A flexible service

Equally at home delivering furniture or refrigerated products, Noel Flanagan Ltd. has come a long way since diversifying its range of services just over a decade ago. Irish Trucker went to south Monaghan to take a closer look at this exemplary family business.

Directors Noel and Deirdre Flanagan (centre) with Claire Duffy and Brendan Murray

Noel Flanagan Ltd. is a family-owned road haulage company headquartered in Castleblayney, County Monaghan. The company provides strong distribution services within Ireland and to/from the UK. Specialising in furniture distribution and refrigerated work, Noel Flanagan Ltd. uses a superb fleet to satisfy a growing customer base.
The stated objective of the company – fronted by managing directors Noel and Deirdre Flanagan – is “to provide a consistent, efficient and high quality logistics solution to all our customers at competitive rates and go that extra mile to ensure we provide a quality service.”

Boasting over quarter of a century of experience of the road haulage business, Noel Flanagan Ltd. began life as a furniture hauler but has more recently diversified to also distribute frozen and chilled goods throughout Ireland and into the UK. The seeds of this change of direction were planted just over a decade ago, in 1996, when Noel Flanagan Ltd. put in place a strategy to capitalise on new market opportunities and to fully utilise existing facilities and expertise, thus providing the highest level of services to existing and prospective clients.

Noel and Deirdre Flanagan, managing director of Noel Flanagan Ltd

A fully licensed and firmly established international haulage company and IRHA member, Noel Flanagan Ltd. provides furniture manufacturing companies with a prompt and professional collection and delivery service, backed up by an in-depth knowledge of the furniture industry (Noel also operates his own furniture store in Castleblayney).
A state-of-the-art fleet - comprising six extremely reliable Volvo FH12s purchased from McDonnells Commercials - allows the operators to instil a unique level of flexibility, thereby ensuring a rapid and reliable solution for all clients. All the staff are thoroughly professional, trained to the highest level but also equipped with the interpersonal skills so important when it comes to dealing with people in a polite, friendly and informative manner.

Through constant reinvestment, the directors ensure that the future of the company is based on a solid footing. Furthermore, Noel Flanagan goes to great lengths to ensure that all products are delivered on time every time. This is particularly vital in the Ireland-UK refrigerated transport service as the transportation of perishable goods is a sensitive area where expertise and knowledge are of paramount importance. Having said that, furniture deliveries are given equal priority.
The family-run nature of the business allows Noel and Deirdre to provide a personal touch in every aspect of the operation. No job is considered too big or too small, too near or too far, as Noel Flanagan provides its portfolio of satisfied customers with the ideal logistics solution.

Noel Flanagan Ltd specialises in furniture distribution and refrigerated work

Clients can rest assured that their freight is being professionally managed by competent handlers and innovative equipment. Refrigerated units contain floor loaders for standard temperature control. Dual temperature trailers allow products to be carried at separate temperatures, thus maximising flexibility. Forty-foot box trailers are used for furniture deliveries. All vehicles are equipped with on-board phone controls, guaranteeing constant and instant communication and in turn facilitating efficient and effective turn-around.

Noel Flanagan Ltd. was incorporated as a limited company in 1996, with the eponymous Noel and his daughter Deirdre as directors. The latter explains: “We primarily started off with furniture. Noel hauled for Rossmore Furniture in Monaghan town for the best part of 30 years and we diversified into refrigeration after that. Dad still brings factory-made furniture over to the UK and we do quite a bit of nationwide refrigeration work, including nationwide deliveries for a well known supermarket chain.”
Employing a team of nine, Noel Flanagan Ltd. is headquartered at Muckno Street in ‘Blayney, with a yard behind the family furniture store, Noel Flanagan Furniture Stores. The company has performed encouragingly since broadening its horizons eleven years ago and Deirdre is hoping to sign contracts with two new customers for refrigerated work before the end of the present calendar year. “We’re hoping to go forward with the refrigerated work,” she says. “It’s completely different from what we were doing originally but we know the fridges inside-out and we’re well-established.”

A rare breather in the Castleblayney office for Deirdre Flanagan, Noel Flanagan and Claire Farrell (office manager)

Very much a hands-on director, Noel still drives on a regular basis, visiting the UK once a week. The company founder boasts an amazing enthusiasm for the job, which is a huge plus for customers. He and Deirdre run a fleet of relatively-new trucks, top-heavy with 05, 04 and 03 regs.

Though the business is going well, Deirdre Flanagan agrees with the vast majority of her colleagues in the transport industry that the role of the trucker in the Irish economy is all too often overlooked: “There’s not enough support out there for hauliers. I feel we are very unfairly treated, even regarding things like accidents on the road, where truck drivers seem to get the blame most of the time. The government also does little to protect the haulage sector, as tolls and diesel costs represent a massive threat to our livelihood. We’re spending one thousand euro a month on tolls – even some kind of rebate would be of great benefit.”
On the plus side, Deirdre is upbeat about the ongoing improvements in the road network, particular those relating to the main Monaghan-Dublin route, which is critical to Noel Flanagan Ltd.:

“The travelling time from Castleblayney to Dublin has fallen considerably in recent years and the new bypass here in ‘Blayney, which is due to open in September, will also be a great boost,” she states.
Finally, the company director pays tribute to the staff at Noel Flanagan Ltd., whose diligence and loyalty have helped make the company the success it is today: “A lot of them are local men and they have always been very good to us. They are a great bunch of lads. Some of them have been here up to 15 years and we’re very appreciative of their input into the business. We try to look after them in return, by ensuring that their working conditions are as comfortable and rewarding as possible.”

Noel Flanagan Ltd
Muckno Street, Castleblayney, County Monaghan
Tel: 042 9740044 Fax: 042 9740423
Email: info@flanaganhaulage.com