An efficient service

Time is of the essence in the haulage industry and the quickest, safest delivery means everything to both client and customer. This is why Francis Ely Transport Ltd is one of the top firms in the South East of Ireland.

The hard work of Majella and Francis Ely has turned Ely Transport into the success story it is today

Based in Athnid, Thurles, Co Tipperary, the company has been operation for the past eight years. Francis Ely initially delivered newspapers for a living, before diversifying the business into a leading haulage firm.
As we all know the haulage industry can be a very fickle business with many overheads meaning that the profit margin can sometimes be very tight. Hard work and dedication, while providing a reliable service are attributes needed to succeed and Francis and his team have those qualities in abundance.

“It certainly took a while to build the business, but I suppose it’s just like everything else. Fortunately, we have been involved with Ace Express for the last few years and that has helped to bring in a steady stream of business for us,” said Francis.
“We were approached by Ace Express to do business with them and we are delighted to be involved with such a fast growing company that is at the forefront of their field of expertise.”
Ace Express Pallets operates a scheduled overnight delivery service to and from its 250,000 sq ft central hub and transit warehouse in Dublin to any part of Ireland every night.
Every evening, before 9 p.m., a fleet of ‘super cube’ vehicles departs from local agent depots, which are strategically located throughout the 32 counties. (Each vehicle carries a minimum of 52 palletised loads: conventional 40 ft containers hold a maximum of 26 pallets.)

Company driver Tom O'Connell ahead of a day's business

Because these vehicles arrive at the central hub in Dublin by 1 a.m. at the latest, and return to their local depot by 6 a.m. at the latest, no driver is obliged to work for more than eight hours, guaranteeing one-driver rosters and ensuring that all drivers strictly observe EC regulations on working hours and rest periods.
In addition, because the return freight consignments arrive in the local depots before 6 a.m., their agents have ample time to affect early-morning deliveries to their customers. Depending on pricing agreements, deliveries are guaranteed for either pre-10 a.m. or pre-12 a.m. on the same day.

Each company in the network was chosen for its commitment to providing the highest levels of service, and all network members have signed a service charter. This charter is governed by a set of key performance indicators, which are continuously monitored, and are upgraded on an ongoing basis.
Every member of the network is linked by a high speed connection to the Ace Pallets Express central hub Data Processing Centre. As a consignment passes through key points in the transit/delivery process, all data relating to that consignment is transmitted instantaneously to the Data Processing Centre.

Their integrated email system allows instant communication between individual agents and the computers in our central hub, with automatic email or mobile phone alerts to network agents as special delivery requirements or other important developments arise. “We specialise in palletised goods and concentrate in the south-east covering the counties of Tipperary, Kilkenny and Waterford. Every delivery made the previous day has to be recorded and scanned into a computer.”

Francis and Majella Ely at the company's headquarters in Thurles

The quality of the service is closely monitored and managed by a range of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) which clearly display precise information on all aspects of the service. On arrival at the hub the pallets are checked, offloaded by route number, and when all trailers are offloaded, the reloading process begins at 1am.

Each trailer is reloaded with the network pallets for its area and it arrives back in the regional depot about 5am, in time to be offloaded, checked, and put out on local delivery vehicles for early morning delivery.
The central IT system collates the shipment data from all the depots, sorting pallets into destination depot order, and producing outbound load manifests.
“We are alos involved in cross-refrigeration and have two Moffet mounted forklifts on the trucks to lift out cabinets in the likes of supermarkets. This involves a lot of night work, but it comes in bursts. Recently, we worked three weeks of nights, although that could be it for a few weeks.

Brian Shanahan is another member of the Ely Transport team

“There is also a contract to do work for Woodies and this entails delivering their goods to the various outlets in Carlow, Waterford, Kilkenny and Tipperary. In total we have ten trucks and 12 trailers with two of the trailers being double deckers.
“Most of the trucks are DAF and I try to keep them relatively fresh and maintenance free. There is one fitter here who looks after the trucks and he does a good job, while there are 15 employed in total. They are a very reliable and experienced staff that has a good knowledge of their jobs, while they are also well trained.”

Aside from the haulage end of the business, Francis also operates a warehouse at his premises and this houses such goods as fire lighters for Bord na Mona where up to 300 pallets of goods can be stored at any given time.
Francis revealed that there is plenty of paperwork involved in running the business, but that has not stopped him from getting out on the road where he is most happiest.

“I drive a bit but not as much as I would like do. There is plenty of paperwork to be done on a daily basis and it is hard to find the time to do a run, but every now and again I manage it.
“I’m pleased with the way the company has grown in the last few years and there are no plans in place to expand further, although you never know what is around the corner,” he concluded.