Nearing 30 years of service December 2009/title> <meta name="description" content="Coming up on 30 years in the business, the Athlone VTN Centre has saw plenty of trucks and vehicles come and go through their doors to get back on the road and ensure safety for everyone. Michael Mannion jnr has been running the company now since 2004 and spoke to Irish Trucker about what they have to offer, their new premises and how business is at present.">  <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="../../../trucker2.css" type="text/css"> <script LANGUAGE=JAVASCRIPT TYPE="TEXT/JAVASCRIPT">  </script> <SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">  </SCRIPT> </head> <body bgcolor="#000000">  <table bgcolor="#000000" width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"> <tr cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <td width="300" align=right bgcolor="#000000" valign="middle"> <table border="0"> <tr><td align="right"> <img src="/images/truckerbanner09a.jpg" alt="Irish Trucker logo"> <div class="topdate" align="left"> </div> </td></tr> </table> </td> <td bgcolor="#000000" align="center">  <object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" 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src="../../../images/housemake.gif" width=108 border=0></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><br> <SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript" TYPE="text/javascript">  </SCRIPT> </td> </tr> </TABLE> </td> </tr>  <tr> <td> <table> <tr> <td> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">  </SCRIPT> <table width="80%" border="3" bordercolor="silver" cellpadding="5" bgcolor="#ffffff"> <tr> <td>  <p><span class="H4">Nearing 30 years of service</span><br> <br> Coming up on 30 years in the business, the Athlone VTN Centre has saw plenty of trucks and vehicles come and go through their doors to get back on the road and ensure safety for everyone. Michael Mannion jnr has been running the company now since 2004 and spoke to Irish Trucker about what they have to offer, their new premises and how business is at present. <br> <br> </p> <table width="20%" border="0" align="left"> <tr> <td><img src="../../../PICTURES/2009/december/mannion.jpg" width="300" height="184"> <table width="102%" border="0"> <tr> <td> <div align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1"><b>A Citroen van is up for the test at Athlone VTN</b></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <p>Since 1981, Michael Mannion and Athlone VTN Centre Ltd have been two names which have gone hand-in-hand in business. Just over 28 years ago, Michael Mannion snr started up his company for testing heavy commercial vehicles and from then onwards business grew for his company to become an established testing centre in the heart of the country. Sure enough, his only son, also named Michael, just couldn’t wait to get started in the business. <br> <br> From the tender age of 16, Michael Mannion jnr was involved in the company which he is now the head of operations today. In his time in running things thus far, he has gained experience which not too many VTN Centre operators can boast at his age. <br> <br> “I have been involved in this company since I was 16 and I first started testing myself in 1990. I have 19 years experience and I hope that I can have another 19 under my belt when that time comes around again,” said Michael jnr. <br> When Michael snr first started up his business in the Bliary Industrial Estate, Athlone VTN was primarily a heavy commercials outfit which serviced and tested vehicles. As the years grew on, the company began to experience more busy times and by 1992 Athlone VTN was testing light commercial vehicles, with a workshop for vehicle repairs. <br> <br> </p> <table width="20%" border="0" align="right"> <tr> <td><img src="../../../PICTURES/2009/december/mannion1.jpg" width="300" height="175"> <table width="101%" border="0" height="21"> <tr> <td> <div align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1"><b>Some of the staff at Athlone VTN during a routine test</b></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <p>Through the 1990s, Michael jnr had been building up his experience in VTN testing, while his father was leading the company in a golden age for business in this country. The future was looking bright for Mannion Truck Centre Ltd, especially after securing some valuable customers which would soon enough become ‘regulars’ when it came to needing the appropriate testing done for their company vehicles. <br> <br> “We would value the needs of all of our customers here and make sure that they get the best possible service,” said Michael jnr.<br> “Some of our customers would include Eircom, Westmeath County Council, The HSE, An Post and a couple of major truck companies.” <br> To have companies like the above names availing of your services on a frequents basis is a major boost to try and establish a trade, but it’s only through a quality service that Michael Mannion Truck Centre Ltd have obtained such business down the years.