A ray of sunshine

Ray O’Brien Motor Group are one of the leading car and light commercial sales company in Ireland for the past 18 years and Managing Director Ray O’Brien took time out to tell Irish Trucker about the company.

Ray O'Brien has worked hard to get where he is today

Based in Newhall, Naas, Co. Kildare, the Ray O’Brien Motor Group have been providing an efficient and excellent service to the people of Kildare, Dublin and other bordering counties for many years now.
At present, the group hold franchises for Opel and Mazda cars and light commercials; Mitsubishi cars and 4x4, Mitsubishi Fuso, Mercedes-Benz light commercials, all of which leaves their customers guaranteed to find what their looking for at their state-of-the-art premises.

Since moving to their current premises which saw an extension built to leave the building with floor space consisting of 40,500sq ft and cost E8 million to construct, O’Brien’s have gone from strength–to-strength in all departments.
Not only do they provide top quality cars at reasonable and competitive prices, but the Ray O’Brien Group also specialise in van rental, which has proven to be a huge success.

“Our showrooms hold 60 new cars at any time, while the whole premises are on three and a half acres. Business is very good at present and January was one of the best starts to the year that we ever had,” said Ray.
Like the majority of successful businesses, the Ray O’Brien Motor Group story is like a rag to riches tale. Ray served his time as a mechanic and worked hard to get where he is today. In 1988, Ray first established his own business with an Esso Station and Spar shop incorporating van hire.

A selection of light goods vehicles at Ray O 'Brien Motor Group

The car dealers then acquired the franchise for the four different marques down through the years as they continued to grow and expand at a massive rate.
“Sixty percent of our sales are made in the first quarter as people continue to buy new cars. Whoever said the Irish economy was not booming anymore could not have been more wrong.
“We found it hard to keep the showroom full of new cars, they were selling that quickly,” quipped Ray.
Along with sales and service; van hire and after sales, the Kildare based company offer a wide range of finance packages to cater for every customers’ needs.

Their Business Manager can provide expert in-house advice on flexible finance options. They can tailor a plan to suit your requirements. Having substantial buying power with the major financial institutions means that they can often offer more competitive rates than a customer would get by dealing directly with their bank.
As one of the leading suppliers of light commercials in the country, the Ray O’Brien Motor Group offer a wide range of vehicles to their customers and one that is top of their sales list at the moment is the Mitsubishi Canter.

Commercial Sales Manager Richard O'Sullivan alongside the Mitsubishi Fuso

The canter comes in four ranges. The six tonne crew cab, the 3.5 tonne chassis cab, the 6.5 tonne crew cab and the 3.5 chassis cab. All of which are very good sellers for the company.

The new Canter is designed from the driver’s perspective, with improved levels of comfort and spaciousness, whilst retaining the compact dimensions that make it so manoeuvrable. Added to this, the chassis cab design allows flexibility for fitment of numerous different body types for any number of different applications. This light duty truck builds a tough base for every customer’s individual need.

Modern styling, a very spacious and well-equipped cab, a diversified model range with a large number of product variants, economical, reliable and robust technology, new safety features and extensive service and warranty cover – the seventh-generation of the Mitsubishi Fuso Canter light truck has a great deal going for it.
With permissible gross weights from 3.5 to 7.5 tonnes and with 2 cabin versions, 3 weight variants and 7 wheelbases it offers the broadest product variety ever.

Mario Mellamphy displays Opel's latest light commercial

Behind every good company is a reliable staff and at Ray O’Brien’s customers can be guaranteed to be looked after to the best of their capabilities.
Once a customer enters the doors at Newhall, they are met with a friendly atmosphere and everyone can avail of refreshments in their canteen.

“I’m lucky to have a very good staff to help the company run smoothly on a day-to-day basis. Some of them have been with me years and in total we employ 60 at the moment,” added Ray.
Chief Executive Gerard Reid, Sales Manager Declan Noonan, Service Manager Myles Crolly and Parts Manager James Maguire are all part of a dedicated team at Ray O’Brien Motor Group.

Staff at Ray O'Brien's Motor Group: Front l/r: Myles Crolly (Service manager), Gareth Wilson and Graham Leonard (service advisors)

Their state of the art workshop offers a customer-friendly and efficient service. While, the team of manufacturer trained technicians use the latest computer technology and diagnostic equipment to ensure that a customer’s vehicle is maintained to manufacturers’ recommendations.

Despite, devoting the majority of his life building a successful business, Ray has in the past found the time to represent the people of Naas on a political front.
“I was a Town Councillor for 30 years until a couple of years ago. It meant I had a very busy schedule, but I enjoyed my time working with the local people and it was my way of giving something back to the community.”