The name Careline will be familiar to many in the removals trade, having been established in the Irish Republic since the early 1990s. From its head office in Limerick the company has gained a reputation for reliability and quality in all aspects of the moving business: domestic, international, European, commercial, and storage. Careline also has offices in Dublin and Cork and as well as covering the whole of Ireland has for many years plied a healthy trade between the Republic and the UK. With trade increasing a decision was made to open a depot in the UK, and at the end of 2016 a young energetic Australian, Paul Davies, who had worked in the industry for many years, was appointed to run it.
“We’d been operating road trains every week between the UK and Ireland, but it got to the stage where we were struggling to meet the clients’ needs. We couldn’t deliver or collect on certain days, because everything had to fit with the schedule of the trucks,” said Paul.
At the beginning of 2017 Careline established a hub just north of London at Hemel Hempstead, a town with good motorway links to all parts of the country and the major ports. “Having the new depot means that we have far more flexibility than before,” said Paul. “Instead of using road trains we have drop-bodies coming directly to us from Ireland. We deliver and collect all week and ship them back to Ireland at the weekend.”
The decision to open the new depot now, was partly influenced by the UK’s imminent withdrawal from the European Union. “Although no one really knows how movements between the UK and Ireland will be affected by Brexit, it is likely to be more difficult; but there are bound to be opportunities and we wanted to be in the best position to benefit from them,” said Paul. “Recently we’ve seen an increase in the number of people moving back to Ireland. That could be because of the improvement in the Irish economy, or people just feeling it’s time to come home. Whatever happens there will always be people wanting to move between the two countries.”
As with Careline’s operation in Ireland, Paul and his team are also working hard to expand the domestic, international and European side of the business and are currently using a number of lead generation companies to find prospects for the sales team to contact. “We’ve found greater success contacting potential clients out of business hours, in the evening and at weekends, rather than during the day when they’re probably at work or busy with their day-to-day lives,” said Paul. “Our sales team all come from a retail and customer service background, so they’re used to working at times when the customers need them; it works really well for us.”
Paul is also keen to expand the trade side of the business. “We already work with a number of removal companies in the UK and Europe and we’re working hard to build on those relationships and develop new ones; it’s our biggest push,” said Paul. “We provide a range of services for our trade customers; we can do door-to-door with full packing options on their behalf, collect from their warehouse, or they can deliver here to our hub in Hemel Hempstead. We like to work with our trade partners as an extension of their business, so we understand we need to be flexible to satisfy both their clients and the trade partner. Whichever they choose I can promise our trade partners a truly competitive, efficient, first-rate service with firm delivery dates for their Irish consignments.”
Photo: Left to right: Paul Davies and sales consultants Craig van Niekerk and Lauren Lea.