A proud tradition june 2008

For over 50 years, the Fitzsimons name has been synonymous with the haulage business in and around Navan, County Meath. Damian Fitzsimons’ father, and grandfather before him, got the family business up and running and Damian now oversees the various facets of the operation alongside his daughter, Robyn

There are three related companies operating within the Fitzsimons family business – Damian Fitzsimons & Daughter Ltd.; Supasweep Ltd.; and Tara Sand & Gravel Ltd. Current MD Damian Fitzsimons has diversified the business to provide customers with a range of services they can rely upon.

Damian Fitzsimons & Daughter specialises in demolition, plant hire and site clearance, carrying all the relevant local authority waste collection permits and operating its own landfill facility. Top grade, screened topsoil is also supplied. Most of the work is carried out within a 30-mile radius of the company’s base at Grange, Bective in Navan but Damian is prepared to travel anywhere to do a job and says that “no job is too big or too small”.

Supasweep Ltd. is a specialist road-sweeping company that does a lot of work for local authorities around sites. Tara Sand & Gravel supplies top grade building and plastering sand as well as decorative pebble, white sand, drainage pebble, crushed stone etc.
Damian’s grandfather, John Fitzsimons, started out as what was known back then as a “higgler”. He used to buy his goods – eggs, milk, rabbits, pheasants etc. - from local farmers and would bring these to Smithfield market, where he’d either sell or trade them for other goods, which were in turn brought back to the country and sold back to the locals. To transport the goods, he had an old Renault car with a starter handle.

Joe Fitzsimons behind the wheel

John became a licensed haulier in 1952 and hauled cattle from all over Ireland. Later, he did some general haulage working out of Greenore and Drogheda Ports.
“My father Joe took over the business in 1970 and branched into tipper work,” Damian continues. “We were out of business for a number of years, due to my father suffering from heart illness. I first got involved with the tipper work myself in June 1989. I bought my first truck off the late Pat Jennings and worked for the bigger quarry and concrete companies hauling sand and stone.
“Nowadays, we don’t rely 100% on the haulage work. Over the last few years, the majority of our work has been doing site clearance and sand & gravel deliveries. However, I’m still operating under the original haulage licence which belonged to my grandfather.”

Robyn Fitzsimons is invaluable to her father in running Damian Fitzsimons & Daughter

At present, the fleet of vehicles on hand comprises trucks, dozers, track machines, low loaders and a number of specialist trailers. Between trucks and vans, there’s a fleet of 20 vehicles, in addition to plant of approximately 15 units available for hire. A total of eleven people are employed. “We do a lot of private jobs, catering for a niche market,” Damian continues. “We try to provide a personal service to individuals, but we do take on major jobs as well.

“Due to the general nature of the economy at present, there’s a bit of a slowdown in the big stuff but we’re still busy all the time and that’s a good complaint to have. People will always build and there will always be work to go along with that. There will always be sites that need to be cleared. We’re taking on a lot of local work in the greater Navan area these days but we also go into Dublin quite a bit and will basically consider any job.”

The Fitzsimons service is highly-sought, as they have forged a stellar reputation not just for quality workmanship and reasonable rates but also for treating customers respectfully and for speaking to them on a one-to-one basis, with total transparency. “We’ve built our reputation on the personal service,” Damian confirms. “One phone call to us and you can get a lot done… We provide a complete service and there’s no need to bring anybody else in. We can clear the site, take the rubble away, prepare it and sweep up after ourselves – the full package from start to finish.
“There’s no interference from third parties and customers won’t have to make another phone call – a lot of people appreciate that! This business is self-sufficient; I try not to depend on anybody else. The buck stops with us and we do the work exactly as the customer wants it done.

Catherine Fitzsimons, with company founder John Fitzsimons watching over her

“When we move out, the site is ready to build on. We can also do the groundworks and put in the services or that can be left to the main contractor, depending on what the client wants.”
Tara Sand & Gravel supplies all types of washed stone as well as top-quality building and plastering sand. As Damian operates ten tippers of his own, a nationwide delivery service is offered, including stones of all colour and sizes from all over Ireland in loads ranging from one tonne to 30 tonne.
Supasweep Ltd., meanwhile, provides a road sweeping service to local authorities etc. but also doubles up as resident sweeper on sites cleared by Damian Fitzsimons & Daughter. The company boasts two state-of-the-art specialist vehicles, which were sourced from National Sweepers in Kylemore. Each is provided along with a qualified driver. “You’d have to have the right man on them,” Damian quips.

Four years ago, Damian re-located the entire operation to its current base at Grange, Bective in Navan. The site comprises some six and a half acres, complete with a workshop and yard. The vast majority of servicing, repairs and maintenance can be carried out in-house, with a team of fitters and engineers on site.
The company has an illustrious past, an enviable present and a bright future.