Ireland’s largest indigenous freight firm is driving towards future growth as it celebrates 30 years in the logistics industry, after launching from a shared desk in a Dublin office.
Award-winning Ace Express is creating new jobs to support the double-digit growth it aims to achieve in 2019, having grown its turnover by €2 million from €26.272 million in 2017 to €28.2 million in 2018.
Ace Express, a family-run business based in North County Dublin, is recruiting a business development manager and a number of sales executives to support its logistics services across road, sea and air in Ireland, the UK and Europe.
It is the only freight company in Ireland to have won the prestigious Deloitte Best Managed Company Award for 10 consecutive years.
Since 2004, the company’s success has been strengthened by its membership of the Pall-Ex network – a strategic move that has enabled an expansion of its core business, importing and exporting from the UK.
The company has sped ahead of its peers since it was established by Managing Director, Philip Tracey, in 1989, having grown from a two-man team into a workforce of 106 across 12 depots in Southern and Northern Ireland, with additional services in warehousing, customs clearance and bonded warehousing.
Commercial Director, Mark Tracey, swapped a career in electronics engineering to join his brother’s company in 1994.
Mark comments: “We’re proud to be Ireland’s largest privately owned and operated freight distribution company and to be celebrating our 30th year, especially as we’ve come from such humble beginnings.
“In 1989, Philip was saving to buy a house but used the money to start Ace Express instead. He launched the business from a shared desk in an office in St Andrew’s Street in Dublin and although we’ve moved several times since then, we’re proud to say that we’ve retained some original customers and stood by our founding principles.
“Our biggest challenge has been finding and securing the right partners to support our ethos. We need our partners in the UK to be as mindful and dedicated to the delivery service as we are and that means standout customer service.
"It has taken time but finding Pall-Ex and joining its network is without a doubt one of the best decisions we have ever made and has been instrumental to our growth. The bar is consistently raised by Pall-Ex in their approach to distribution and customer service; they are aiming to be the best, and we have the same ethos.”
Even with Brexit on the horizon, Ace Express sees a positive future and new opportunities ahead for the company.
Mark adds: “We see Brexit as a new opportunity for the company and are as prepared as we can be. Ace Express has Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status – a quality accreditation that highlights our customs procedures as being efficient and compliant – and we expect to see demand for our customs clearance service increase.
“Our longevity is down to our ability to adapt our services to the changing needs of our customers, which we will continue to do through Brexit and beyond.”
Kevin Buchanan, Group Managing Director at Pall-Ex, comments: “Ace Express has been a real asset to the Pall-Ex network and we are delighted to be celebrating this milestone with the company. Our shared ethos of providing high standards of customer service has made this a successful partnership that has enabled both businesses to benefit and grow.”