Onwards and Upwards Transpec Truck and Trailer Parts, one of the Country’s most successful all makes truck and trailer parts distributors have recently moved to a much larger, higher profile location on the Ballysimon Road in Limerick. Irish Trucker Magazine decided to take a look for themselves. Transpec initially opened their Limerick branch in April 2010 and since then have made significant progress in the midwest region. Transpec’s Managing Director Richard Sheehan commented “We opened up a small branch in Limerick last year consisting of a warehouse and a tradecounter. Over time, the tradecounter business has increased significantly and we have steadily been increasing our turnover month by month. Our decision to move premises was two-fold; firstly our existing warehouse was beginning to become a little small for our needs, and secondly the tradecounter was tiny with little or no retail space to display products on shelves. In August, a premises I had been eyeing up for a long time became available right out on the busy Ballysimon Road so we jumped at it. We’re still in Rosmadda Business Park, but now we’re right out on the main road. We’re very confident that having road frontage in this prominent location will ensure that we enjoy an increase in passing trade. The new building is almost 3 times the size of our old place and gives us a much larger and brighter trade counter area making it far more comfortable for our customers. There is also ample parking for trucks and cars. We officially moved into the new premises on 1st October.” Asked by Irish Trucker if now was actually a good time for expansion given our country’s precarious economic environment, Sheehan said. “The economic situation we all find ourselves is challenging right now, but we’ve actually grown our business in the past 12 months. It’s certainly not something we’re taking for granted but it is a trend we fully intend to continue. We are totally committed to the mid-west area and now is as good a time as any to make this move.” He further added “We now have 3 full time staff working in Limerick. Damien McKeogh, Brian Byrne and Pat O’Dwyer. Our main catchment area is Limerick, Tipperary, Kerry, Clare and Galway. What we offer our customers is really simple – we endeavour at all times to stock an unrivalled range of truck and trailer parts, to offer them at a very competitive price and to ensure that we provide an excellent service at all times. It’s not easy, or indeed possible, to always get the three elements right, but we do try!” “Our range of products has increased significantly over the past couple of years, continued Sheehan, “and the effect of this is that we needed more physical warehouse space in Limerick. Truck parts constitute a major part of our business and we are now distributors for the entire range of Diesel Technic Truck and Bus parts.” Diesel Technic is a world leading brand and is synonymous with quality and value for money. We are delighted to be associated with the brand and stock a large range of parts in both our Dublin and Limerick branches. Other brands that we have recently taken on include Frasle. Fras-le are a huge multi-national organisation with headquarters in Brazil. They manufacture high quality brake pads and are well known throughout the world. They are OE suppliers to companies such as Volvo, Mercedes and Arvin Meritor. A few months ago Transpec concluded a deal with gives us exclusivity to their range of products for the entire island of Ireland”. Elaborating on the deal further Sheehan says “We see great potential for this brand in Ireland. Fras-le are determined to become a major player in Europe and such are prepared to offer great support to us to ensure we succeed. The quality is excellent and the price makes it a very attractive proposition. We can offer great value to factors and indeed commercial garages who wish to take on this range of pads and clutch facings.” Another notable agency we’ve taken on is Dinex exhausts. We now carry the full range of Dinex exhausts, silencers, tail pipes and clamps in both Limerick and Dublin. We’ve also recently introduced the Trailerline® brand into Ireland. Trailerline® is a BPW owned brand that currently includes brake pads but will soon include Brake Discs, shocks and a number of other parts for trucks and trailers. All Trailerline® parts will be available only through Transpec in Dublin and Limerick. Transpec, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of BPW the market leading trailer axle and suspension manufacturer, has been operating in Ireland for the past 11 years and Limerick is their second branch. Asked why they chose Limerick as a location Sheehan responded, “Geographically Limerick is ideal for us. It’s fairly central and most of Munster is within easy striking distance. It’s also a major city with a high concentration of potential customers. From a purely personal point of view, Limerick is like a home from home for me. Both of my parents are from Limerick. My Father is from Garryowen and my Mother is originally from Foynes. Most of my relations and extended family still live in Limerick so I’m delighted to involved in the City. Finally, we asked Richard if there was any further expansion on the cards. “We have a clear vision as regards where we see ourselves in the future and definitely expansion is part of our plans. For the remainder of the year though we’re concentrating on Dublin and Limerick but watch this space in 2012…….” Transpec can be contacted in Limerick on 061-437932 or in Dublin on 014642002. Our Limerick branch is located in Rosmadda Business Park on the Ballysimon Road (Directly across from the entrance to Hegarty metals and Shannon Transport)The tradecounter is open Monday – Friday from 8:30am -5:30pm and on Saturdays from 9:00am – 1:00pm. IRISH TRUCKER & LIGHT COMMERCIALS
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