Making light work of heavy haulage

Agricultural machinery specialist Deering Transport offers a thoroughly-dependable and efficient nationwide heavy haulage solution. Irish Trucker visited the company depot near Kildare town and spoke to Dave Deering about the impressive, hardworking fleet and the full range of services provided.

David Deering Snr established Deering Transport alongside his late wife Mary. The couple bought their first artic from Delaney’s of Naas in 1979 and gradually developed the business from small, humble beginnings. Today, Deering Transport – which was registered as a limited company (Mossway Ltd.) in 1990 – is widely regarded as a premier nationwide operator in the specialist field of agricultural machinery haulage.

This highly specialised work is supplemented by various other endeavours, all of which contribute to leave Deering Transport in a strong and impressive position at the forefront of the haulage industry in Ireland. Reflecting briefly on the company’s genesis and evolution, Dave Deering Jnr explains: “We started off with the one truck, doing a bit of bulk like everybody else. We then progressed into the agricultural tractors and agricultural machinery – and we’ve been doing that ever since.”
As a veritable specialist in the transportation of agricultural machinery, Deering Transport works for importers, bringing in a wide range of balers, combiners, tractors etc. These can be collected from the docks on behalf of the client or can be picked up from machinery importers’ yards, while some machines are dropped into Deerings’ yard for delivery. If required, a storage service is also provided in their yard, prior to delivery nationwide. Deerings also move agricultural machinery around the country on behalf of the various dealers on their books.

As part of ever-growing Pallet Network for the past two years, Deering Transport has also been able to streamline and develop the general haulage aspect of its operation. “There is some crossover between the pallets and the agricultural work, which ties the two together,” Dave notes. The company also stores and delivers tyres for a couple of clients and also transports pre-stressed concrete flooring onto building sites in and around the city.

Deering Transport operates a fleet of six artics and three rigids (doing collections and deliveries in Kildare/west Wicklow as part of The Pallet Network), all of which are Scania sourced locally from Delaney’s. They also carry a versatile fleet of some 50-plus trailers. Seven of these are stepframes for machinery and walls etc., while the remainder are a mix of curtainsiders and flats. A team of in-house mechanics maintains and services the trailers. The newer trucks are under warranty.

As a practical and modest man, Dave isn’t one to cover his trucks in go-fast stripes and extravagant, flashy lighting systems. At the end of the day, the vehicles are there to do a job first and foremost. “We don’t even have our names up on them,” he says. We purchcased a couple of brand new trucks in 2005 and we also have a few more new ‘08 trucks on order at the minute to replace the older models. We keep them clean, presentable and in good working order. At the end of the day, it’s what’s under the bonnet that concerns us and whether the vehicle can do the job. No high cabs or flashy paint jobs – our trucks are there to do a job and we pride ourselves on our ability to meet customer targets every time.”

Location is key in this line of work and the company boasts a site that is both strategic and easily-accessible. Deering Transport is conveniently headquartered just outside Kildare town, just off the Kildare-Athy Road. The company currently provides employment to a team of 15, having grown considerable in recent years due to the general upsurge in the Irish economy.
Always moving with the times, the company stays ahead of the competition by re-investing heavily and by embracing modern technology and practices. New offices and extra warehousing space were added last year, while turnover and customer numbers are also on the up.

Dave believes that it’s important to work for partners who understand the hardships and demands that are being placed upon hauliers by rising costs and overheads. “There’s lots of work out there for nothing if you want it,” he quips. “Fortunately, out customers are understanding when it comes to costs and most of them are prepared to give us a rates increase when fuel prices go up.”
As for the future, Dave says Deering Transport will be attempting nothing too ambitious. Instead, they will focus on consolidation through providing a thorough, efficient service in a field of expertise they know well: “We’ll stick to what we know. We’ll continue to focus on the same business, providing our existing clients with a service they know they can depend on. We’ll also try to extend our customer base by attracting new customers.

“We’re well known and fairly well established as one of the biggest operators in the agricultural machinery market. We know this industry inside-out and we can offer out customers a top-class service.”
At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. Let’s leave the frills and fancy lettering to someone else; Deering Transport will concentrate on getting the job done.