On TOP of the world

TOP Finn View Service Station, located at Clady Bridge, Cloughfinn, Co. Donegal opened for business in July 2004. Here Irish Trucker speaks to owner Michael Doherty, who is carving out an impressive reputation in the fuels and lubes retail and distribution business in the North West.

Andrew Wilson (TOP) with Richard Doherty, manager Finn View Service Station

Michael Doherty first came to prominence in the fuels and lubricants retail business in 2000, when he established Michael Doherty Oils Ltd, based in Omagh, Co. Tyrone. It has been onwards and upwards for the hardworking entrepreneur ever since.

His latest venture Top Finn View Service Station, which is located close the Tyrone border near Strabane is proof positive of Michael’s commitment to the fuel retailing and distribution business.
Benefiting from a significant passing trade, TOP Finn View Service Station has quickly developed into a thriving filling station, shop and delicatessen, with six commercial units on site. Throw in visa and mobile phone top-up facilities, a busy hot foam wash and all the paraphernalia associated with the proverbial ‘one-stop-stop’ and the picture is almost complete.

Michael also operates a very successful fuels distribution business, under the name Michael Doherty Oils Ireland, from the site and is steadily building up a strong customer base in the domestic, agricultural and commercial sectors.

He revealed: “When we started we had no customers, so we had to get our name out there. We did that through tele-sales and advertising. Our customer base is building all the time.”
Having invested some £1.7 million in the site Michael was keen to maximise the return on investment. He elaborated: “Selling fuel is what we are good at, so it was only natural that we would establish a fuels distribution business on the site.”

He continued: “We felt there was an opening for a quality distributor in the region on the back of our experience with Michael Doherty Oils Ltd, which is based in Omagh. The business is building all the time and we are extremely happy with the response to date,” he enthused.

Having negotiated a deal to represent TOP on the forecourt, it made perfect sense to extend the agreement to the fuel distribution business.
“It was always our intention to represent a quality product and we were delighted to strike a deal with TOP. Michael Doherty Oils Ireland is an authorised TOP distributor and focuses on the domestic, commercial and agricultural markets in the Lifford / Castlefinn area. The company offers a range of lubricants and oil tanks.”

Michael’s flagship business, Michael Doherty Oils Ltd continues to go from strength to strength from its Omagh base. The company runs a fleet of five trucks to service its extensive customer base in the agricultural, domestic and commercial sectors.

“It all started in Omagh five years ago. We now have an independent filling station and a fuels distribution business based there. We are continually attracting new customers and expanding our operations throughout Tyrone and Fermanagh,” Michael remarked.

Andrew Wilson (TOP) with Richard Doherty, Fiona Kelly and Moira Bell

Blessed with an eye for a business opportunity Michael diversified into timber harvesting some time after the establishment of Michael Doherty Oils Ltd. “My older brothers Andrew and Seamus were involved in that business, so we decided to set up our own business.”

“We are now contracting to Balcas and Coillte and we are now operating out of Killybegs. About 90 per cent of our work would be in Donegal, but we are prepared to go all over the country,” he noted.
In order to facilitate the smooth running of the business, Michael made a significant investment in state-of-the art equipment including Daewoo diggers, Silvatech harvesters and Log Set Forwarders
“We have five men employed in the timber harvesting business, which is going extremely well for us. We have just invested in a new Daewoo digger, which will increase our harvesting capacity considerably,” he elaborated.

Throughout the Michael Doherty group of companies, Michael has appointed members of the family to key management positions. To that end Michael’s brother Richard manages Michael Doherty Oils Ireland and TOP Finn Service Station, while Andrew manages the harvesting business.

Employing a fulltime staff of 28 people, Michael has assembled a strong team in all aspects of the business. It is one of the group’s core strengths, according to Michael. In that respect he recruited quality personnel in his two fuel distribution businesses, TOP Finn View Service Station and the timber-harvesting firm.

Michael believes there is no magic formula for instant success. “It is all down to working long hours and having a hunger to succeed. From that point of view all of the staff have made an important contribution to our overall success. It is all about having a good team around you,” he enthused.

He continued: “Our staff especially our drivers represent the public face of the company. They are out there meeting our customers every day of the week. Some drivers have come and gone, but our current team are excellent and do a great job for us.”

In all of the group’s activities a willingness to go the extra mile for the customer is apparent. “We sell the business on high levels of personal service. Every customer is important to us and we go out of our way to make the customer feel important,” he explained.

Operating in what is ultimately a price sensitive sector Michael and his team endeavour to give the customer a prompt efficient and value for money service every time. “We are working in a very price competitive business, so we try to be the best at what we are doing. For example we deliver seven days a week on the fuel distribution side,” Michael explained.

Michael fully realises that competition is fierce in the fuel retailing and fuel distribution sectors. Similarly he is intensely aware that customer loyalty has to be earned. “Fuel is fuel at the end of the day, so the customer can pick and choose who he / she deals with. By offering high levels of personal service, we hope the customer will choose to stay with us,” he affirmed.

Michael believes in running his burgeoning group of companies from the front and is very much ‘hands on’. Consequently, he spends a large chunk of his time meeting and greeting customers and has his fingers firmly on the pulse of the day-to-day running of the group.

It is a simple yet effective philosophy that has yielded dividends for the affable businessman. “I’m quite happy to be sitting here in Omagh taking orders over the telephone and dealing with the customers on a one-to-one basis. Richard runs Finn View and Michael Doherty Oils Ireland, while Andrew runs Doherty Brothers Timber Harvesting. They are also very ‘hands on’,” he stated.