Transport company keeping the supply chain moving
INSIDE a small office building in Whitemill, a skeleton crew is busily working away. Phones constantly seem to be ringing and staff move between conversations without missing a beat. This is the sales and customer service office of Goggins Transport and the staff are ensuring that the supply chain of goods moving in and out of Ireland remains operational.
Having carried out all the necessary hand-sanitising and formalities, Company Director Tommy Byrne welcomes us inside. Back in 2015, Tommy joined the firm with the goal of marrying up their operations in Ireland and the UK, which equates to a total of 100 trucks on the road and some 250 trailers. The whole operation has grown from just one truck and trailer purchased by Galway native Martin Goggins in 1979.
Initially when he started, Tommy was working from the attic of his home in Walnut Grove. However, the company has seen positive growth since then and now this Wexford office in Clonard is the headquarters for the firms sales and customer support, with six staff currently on the books and hopes for more as growth continues.
These are certainly unusual times for those in the haulage industry. When Leo Varadkar announced government measures to combat the spread of Covid-19, it caused panic among certain sections of the general public. Supermarkets didn’t know what hit them as people bulk bought and fear and uncertainty gripped the nation. This had a direct impact on the amount of trailers moving in and out of the country.
‘One example would be we have a big contract with a tissue manufacturer,’ Tommy explained. ‘We would have been running four loads a day previously on average. Overnight this went up to 15. It was a bit tricky to find ten extra trailers a day. That’s something that we’ve seen replicated across a variety of different things, particularly items like household goods have seen a massive increase and the likes of tinned goods as well.’
‘In addition, we’ve seen an increase in the amount of Irish exports too. Things like timber and peat moss,’ he said.
‘The reason for this is probably that businesses are gearing up for a complete lock-down.’
While in recent days, as panic buying has subsided, Tommy says that things have returned to somewhat of a more manageable level. However, the industry is still facing major difficulties as they bid to keep goods coming into the country.
‘It might sound cheesy to say, but the drivers really are the unsung heroes in all of this,’ he said. ‘They really are at the coalface of this thing. Every site that they visit will have it’s own rules. All of our drivers have gloves and hand sanitisers etc aboard, but there’s a major problem with sourcing face-masks at the moment, which is a requirement for some sites. In a lot of places, they’re not allowed out of their trucks at all. All of the paperwork from a delivery needs to be sprayed down with a type of disinfectant and the drivers are even being told to make sure they have their own pen for signing documents. That’s the level of measures that are being imposed.’
In a bid to keep things moving, the government have relaxed some of the conditions imposed on drivers and Tommy says it’s now about finding a balance that works for everyone.
‘Basically, it now means that drivers can work an extra two days in every two week period,’ he said. ‘This helps, but we have to be mindful of health and safety of our drivers and not over-working them. It’s about striking the right balance. They really are dealing with an awful lot out there though.’
For companies bringing goods to and from the continent, there’s a further headache, as some ferry operators are now only accepting unaccompanied trailers, or at best are taking an extremely reduced capacity of drivers. Whereas previously drivers would have shared cabins between two or even four people, social distancing regulations now, understandably, mean that each driver requires their own cabin.
With the phrase ‘lock-down’ being mentioned more and more often as the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise, Tommy says it will create a challenging situation should we eventually see it in Ireland.
‘It’s business as normal for us for the moment,’ he said.
‘If we’re not working, things are going to be very bad. I think there probably will be a further lock-down though and then things will become complicated over what will be deemed ‘essential’ and ‘non-essential’ goods. A lot of exports from Ireland will stop, making it more difficult to have trailers to bring essential goods back into the country.’
‘In some ways it’s a bit like Brexit,’ he said. ‘We know this situation is probably coming, but we don’t know what it will look like or how it will work. At the moment though, for us, it’s just about keeping staff healthy and keeping things moving. We have a couple of staff members who are working from home because they have weakened immune systems and we just can’t afford for anyone to get sick. Everyone here is really putting the shoulder to the wheel to keep the whole operation going.’