world of general steel fabrication.

While the bulk of the company’s business concerns the manufacture of bakery equipment for all the leading bakeries nationwide, an expert knowledge of steel has seen Willie and his team diversify into another related market – that of commercial body building. The company now builds bodies for all the major bread and bakery product suppliers in Ireland, including Pat the Baker, Irish Pride, Brennans, Johnston Mooney & O’Brien, Gallaghers, O’Haras etc.
Company founder Willie Monaghan was previously employed as a fitter with Pat The Baker. He spotted a niche in the market for a high quality steel fabricator and opted to set up his own company, a concern which has gone from strength to strength during the intervening 18 years.

Commercial body building of the highest standard is Willie Monaghan & Sons' speciality

Reflecting on the perfectly-timed genesis of his own company, Willie explains: “It was always my intention to set up as a general steel fabricator and I actually had my own workshop built before joining Pat The Baker. Eventually I decided to start building truck bodies.”
These were well received. Things couldn’t have worked out better. With the requisite expertise in place, Willie Monaghan & Sons proved that they could build top-quality bodies and word quickly spread. They are now building for all the major bread companies. The majority of the bodies are lightweight but extremely strong GRP bodies, which are made from aluminium and stainless steel. The company also builds curtainsiders and dropside bodies.

Hard at work, l/r: Wannen Tivenan, Vilnis Uzolnieks and Andy Dempsey

As well as designing, manufacturing and fitting the actual truck bodies, Willie Monaghan & Sons also provides a strong, comprehensive back-up service. This includes body maintenance. As Willie notes: “The back-up service is important. We pride ourselves on looking after our customers and end users. We make ourselves available for servicing and maintenance for the full lifetime of the body. As well as regular maintenance, we also provide a full repair service.”
Willie Monaghan & Sons is centrally located. The company can be found in Coolarty, three miles from Granard, in County Longford. Here, Willie runs three dedicated workshops, which are custom-built for general steel fabrication. Two of these workshops are 60ft by 40ft; the other is smaller – 45ft by 30 ft.

Willie has a team of six fully-trained fabricators working alongside him, all of whom have a thorough knowledge of every aspect of the steel fabrication process. Apart from competent staff, the other vital ingredient in this successful midlands company is the actual steel itself. Most of the raw materials are sourced from within Ireland, predominantly from counties Dublin, Kildare, Cork and Kilkenny.

The attention to detail makes the Longford company's work stand out

Willie Monaghan & Sons is very much a family business these days, as Willie’s son Damien is in his second year with the company.
There are three main commercial vehicle suppliers that Willie Monaghan & Sons fits bodies for. These are: T & S Gilmore in Kingscourt, Ray O’Brien Motors in Naas and Casey & Sons in Roscommon.
Willie has a way of making the whole process sound simple. No doubt this comes from years of experience, providing dealers with a top-quality service. He states: “The chassis and cab come into us and we design, manufacture and fit the body. It’s a straight-forward procedure. Once we fit the body, the vehicle is ready for the road.”

Needless to say, time is of the essence in this line of work. Once a dealer sells a vehicle, the priority is to get it out to the customer and on the road as quickly as possible. Willie Monaghan & Sons’ turnover time is extremely impressive and is yet another reason why this company has developed an enviable reputation as the commercial body builder of choice.

More the workers show off the finished product

The rapid turnover is just one reason why the company benefits from such a healthy quota of repeat custom. Any vehicle that’s off the road unnecessarily is a liability, something that simply cannot be tolerated in an industry where margins are tighter than ever before, what with spiralling fuel and insurance costs driving many operators to the very brink of non-existence.

Two Willie Monaghan & Sons operatives can assemble a body from scratch in a week, ensuring that there is no downtime whatsoever Willie Monaghan & Sons fitted 20 custom-made bodies in the past three months alone. The company is currently at full capacity and Willie says he has no intention of trying to increase productivity for the sake of taking on extra work.
Stainless steel fabrication still accounts for the bulk of output and there is no let-up in the demand for quality steel products. These days, the Longford-based manufacturer carries out a lot of work for piggeries, fabricating stainless steel feeding troughs and general piggery equipment.

Willie has authorised massive investment in equipment and capital over the past five years, leaving his brainchild at optimum size and braced for whatever challenges the future might hold.