<br> “At the moment we employ 10 full-time workers and out staff are well-trained in what they do,” said Michael jnr.<br> “We’re open from Monday to Saturday and our booking times are either a next day service or a guarantee for your test within two working days. <br> <br> </p> <table width="20%" border="0" align="right"> <tr> <td><img src="../../../PICTURES/2009/december/mannion3.jpg" width="300" height="224"> <table width="101%" border="0" height="20"> <tr> <td> <div align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1"><b>An ambulance is tested at Athlone VTN</b></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <p>“We have a workshop here as well where we can also carry out repairs in preparation for VTN testing,” he added. <br> When Michael Mannion jnr took over the company in 2004, he would take it in a new direction, while still keeping the company’s tradition. Before Michael snr’s retirement five years ago, the plans had always been in the pipeline for a state-of-the-art premises to be build the new-look Athlone VTN Centre. A huge investment would be made on the company’s behalf to upgrade to a modern facility for testing. <br> A year into his new role as Managing Director, Michael jnr invested 1.3 million euro into Athlone VTN Centre and he explains that it was a decision which was made before he took over reins of the family business.<br> “The new premises was always in the works,” he explained. <br> “They were trying to get everyone up to the right standard of testing and all test centres by law should have upgraded and we were one of the first to do so.”<br> <br> He also added that despite the change, the sign over the door remains the same: “The business is known as Mick Mannion Truck Centre Ltd, but we would advertise under Athlone VTN Centre Ltd.”<br> Almost immediately, the decision to invest heavily in a new-look Athlone VTN Centre proved a masterstroke. It seemed more businesses were starting to take notice and choosing Mannions ahead of other VTNs, which helped the company enjoy one of its busiest times in its history. <br> For the first two years after the unveiling of the new premises, business at the VTN Centre had tripled and the gamble had virtually paid off. Times were good for Michael Mannion jnr and his staff, but there were tough times just around the corner. <br> An economic recession has knocked nearly every business in Ireland off their heels and many are now on their knees praying for an upturn to keep their business a flat. While Michael does admit that his company have suffered from 2008 up until now, he has described business for now as being “steady”. <br> <br> “Overall it’s steady at the moment,” he explained. <br> “We have found the going tough recently, like anyone, but at present there would still be between 60 and 70 trucks tested here every week.”<br> That’s certainly something to be encouraged about from Michael’s perspective. While times are tough, it has been through their reliable and timely service down the years that Athlone VTN has had their customers remembering to come back to them for testing. So long as that trend continues, Michael Mannion jnr and co looked well-placed to come through these tough times and get back to busy business when the upturn arrives. <br> “Are plans for the immediate future here at Athlone VTN are to ride out the recession and keep all of our employees,” said Michael. <br> <br> “I’ve been involved with this test centre since 1986 and I hope that we can come through these challenging times and maintain our staff. The fact that they are greatly valued here is something I’d like to point out as well.”<br> Next to being the owner of a successful VTN Centre, Michael is also a GAA referee and has been the man in the middle for many a club game around Westmeath for the best part of eight years now. As an official, he is well-known for playing it by the book, a trait he also shares in his profession. <br> <br> Michael’s top priority though is family, and while he has no immediate family members working with him at the Athlone VTN at present he hopes that maybe one day his offspring can follow in his footsteps. <br> “I am the only son, so there has been no-one to come in with me here, but I have two sons and one daughter myself and I hope that one day they will be involved with the business,” he concluded. <br> </p> <p> <br> </p>  </td> </tr> </table> <table border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 width=500> <tr> <td valign=top bgcolor="#000000"><img src="../../images/clear.gif" width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> <tbody> <tr> <td valign=top> <div align="right"><font color="white" size="-2"><br> © 2010 Lynn Publications. All Rights Reserved.</font> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </body>  </html>