Brendan Bagnall cements his future march 2008

Headquartered in Drogheda, Brendan Bagnall Licensed Haulier is a family business with a stellar reputation throughout the north east and the capital. Specialising in the delivery of cement and concrete products, the company continues to go from strength to strength by providing a reliable service that is second to none. Irish Trucker chatted to Brendan about the business – past, future and present.

In any business, it is vital to keep your finger on the pulse. He who hesitates is lost. Company directors must keep ahead of the game, ensuring that their policies and services are not just up to date but, wherever possible, ahead of the times. Since assuming control of the family business, Drogheda haulier Brendan Bagnall has got the balance just right – providing the same consistent high-quality service that the business had become renowned for but also introducing new units and improvements to open new doors.
The connection between the Bagnall family and the cement industry goes back over half a century, when Brendan’s father Danny began to work for Roadstone. Brendan took over the business in 1991 and the business has been going strong ever since. There’s a proud family legacy to be maintained and Brendan Bagnall Licensed Haulier is performing admirably, even in extremely testing economic conditions.

“Things have certainly become more difficult these past few years, with costs rising at an unbelievable rate and construction also taking a big hit, but we’re determined to keep providing a quality service and we’re still investing heavily in the business. Most of our work depends on the construction sector, so 2008 has got off to a fairly slow start, but we’re hoping things will stabilise and pick up again.”
It’s a pro-active, vibrant and exciting company. Whenever new products associated with the cement or concrete industry are developed, Brendan is always quick to customise his fleet accordingly. He runs a modern, state-of-the-art fleet, boasting the capacity to cope with all the demands of today’s ever-evolving cement/concrete/construction supplies distribution market.
At present, Brendan operates a fleet of ten trucks in total – two rigids and eight artics. The newest addition is a versatile four-axle rigid complete with tanker. “We’ve invested heavily in new tankers, with four new ones in the fleet,” says the operator. “If you don’t invest, you will be found wanting as you won’t have the best equipment to complete the job efficiently. Once the economy stabilises, we’ll pick it up again.”

While exchange rate fluctuations may have made trips to the US and the UK more attractive to Irish holiday makers, they haven’t done Brendan any favours: “Both the dollar and the pound have weakened significantly and this is also a blow to construction here as it makes investment less attractive.”
Fortunately, the ongoing work on the N3 will provide plenty of work for a few Bagnall trucks over the next 12-18 months, while there will always be a fairly steady demand for cement in the region, be that for new roads or buildings. Brendan Bagnall Haulage delivers exclusively from Irish Cement’s base at Platin, near Drogheda, mainly hauling for Roadstone but also for Kilsaran Concrete. With Iarnrod Eireann expected to open the cement delivery aspect of its operations later this year, Brendan is confident that he has the equipment and experience to hopefully add another new client.

Brendan Bagnall is very much a specialist in his chosen field. He notes: “We have the tradition and we have the equipment and we’ve also changed our colour scheme to freshen things up a little. This is the work we’ve made our name from and it’s what we’ll continue to specialise in. We know the market inside-out so we’re not going to change now.”

Using the aforementioned specialist new truck and tanker combination, Brendan has the capacity to deliver Roadstone's ingenious newly-developed Flomix mortar. Recently introduced by Roadstone, Flomix is a ready-to-use premixed dry mortar. The mortar is delivered to site in a flomix silo containing 16 tonnes of dry mortar, ensuring immediate availability for brick and block layers.
“This is an exciting new product and we have the facility to deliver it into building sites. We’re covering the north east, Dublin, south into Carlow and nationwide. We can go right into the city centre as the four-axle unit doesn’t require a permit due to its convenient size. We’re confident that this part of the business could grow and we’ll consider adding a second unit if demand for the service grows.”
Since taking over the business in 1991, Brendan has remained loyal to Volvo. He says he finds the make “second to none” in terms of both product and back-up service and intends to continue buying from McDonnell Commercials in Monaghan. He has started to import tankers from Germany, explaining: “The newer, environmentally-friendly cement is a lot bulkier than traditional cement, so we need bigger tanks to get the 30-ton payload.”

Brendan uses a clever mix of contract and in-house maintenance to look after the needs of his stunning range of tractor units and trailers. With competent, experienced and considerate drivers behind the wheel, all units are kept in tip-tip condition and always look the part when they take to the road, even though they have hard work to do in a business that places high demands on the vehicles. But appearance is important and Brendan believes in projecting the right image of the business that was initiated by his father all those decades ago.

To keep the family connection alive, the owner’s daughter Danielle has joined the business and is a big help in the office, making sure that her aging dad stays on his toes! Sadly, Brendan’s wife Martina passed away in 2006, but she would be very proud to see her husband and daughter working closely together to cement the respected Bagnall name in the construction supplies sector.