GPS Recovery has supplemented its core recovery business by also introducing a keen agricultural machinery transport service, which is proving to be extremely popular with customers from all over the island. We visited GPS’s base in Inniskeen, along the Louth / Monaghan border, and spoke to Shane Martin, who oversees the machinery transport side of the progressive family operation.
The Martin name is synonymous with vehicle recovery in the North East, where Gerry has long been providing an excellent service under the GPS Recovery banner for many years. Gerry also runs a garage in Inniskeen, where vehicles are repaired and serviced.
In recent years, the Martins have diversified somewhat into the specialist field of agricultural machinery transportation, an area of the business which was founded by Gerry’s son, Shane, who has painstakingly built it up through lean years into one of Ireland’s most dependable machinery transport operations.
Shane travels along a corridor that runs from Belfast to Waterford to Cork to Killarney and back, covering this route twice weekly. In the early days, he was barely getting enough work to cover himself, but now he invariably carries full loads (up to three items) by combining orders and offering farmers and dealers a timely service at a keen rate.
Recalling how he branched into machinery transport, Shane reveals: “It was a recovery business initially and that sort of led into the agricultural machinery transport. We can carry all kinds of machinery, including tractors, diggers, teleporters, excavators etc. and we cover the entire area between Belfast / Tyrone and Cork / Killarney. We don’t go into the Galway direction much, but will do so if a client specifically asks us. I try to be as flexible as I can.
“I started off just by advertising on Done Deal and it began to take off from there. I thought there was an opening there for this service as I knew there were a lot of men around the country who were buying machinery from dealers in and around the Belfast and Tyrone areas, where there are a lot of agri dealers.”
A quick glance at some of Shane’s customers tells us all we need to know about the quality of the service provided and the strides that the machinery transport business has made since its inception. He draws for Kuhm Centre Ireland, Meath Farm Machinery, BC Plant JCB in Hillborough, George Weir & Son in Dungannon, Scallon Tractors in Omagh, Trillick Tractors, McMurray Tractors (also in Hillsborough), McGinnity Tractors (Ballybay) and Gerry Duffy Machinery (Ashbourne) to name just a handful.
Shane operates a 2004-reg Volvo FH and 45-ft lowloader with winch. “I take it twice a week from Belfast through Louth, down South and back again. I can take three tractors – or other items – at a time and it’s mostly part loads. It wouldn’t be unusual for me to have three machines on board for three different men.
“My father still looks after the recovery end of the business, mostly light recovery. He operates two recovery trucks – one Renault crew cab that can accommodate six passengers and a MAN recovery truck. We then have a mechanic in the garage who can fix cars, so it’s a one-stop shop.”
Since he started providing the machinery transport service. Shane hasn’t looked back. “It’s going really well,” he confirms. “Last year was a good year anyway but I suppose you can never really tell for sure how it’s going to go. It all depends on the farmer, how his business is going and whether he is going to buy any new equipment. If they do want to buy something from up North, then I’m here to deliver it for them.
“I’d have a lot of customers from the Cork / Kerry area, who are buying machinery in the North and I have built up a lot of good contacts both sides of the border over the last four or five years.
“As I advertise the service in Done Deal, you could have a lot of one-off jobs. I make sure they know that the lorry is travelling up and down and then it’s up to them if they want to jump on or not. I try to fill it both ways each time and thankfully we’re managing that most of the time.”
Shane had to be patient as the business was slow enough to take off. A lesser man might have given up but he was confident that he was onto something. “It’s growing every year and we are getting more and more customers all the time, between dealers and farmers etc. For a good while, I was just managing to cover my costs but I kept at it and went with each load anyway to keep the customers happy. I knew it might take a while to become established and it’s starting to pay off now.
“Since I started this, once I give my word, I keep it. That has stood to me because people don’t want to be messed about. I give a good service and if I say I’m going to be there with a machine on a certain day then I will be there. No exceptions.”
With an eye on the future, Shane is determined to expand the business by continuing to provide the exceptional level of service for which he is now renowned along the east and south coasts… “I’ll keep going and I hope to pick up more customers along the way,” he states. “I’ve picked up a lot of business through word of mouth. If you provide a good service, people will recommend you to their friends. I have a good reputation and I appreciate that because in this line of work you do rely on a bit of trust. People won’t know you until you work for them and it does take a bit of trust for a man who doesn’t know you to allow you to deliver his new tractor or machine.
“And some of these people would have been messed about before. I’ve heard a lot of stories about lads giving low quotes and promising to deliver machines but never bothering to actually make the delivery. Some customers have contacted me after having a bad experience with somebody else. That’s what destroys it for everyone.
“The bottom line is that I’m up and down nationwide twice weekly and I will provide that coverage. If people need something moved, then all they have to do is give me a call. I’m covering Killarney, Cork, Waterford, Wexford, Dungannon, Belfast and everywhere in between. There’s a lot of business between those areas and I’m here to help people get their new machines as quickly, safely and cost-effectively as possible.”
GPS Recovery,
Inniskeen,
Dundalk,
County Louth.
Tel: 087 2591275
Email: [email protected]
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 3 No 2, March 2015
