Fergal and Elaine with their sons Jordan and Jason

Midland Truck and Trailer Spares has built up an enviable product portfolio and an equally impressive customer base since it was established in September 2000, by Fergal Mulligan and fiancée Elaine Walsh.

It has secured agencies for leading axle and suspension manufacturers such as Meritor, SAF, BPW and Dunlop. It also holds franchises for tool suppliers such as Teng, Laser and Deca and the IngersolRand franchise for air tools and compressors.

Its 3,000 square foot premises at Greenogue Square, Rathcoole, Co Dublin is ideally situated to cater for the needs of a burgeoning customer base, which includes many blue-chip and semi-state companies.

Open from 7.30am to 6.00pm Monday to Friday and from 8.30am to 1.30pm on Saturday, Midland Truck and Trailer Spares is a veritable hive of activity. "We are just off the Naas road and close to the M50, and the Lucan bypass so we are very accessible to the customer. We have extensive opening hours and back that up with an 'out of hours' service, so we are always on hand to meet customer requirements," Fergal enthused.

He added: "Our phones are always switched on. We will never leave a haulier stuck. Coming from a mechanical background I know what it is like to be stuck for a part out of hours. Offering that level of service to our customers stands us in good stead. Our customers realise we will pull out all the stops for them and in turn they give us the business."

Fergal, a commercial vehicle mechanic by trade, believes the key to the company's success is based on selling only genuine parts and backing that up with extremely high levels of customer service. "We supply only genuine components. We know there are cheaper parts on the market but we can offer a good back-up service with genuine parts. That isn't the case with spurious parts. We are agents for all of the leading manufacturers, which also gives us an advantage," he added.

Midland Truck and Trailer Spares is a tightly knit company. It is a typical example of small can be beautiful in the world of component retailing. "We don't want to grow too big, we want to continue to deliver high levels of service to our customers. We offer a very personal service to our customers and that is the way we would like to keep it," Fergal affirmed.

To that end, every member of the team has an important role to play. "I cover the 32 counties. Shay Dempsey runs the stores and showrooms in Greenogue Industrial Estate. Elaine comes in two or three days a week to look after accounts and credit control."

While Fergal is intent on running a small and customer focused operation, he feels there is still room for further growth in related areas.

Fergal admits that running his own company is tougher than anticipated, but he doesn't regret the decision to go out on his own. "It was always my ambition to work for myself. Our success to date is down to hard work and expertise. We have built up the contacts and put in the hours."

Midland Truck and Trailer Spares has broken the country down into a number of geographic regions,which are serviced at least once a week. "On Monday we are in the Cavan, Monaghan, Longford area. On Tuesday I cover Galway, Clare, Tipperary etc. Our customers know when we will be in their area and they ring in their orders in advance. We also use a network of couriers around the country for urgent deliveries," Fergal commented.

In order to meet individual customer requirements the company carries an extensive stock of spare parts at its impressive facility on the Naas Road. Fergal admits there is a considerable amount of the company's working capital tied up in stocks. "In this business you have to carry a large stock of parts.
It is the name of the game. Operators can't afford to have vehicles off the road while they are waiting for spare parts."

In less than three years the company has cultivated a very impressive customer base of about 60 credit account customers. It has also developed a very healthy 'cash sales business'.

Built on the impressive cornerstones of selling high quality genuine parts at competitive prices and backing up the package with high levels of customer service, the will continue to grow and prosper for the foreseeable future.

"We are doing better than I expected. We started working out of a 20 foot by 10 foot shed at the back of the house and we have steadily built up the business.

My father Oliver had been in the trade for more than 20 years, until his death in 1996. He had a world of contacts, many of whom deal with me now. I also had a wealth of contacts in the business, having worked with MB Truck and Trailer Spares and many of those customers also came with me. We offer a very personal and professional service to all our customers, which gives us the edge," Fergal concluded.