Laois Chamber Alliance CEO, Caroline Hofman, caught up with Martin Kirwan, Managing Director of Kirwan Haulage, located in Kilbricken, Mountrath.
Can you tell us a bit about Kirwan Haulage and the services you offer?
Based in Kilbricken Mountrath Co. Laois, Kirwan Haulage Ltd offers general haulage transporting all over Ireland and occasionally to the UK,” Martin said.
We offer next day delivery services to a wide range of customers including local producers, pharmaceutical companies, manufacturing and engineering, retail and wholesale services, construction including plant and machinery, agricultural, food producers and sawmills.
Our fleet consists of semi-trailers and low loaders, rigid flat-bed trucks, rigid curtain side trucks and low bed heavy machinery trailers.
We provide varied levels of transportation including collection and deliveries of heavy plant and machinery, abnormal or wide loads.
When was Kirwan Haulage established, and how has the business evolved and grown since then?
The business was founded over 30 years ago by our parents Martin and Ann Kirwan and we remain a family-owned business.
The company is now run by brothers Martin, James and Anthony Kirwan.
We are involved in the community GAA and support our local National School activities in Shanahoe.
We offer nationwide haulage services and have a loyal customer base both locally and nationally.
We have a team of 10 very competent staff including transport mangers, drivers and administrative staff. All our drivers are fully qualified.
What is different and compelling about what you offer?
Recently we underwent a series of improvements to our environmental policies, together with a stringent accreditation process to secure the coveted ISO 45001 and ISO 14001 standard for our Environmental Management Strategy together with Health and Safety.
We also have the ISO 9001 Quality accreditation since 2019. We use low emission vehicles and have started to explore an alternative biofuel to reduce emissions further.
This low carbon biofuel is a direct replacement for regular fuel and it doesn’t release any additional carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
We are ADR Tanker Specialists which has given us a competitive edge.
Do you have any news or future expansion plans you can share with us?
We have new warehouse facilities available at our premises in Kilbricken which are alarmed and secured 24 hours a day.
We offer fully insulated indoor and outdoor storage facilities with a loading bay and we are able to distribute goods throughout Ireland.
All of our trucks are fitted with GPS tracking and cameras to allow management to monitor cargo.
Minimising our environmental impact forms part of our Corporate Social Responsibility, and is integral to our company ethos.
We now have environmental objectives for the next 12 months together with health and safety plans.
We will be audited yearly to ensure we are maintaining practices to a high standard.
For anyone looking to work, visit, or invest in Laois, what would you say are the best things about being located here?
County Laois is in the heart of Ireland, only one hour from Dublin Port and Dublin Airport.
We have a really good rail network too. Electric Picnic, The Ploughing Championships and Forest Fest in Emo have positioned Laois on the global map for travel and tourism.
We also have excellent restaurants with locally produced food and drink.
What is your favourite place to visit in Laois, and why?
One of my favourite places in Laois is Emo Court.
I love to take the family there on a Sunday to feed the ducks and relax at the lake with a picnic.
Other walking trails I enjoy include an adventure to the Slieve Bloom Mountains and the Abbeyleix Bog.
Visit www.kirwanhaulage.ie to find out more.
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