Two weeks before this year's ESB All-Ireland minor football championship final between Armagh and Mayo at Croke Park, Brian McManus called it in favour of the Orchard County. A Lissummon native with strong GAA views, working a co-Managing Director with the Surefreight haulage company in Newry, McManus spoke to Hogan Stand. Celebrating 20 years in business, Surefreight has grown into one of the leading logistics companies operating between Ireland, Britain and Europe thanks to its unrivalled commitment to excellence down the line. Founded by current managing directors Brian McManus and Vincent Waddell back in June 1989, Surefreight's story is one of steady growth over the years, which has helped the company to expand rapidly from its home base in outskirts of Newry city, Co Down, where they operate from a ten-acre site. "We started off with two or three lorries and just took it from there," explained McManus. "We worked hard and thankfully things have gone well ever since, as we now operate within excess of 150 tractor units and 400 curtainside trailers." Along with a modern fleet of four rigid vehicles, Surefreight have expanded their warehouse facilities from Newry to across the Channel, setting up bases of operation in Bradford, Cardiff and Heysham to provide a range of haulage, storage and distribution services. Surefreight now employs over 200 workers across the company, and their input is not something that McManus takes for granted. It is well-known by their customers that when you employ the services of Surefreight, you have a partner totally committed to the successful growth of your business. "The contribution of our employees to the success of Surefreight cannot be overlooked as their wealth of experience and professionalism has added significant value to the services we deliver," said McManus. "We have the right equipment, the right facilities, the right people - and the desire to do that little bit extra that differentiates." Armagh's minor footballers have recently proved that they have that much in common with Surefreight, who would like to congratulate Paul McShane's team on their All-Ireland success last month against Mayo at Croke Park The right equipment, facilities and people, along with the desire to do that little bit extra that differentiates, were some of the key factors in the young Orchard men bringing back a first Tom Markham Cup to their county in 60-long years. McManus has been a life-long supporter of all things Armagh GAA, and has enjoyed watching his county achieve provincial glory on seven occasions over the last decade, as well as coveted All-Ireland success in 2002. McManus has two kids who currently play with the Ballyholland Harps club in Newry, where they play football in the Down league and championship competitions at underage level. The fact that McManus' offspring are learning their football trade in the Mourne County, rather than the Orchard, is no big issue, as it suits his work commitments, which, along with family, have become priority for him in the last two decades. Like anything else, Surefreight is what it is today because of the dedicated work which has gone into the company behind the scenes. It is not only a multi-million pound investment in facilities and fleet that has placed the Newry-based outfit right at the forefront of the haulage industry, its dedicated and focused workforce and its excellence of service inspires complete confidence, so the customer knows that he or she is in the right hands. A company that strives to keep your business on the move, Surefreight operates from an extensive ten-acre site conveniently located close to the motorway network, and the border with the Republic of Ireland, on the outskirts of Newry city in County Down from where it is also able to fully utilise all of the major ports and shipping companies linking Britain, Ireland & Europe. Since the company was set-up by McManus and Waddell, the business has grown steadily and significantly and today operates one of the most modern fleets in the industry, with full load and daily groupage routes spanning the length and breadth of the UK and Ireland, and a broad, diverse and continually expanding client base. Surefreight is also a fully licensed waste carrier, offering extensive services to the waste management and recycling sectors throughout the north and south of Ireland. In these difficult economic times, they keep the heat on its competitors by using their own vehicles and drivers, and with permits covering all of the 32 counties in Ireland, so customers can have every confidence that their waste material is being properly handled and in accordance with all the necessary legislative requirements. The company specialises in baled, dry recyclable wastes, such as paper, cardboard, plastics and cans, and with the introduction of the WEEE Directive, services have been extended to include waste electrical and electronic equipment. Now the hopes are to keep Surefreight solvent through the doom and gloom, and to perhaps maybe expand the company beyond its current location come an upturn in the economy. Although it seems a good distance a way at this point in time, McManus is quite confident heading into the future with the business he co-founded. "There are bound to be plenty of challenges ahead but we are confident we will be able to surmount them with the same professionalism and determination that has seen us become one of the leading hauliers in this part of the world," he stated. It seems almost intentional, but no doubt the Lissummon man's words share a common denominator with what every GAA enthusiast in Armagh will be hoping can happen for their new young guns. "Professionalism and determination" are two attributes that Armagh's new All-Ireland champions will need to keep in their game if they are to hit the right notes at senior level in years to come. It is widely felt that Armagh have underachieved on the All-Ireland stage for all their success at provincial level in the last ten years, with only one Sam Maguire Cup to show for it. However, if a blend of youth and experience can be mixed to the right formula in years to come, who's to say what the county can't achieve in the next decade? Never has the winning of an All-Ireland minor championship been a bad sign for a county. This year the Orchard County made their crusade through Ulster, beating a fancied Down side in the final, before registering convincing wins over Kildare and Kerry respectively to book their place in the All-Ireland decider against a Mayo side which were contesting their second final in as many years. On a glorious afternoon in Dublin, both teams could only manage to serve up a lacklustre encounter of football, which was decided in the final five minutes as Paul McShane's team timed their finish to utter perfection. Nothing could separate the two teams in the first-half, as they went in deadlocked on 0-4 apiece, but Mayo were made to rue an early goal chance which was well-saved by Armagh 'keeper Stephen O'Reilly. In the second-half, the would-be winners stepped up the pace on their opponents but kicked too many chances wide to pull clear and even fell behind with little over five minutes left to go. However, four unanswered points in the closing stages from Robbie Tasker (2), Thomas McAlinden and Peter Carragher saw their forwards come up trumps in the end to help claim Armagh's first Tom Markham success since 1949. "I would like to congratulate Paul McShane and the Armagh minor team on their deserved All-Ireland success against Mayo on behalf of everyone here at Surefrieght," concluded McManus. Tweet

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