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thoroughness that has seen their business thrive for the best part of two decades already. Manufacturers of general precast and pre-stressed concrete products, as well as concrete septic tanks, Multicrete’s full list of products includes (but is not limited to) L walls and V walls, ready mix concrete, 1,500 gallon water storage tanks, cattle slats, support beams, safety slats, retaining walls, dwarf walls, septic tanks, paving slabs, lintels, sills, posts, kerbs, coloured garden stone, prepacked sand and pre-packed gravel. Reflecting on the formation of the company, Patrick notes: “My father Pat set the business up alongside my mother Joan in ‘94. It’s very much a family business with the three of us involved now. We manufacture and supply all kinds of concrete products to the agricultural and construction industries.” While the majority of customers would be from within the greater Donegal catchment area, Nation-wide service is provided as and when required with some products now being exported to England and Scotland. The
hub of the operation is a wellappointed, state-of-the-art five-acre site in Killygordon, from which the Lafferty family operate a fleet of ten lorries, including five ready mix trucks, two off loaders, two tippers and one tractor unit. Model-wise, the fleet comprises seven FM Volvos as well as one Scania, a DAF and a Hino. Why the preference for Volvo? “They are extremely reliable and they are great for this kind of work,” says Patrick. “This is extremely hard work on lorries – with heavy weights, harsh road conditions. You need a strong truck and we find that Volvo fits the bill.” Multicrete Precast Concrete Ltd. handles all of its own haulage inhouse, with no need for a d d i t i o n a l subcontractors. They also draw in all their own raw materials including bulk cement, steel, sand & gravel. When it comes to fleet maintenance, the approach is very much proactive as opposed to reactive. In terms of servicing, upkeep and repairs, local commercial vehicle specialist John Lawn
IRISH TRUCKER & LIGHT COMMERCIALS
The family bu was establishe siness d in 1994
Truck & Trailer Repairs ensures that all the vehicles are performing to their optimal levels at all times. “The reliability of the trucks
i s paramount and it’s vital that we make sure there are no breakdowns or delays of any kind when they’re out on the road. We have to make sure that all our customers are happy and this means operating a fleet that’s in top condition at all times,” explains Patrick. “In this line of work, a problem with a truck could be disastrous. The products we are carrying are time sensitive and you only have a couple of hours to play with at most. If you get held up unnecessarily, both the load and the lorry could be ruined.” Patrick Lafferty has been bringing Multicrete Precast Concrete’s impressive yellow-andwhite lorries to truck shows island-wide since 2010. “We won Best Overall Working Truck at Irvinestown last month and we were highly-
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