Francis Ely Transport Ltd. - still going strong

By providing a quality, affordable and punctual service for the past eleven years, Francis Ely Transport Ltd. has developed into one of the premier haulage firms in the south east.

Having been appointed as the Tipperary agent for the ONCE network, the company continues to go from strength to strength. Irish Trucker travelled to Thurles to take a closer look at this finely-tuned operation.

Francis Ely Transport Ltd. is a leader in its chosen field of expertise. Established eleven years ago by eponymous proprietor Francis and his wife Majella, the Tipp transporter has forged an unrivalled reputation for itself on the back of hard work, honest endeavour, application, transparency, punctuality, versatility, dependability, and a strict adherence to Health & Safety requirements. Francis and his team have always treated their customers and clients with absolute respect and this has seen the company’s reputation grow year on year.

A family business with a strong personal touch, Francis Ely Transport has become even stronger since joining the ONCE network. Little wonder John Ely – the founder’s brother-in-law – was in upbeat form when we sat down for a quick chat: “Business is going well,” he confirmed. “Like everything at the moment, it’s very tight and access to money is very difficult, but we’re holding our own and that’s as good as you can hope for during the economic downturn. In order to keep the business running smoothly, we had to make some tweaks and adjustments, but we’ve managed to streamline the operation and we’re happy with where we’re at right now.”

The decision to join the ONCE network has proven to be an inspired one. “We joined just over a year ago,” says John. “The hub of the network is just up the road from us, in Portlaoise. We’re 45 minutes south of Portlaoise and it’s easily accessible. It’s a great network to be involved in. All the agents are extremely competent and we’re delighted to be associated with them. Things are going very well. We are their agent for Tipperary and so far everything has worked out very smoothly. I couldn’t speak highly enough of them. Everybody in the ONCE network is thoroughly professional and excellent to work with. It has worked out really well for us.”

Outside of that, Francis Ely runs loads out of Cork and Dublin on a daily basis and covers all of County Tipperary as well as parts of Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly and Limerick. At present, they have a fleet of ten trucks on the road, all carrying dry products, varying from animal feed to machinery to bales of timber. “We carry a lot of pallets of animal feed, but we do a bit of everything,” John notes.

“We also do a lot of deliveries for a refrigeration company, delivering fridges nationwide. All of the fleet are DAF and we feel that they are an excellent make that fits our needs perfectly. They’re strong, economical, reliable and driver-friendly, so we’re happy to stick with DAF. We have our own garage / workshop and we make sure that all the vehicles are in optimum running order at all times.”

As for the short-term future, right across the board it’s a time for companies to batten down the hatches and ensure that the recession does as little damage as possible. While taking every step to protect what they have, Francis Ely Transport are also looking at a potential new opening: “We’re trying to consolidate and we’re also looking at investing in a new truck – a bulk tank – that will allow us to take bulk products from the boats to the animal feed producers.

“We have a couple of our trucks rigged with Moffett Mounties and that was a sound investment as it makes our service much more attractive. We get a lot of work through having the Moffett Mounties as it really increases our ability to deliver certain loads. It’s a good selling point and we allow our customers full access to the Mounties. All our drivers are fully trained in using them and it’s a nice little extra service to be able to provide –something I think our partners appreciate.

“We have a strong list of regular customers who form the backbone of the business. As well as the core base of customers, many of whom have been with us for years and who have stayed loyal to us, we also have occasional clients who help us to fill the trucks. The long-serving customers are absolutely vital but we treat every job with equal importance, no matter how big or small. You have to provide a brilliant service at all times and that’s what we’ve always strived to do from the beginning.”

Looking even further down the line, John feels that Francis Ely Transport will be one of the operators to come out the other end of the economic abyss into which the nation currently stares. It’s not going to be easy – and there’s no room for complacency – but he is quietly confident that they have the requisite resources of expertise, know-how, competence, professionalism and experience to weather the gathering storm:

“We are optimistic, we know we’ll have to continue to work hard and to provide exceptional levels of service and value, but we look after our customers extremely well and we meet any needs they require. That’s what it’s all about: service. You have to meet their needs, mind them and look after them. You have to talk to your partners and accommodate them at all times.

“Everything is being done on a JIT (Just in Time) basis now. Money is tight and people can’t afford to tie up their cash. If they order something today, they need it tomorrow. We offer a next-day delivery service to most parts of the country – except the most remote regions, this can be a 48 hour – and that’s what people expect.”

Francis Ely Transport,

Athnid, Thurles,

County Tipperary.

Tel: 0504 45404

Mobile: 086 8270496 / 087 8129959

Email: franciselytransport@eircom.net

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