Jimmy Kelly opens new state-of-the -art facility

Jimmy Kelly Truck & Trailer Bodies officially opened its new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Castledermot, Co. Kildare in July. The official opening coincided with the company being awarded the I.S. EN ISO 9001:2000 accreditation by the National Standards Authority of Ireland.

Jimmy and Pauline Kelly, with Sean Power TD at the official opening

Friday July 8 was a day of double celebration for Jimmy Kelly Truck and Trailer Bodies Ltd. It marked the official opening of the company’s ultra-modern manufacturing facility at Coltstown, Castledermot and its considerable achievement in attaining I.S. EN ISO 9001:2000 accreditation. In other words it was time to party!
Some 220 guests, drawn from the company’s suppliers, customers and friends attended the lavish official opening and presentation, which was held in a marquee, adjacent to the company’s premises.

Local TD Sean Power conducted the official opening ceremony, while Simon Kelly, chief executive of the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) was on hand to present the company with the much sought after I.S. EN ISO 9001:2000 Certificate.
Jimmy Kelly’s association with the body building industry stretches back for the best part of 35 years. Indeed, he is one of the best-known and most respected characters in the business.

In 1999 Jimmy decided to set up his own business with a view to building high quality truck and trailer bodies. It was a decision that has borne fruit ever since. The official opening of the factory and the presentation of the quality systems award show just how far the company has progressed since its inception six years ago.
“As far as we know we are the only company building truck and trailer bodies that has the ISO 9001:2000 certificate so it means a great deal to us. “We put an enormous amount of work into getting the award,” Jimmy commented.

Jimmy Kelly receives the company�s ISO Award frm Simon Kelly, chief executive of the NSAI

On the back of receiving the award the company felt it was high time it officially opened its “new” premises, which have been operational for the past three years. “We decided to have the official opening and the awards ceremony at the same time and make a day of it,” Jimmy’s daughter, marketing and sales executive, Paula Gannon confirmed.
By all accounts the day went swimmingly. “We had a number of recently completed bodies on display for our customers to peruse, but the day wasn’t about sales. It was our way of saying thanks to our suppliers and our customers, for their support over the years,” she added.

Jimmy Kelly Truck and Trailer Bodies Ltd has always been a quality driven outfit. In that light the company took the first tentative steps along the road to ISO recognition in early 2004 when it contacted the NSAI.
Sales manager Bob Ashcroft revealed: “It is all about having quality management structures in place to make sure that a quality end product is delivered on time to customer specifications.”

He continued: “We knew we were already a long way down the road with regard to quality, but we felt we needed the ISO accreditation to take us to the next level. It has taken us the best part of a year to reach those standards.”
The process began with an audit of the company’s management systems. “A representative came down and conducted an initial audit. Having received an initial report, we set about tackling the areas that needed to be addressed. There were subsequent audits throughout the entire process,” he elaborated.

Mick Earls, Peter Byrne and Brian Fahey enjoy the occasion

The audits focused on administration and workshop management systems. Bob revealed that the process is set to continue, even if the ISO award is in the bag, so to speak.
“They will be auditing on an ongoing basis to ensure that we keep the systems in place. That will keep us on our toes and ensure that we stick with the quality ethos,” he added.

The whole process has been of great benefit to the company because it has tightened up internal management systems and introduced efficiencies within the business. The majority of the improvements have been slight but when added together they can have a profound affect on the company.
Bob illustrates the benefits from the point of view of order taking. “If you take an order and don’t write the details down you can’t produce a meaningful works order. In the worst-case scenario that could lead to the customer getting a truck body, quite different from the one that he initially ordered.”

Jimmy Kelly Truck and Trailer Bodies’ core business centres on the production of tipper bodies in rigid and articulated format. “We manufacture tipping bodies for the rigid truck market and tipping (fixed and sliding) bodies for the articulated trailer market,” he elaborated.
“We would also produce curtainsiders, chipliners, platform bodies especially for block trucks and machinery bodies with beaver tails. We produce across the whole spectrum of truck and trailer bodies,” he remarked.
Bodies are built to order in line with customer specifications. “Most of the bodies we would build are loosely based around an existing design, but out customers would know exactly want they want from their truck bodies and we work with them to meet their requirements,” Bob confirmed.

The company’s ability to react to individual customer requirements is centred on the excellence of its design team and the flexibility and professionalism of its fabricators. “We are certainly winning in that respect. The fact that we build to individual requirements is a big selling point for us,” he added.
The majority of bodies are built in Hardox steel or aluminium, which are weight efficient and can go a long way to increasing payload, when compared to other metals. Bob elaborated: “The bodies on the tipper trucks tend to be built from hardox steel, while the tipper trailers are generally built from aluminium.”

He continued: “The lighter the body, the bigger the payload. That has to be balanced with the overall strength of the body. Through using hardox and aluminium we are achieving a good balance.”
The company’s ultra-modern premises has as you would expect, all the latest equipment for a successful body shop. “Guillotines, press brakes, overhead cranes, welders, cutters grinders etc are there in abundance. However, it is the quality of the staff that sets the company apart from the competition, according to Paula.

Bob Ashcroft and Jim Bergin talked trucks at the big event

“We have a fantastic team throughout every aspect of the business and they play a vital role in the ongoing success of the company. Our continued success has been built on team work,” Paula confirmed.
The company, which has a fulltime staff of 48, also utilises the skills of a number of specialist contractors. “We have six sub-contractors who are working almost exclusively for us. They also play an important role in the success of the company,” she explained.