Irish Towing services lead the field

Breakdowns are unfortunately a part of every day life and worse still, they always seem to happen at the most inconvenient times, but companies like Irish Towing Services have made it their business to ease the stress of breaking down.

Established in 1986, by Alan and Cora Sherwood and based in the Western Industrial on the Naas Road, Irish Towing Services has become one of the top firms in their field of expertise and it is a decision that both are delighted to have made.
The success of the company was illustrated in 2006, when they moved to larger premises last Easter and Cora explained to Irish Trucker what makes the business so successful. The company’s new premises has as you would expect all the latest equipment for a successful recovery service.

Irish Towing Services specialise in the recovery of vehicles and to render roadside assistance to their large customer base, while all their staff is highly trained to deal with any eventuality.
“We mainly deal in the recovery of cars and light commercials,” said Cora. “The company has grown over the years and our customer base has increased due to word of mouth from existing customers.
“The service we provide covers a wide customer base, which includes the RAC, AA and we are also in our fourth year as the main recovery contractor to the Gardai in Dublin,” she added.

The recovery industry is a business that sees many requirements having to be reached in order for a firm to progress and Cora revealed that Irish Towing Services is determined to keep up in all areas.
“You have to keep on your toes in this business and all our equipment is regularly tested and everything has to be kept up to standard, which is the proper procedure.
“When attending crash sites, our drivers have to know how to deal with all situations and they need to have a very good knowledge of the equipment that they are using. Training is provided by the Institute of Vehicle Recovery in the UK who are recognized worldwide.

“We promote their training and provide our premises and arrange courses for training of other operators in the country.
Irish Towing Services provide a primarily Dublin based and surrounding areas service 24 hours a day for 365 days a year, which leaves little time for social activities as Cora explained.
“The work is very demanding and I deal with the administration side of things. Fortunately, we have a dedicated staff that works in shifts and we have a full-time crew on nights.
“There are many rules and regulations to be met and we are PAS 43 accredited, while there many inspections to be met throughout the calendar year.

When the company first started 20 years ago, Alan operated one truck, while Cora maintained the book work. These days Irish Towing Services employ 20 people and have ten recovery trucks on the roads at any given time.
All recovery drivers must be qualified to render roadside assistance to vehicles or Vehicle Recovery as situation requires; maintain their Recovery Vehicle i.e., ensuring it's in a safe and clean condition.

As they attend to each job they contact client by phone en route to advice of ETA and confirm location, while also keep in contact with controller with regards to each job and complete necessary paperwork for each job on scene.
The fact that Irish Towing Services has grown over the past two decades is a testament to the hard work and effort that not only has Alan and Cora put in, but also their hard working staff.
Customers want a fast and efficient service, which is something that this Dublin based firm can provide through their well maintained vehicles and qualified staff.

“We do most of the small maintenance work on the vehicles, but the bigger jobs are handed out. Mercedes has been the preferred choice of recovery vehicle for us in recent years, while we also have Renault, Daewoo, Isuzu and Ford.
“Alan travels to a lot of exhibitions in order to keep up with the latest technology in the industry as this is important in order to main the high standards we have set ourselves,” she stressed.

Accordingly, the attention to detail is absolute. Setting out to meet the individual needs of all customers, the company quickly established a growing reputation for quality and demand for its service went through the roof.
“If a customer is happy with our work then they will come back, so it is very important to ensure that the job is done correctly,” she stressed.

Maintaining a strict adherence to excellence and a dictum of moving ahead of the times rather than with them, the Dublin based recovery service continues to go from strength to strength.
“There are no major plans in place at the moment to expand further, but that is not the say that if the right opportunity came along, we wouldn’t turn it down.
“At present the business is doing well and as along as we can keep producing the same level of consistency in this market, I’m confident we will continue to do well.”

Irish Towing Services only deal with the best when it comes to their equipment and Cora revealed that they are not afraid to try new brands, if they feel it will improve their service.
Shanco Eng in Kells Co Meath have been supplying us with the majority of our equipment over the past number of years and they are at the top of their field. We have also added Boniface Recovery Equipment in the UK to our suppliers and our introduction to Shanco has resulted in both companies fostering their own business relationship,” she revealed.

“We sourced a unique software package in the states, which integrates with our existing bookkeeping software. We have been using this successfully for the past year and will shortly be able to offer our customer an on-line ordering and tracking facility allowing customers to watch the progress of each job as it happens,” she revealed.
There is no doubt that Irish Towing Services is a company determined to provide the best possible service for their customers and are equally as focused to ensure that they continue to do so.

“Our greatest challenge is to achieve recognition for the efforts made by ourselves along with many fellow operators to bring the industry away from its ill-gained reputation as rip off merchants from the roguish side of the motor trade and make this vital emergency service into a viable business in its own right.
“Legislation and policing of the legislation will go a long way to ensure that the standard of recovery vehicle on the road will ensure that the health and safety of recovery drivers and the public will not be compromised by the very vehicles who attend to clean up the mess.”