McGuire�s continue to grow

M. McGuire Haulage Ltd may only be established eight years, but during the intervening years the company has grown into one of the top firms in their field of expertise.

The trucks are rarely off the road

Managing Director Martin McGuire spoke to Irish Trucker about the growth of the business and the pros and cons of being involved in such a high intensity industry.
The haulage company was established in May, 1999 and is based in Callan, Co. Kilkenny since Martin took the brave decision to set up his own firm having worked as a foreman in the industry beforehand. Like all companies in their fledgling years, it took time for Martin to find his feet, although when he finally did the work came pouring in.
“It’s never easy starting up a company and it did take a while to get started properly, but through ‘word of mouth’ the work started to build and thankfully we have never looked back since,” said Martin.

The haulage industry is a very fickle business in that one wrong decision or a piece of bad luck could well see a company fold. Hauliers have to be always on their toes and aware of the pitfalls in the business.
Martin has learned through his experience that it is essential not to look too far ahead in the future as companies never really know what is around the corner.
“It is important to get steady work and I’m fortunate that I have been involved with such companies as Laing O’Rourke, Ascon, Roadbridge, Coffey Construction and Lagan to name just a few in the last few years. These firms are well established and they have been very good to me work wise,” added Martin.

Martin started out with just one truck now he has 75!

Specialising in low loader hire, site clearance, 10-50 ton excavators and suppliers of building aggregate, M. McGuire Haulage Ltd offers a wide range of services to an extensive customer base that has escalated dramatically in recent years.
The company MD admits that the business has benefited from the Celtic Tiger, which has now being going strong in the country for the best part of 12 years.
“Certainly, all the building work has been a huge help to our business and long may it continue, although I do believe that it has slowed up slightly, but that’s not to say that there will be plenty of work for some time to come.
“At the moment we are slack enough as is usually the case around this time of the year. The weather tends to slow things down a bit, but we should be busy again very shortly.”

The McGuire logo can be seen all over the south east

Last year saw Martin add a number of trucks to the fleet, 25 in all, which brings the total number of lorries on the road bearing the M. McGuire Haulage Ltd logo to 75, which were purchased from Carthy Commercials in Kilkenny. Quite a fleet to say the least. Having such a vast quantity of trucks to look after means that there are plenty of overheads in the business.
One of the biggest expenditures is the diesel bill and Martin admits that the uncertain price of fuel has been a concern for hauliers all over the country.
“We have a big fleet alright and I buy most of the trucks from Carthy Commercials. I have found them very good to deal with all the time and they are only too willing to help in any way they can,” he revealed.
“However, there are many overheads and the diesel bill is very big. For us to make money the trucks have to be on the road as much as possible, otherwise it is costing us money.”

The comppany also have a number of hymacs

To ensure that the trucks are kept hauling, Martin does his own maintenance work and has a mechanic and tyre fitter working full time at the yard. Downtime is kept to a minimum, but the fact that the trucks are mostly brand new means that there is little maintenance work to be carried out.
The preferred choice of truck for the company is Volvo, while there are also Scania, DAF, Man and Hino lorries in the fleet. With artics and rigids at their disposal, Martin and his staff of 80 can cater for all types of haulage work.
Hauliers are expected to work long hours between paper work and lorries, there are the day to day repairs, the workers to be organised, jobs to be measured and items to be ordered.

M. McGuire Haulage Ltd is committed to providing a quality service, with an extensive fleet meeting the needs of all businesses. The company is dedicated to meeting the customer’s haulage requirements, meaning on time delivery at a very competitive rate. Their rapid expansion reflects in the amount of work that the company are involved in at the present time and they will continue to provide their customers with a reliable and quality service.

Martin concluded: “We’ve expanded to a level we’re comfortable with. We have good customers and we’re very happy with them. Expansion is justified if any of our existing customers expanded and we generated additional work through that.
“Costs in the past few years have increased at a rapid rate, especially fuel, and it helps if customers understand and recognise that you are not in control of the oil industry prices. Of course, we have margins to maintain, but our existing customers appreciate this and relations are good between all parties.”