Since its inception some seven years ago, Michael Quigley Haulage in Wexford has been providing an excellent service to a range of customers across the Model County and beyond. We dropped into the company’s Barntown base and had a chat with Michael about the services offered, his trusty fleet, and day-to-day activities.
Be it crops, machinery, stone, sand or coal, Michael Quigley Haulage has the equipment and the expertise to get a vast range of products from A to B – within Wexford or nationwide – safely and at an affordable rate. A flexible and multifaceted service is provided on time every time; this is why the business has been in big demand since its genesis in the mid- late ‘noughties!
Reflecting on the early days of his eponymous haulage business, Michael notes: “I set it up seven years ago. I started off with one lorry and grew it from there. The first truck was a ’99-reg Mercedes 1844, which I used to draw grain for Michael Clooney.”
The business grew steadily and today Michael operates a fleet of four vehicles, all DAFs. The most recent addition to the fleet was an ’07-reg model, which was purchased just before Christmas.
The Wexford man has been a member of the Trade Assurance Scheme for Combinable Crops since its inception. TASCC regulates all areas of the agri-supply industry and Michael follows all their guidelines and provides an unrivalled level of service, both in terms of compliance and dependability.
Regarding the services provided, he continues: “I draw a lot of potatoes for Simon Donohoe, as well as onions and cauliflowers, from his yard up to Country Crest in Dublin. I also carry a lot of bulk grain and fertilizer for Cooney Furlong Grain Company, to their main depot in Enniscorthy.”
As well as curtainsiders and bulk trailers, Michael also runs a low loader, which he uses to move combines for Tom Butler. The vast majority of his work is carried out locally, within the Wexford country boundaries.
“I’m also doing a good bit of work on the new Arklow bypass, drawing stone for Roadstone, and that will keep us busy until the Spring time, when the fertilizer starts again. Once Spring comes, I’ll be bringing a lot of fertilizer to the local farmers for Cooney Furlong.”
The fleet is maintained in perfect running order at all times, with most maintenance work carried out in-house. “We buy our parts from B&R TranSpares Ltd. in New Ross and also deal with Transpart Ireland Ltd. in Cork. I get my tyres from Alex Moran of Moran Tyres. Most of the work is done in-house and we also use Noel Dempsey in New Ross from time to time.”
By varying his work depending on the time of year, Michael manages to keep himself busy all year around. “It’s going grand,” he confirms. “We’re working away every day, so we can’t complain. The vegetables will be back on again soon and we’re hoping to have a very busy Spring with the fertilizer. You’re dependent on the weather to an extent, as is everybody whose work is connected to agriculture.
“I do a lot of work for Richard Ormonde Transport Services in Wexford as well and we also draw sand to venues all over Ireland, including a lot of golf courses, for Anthony Darcy of Darcy Sands in Wicklow and also for MSK Silversands Ltd. in Screen, County Wexford. That’ll kick off in March and will keep going until September. The onions will be back in a matter of weeks as well – and the potatoes. It’s like clockwork. Everything fits together nicely and we have the four trucks out on the road every day.
“During the winter time, we also deliver coal for O’Brien Transport in New Ross and Richard Ormonde. There’s always something.”
Looking to the future, Michael has no plans to try to reinvent the wheel. Nothing overly-ambitious is on the cards: “The plan is to keep going as we are going,” he says. “Hopefully more of the proposed roads projects in the county will go ahead and maybe we can get a bit more work from that. We’ll keep going with the agri stuff; we seem to have turned the corner and we are optimistic about the future.
“It was a daily battle up until mid-2013, to be honest, but things are going well now and the business has taken off. We’re getting the work and we are fortunate to be working with some great people.
“Anywhere we go and any work we do, it’s more or less for the same group of clients and we look after them to the best of our ability and provide them with a good service. I never hear any complaints and everybody seems happy and there’s more work every year.
“When I started out it was hard to get work because the boom stopped and it was probably the worst time to set up a haulage business. But I stuck at it and gave a good service and never gave up. I managed to get it going eventually and it’s paying off now.
“I’m hoping to expand a little bit over the next few years, if possible, and maybe there’ll be a family business here when the kids grow up. Ava is ten at the moment and Kayla is seven, while Archie is two. It would be nice to have something to pass on to them. I’ve definitely got over the hardest part at this stage and I’m finding it easier to manage the business now than I was at the height of the recession.
“I’m only 33, so I’m hoping I’ve many good years ahead of me in the haulage sector!”
Having navigated the business through seven years already – five of them particularly testing – Michael Quigley isn’t about to let complacency slip in at this stage. He has found his place and is here for the long haul!
Michael Quigley Haulage
Harristown,
Barntown,
County Wexford.
Tel: 087 9388812
Fax: [email protected]
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 3 No 2, March 2015
