Virginia International Logistics Supporting the UK Food & Drink Market with High Quality Logistics

Transporting products in a traceable manner is essential to an effective supply chain. One company that embraces such an ethos is Virginia International Logistics, based in Virginia, Co Cavan and Dublin 11, Ireland.

This ISO accredited company operates a fleet of more than 80 modern tractor units and over 300 trailers providing refrigerated and dry freight transport throughout Ireland, UK and Continental Europe.

Michael McBride, the General Manager, explains, “The Company has been operating for almost 30 years, the last 5 of which has seen significant growth and progression. Our company’s philosophy is to provide a professional and efficient service to existing and perspective customers. We have invested heavily in technology, in particular live temperature control monitoring of our trailers, as the condition of our customers’ goods throughout transit is our number one priority. We can monitor the temperature of a customer’s dedicated trailer from loading bay to delivery point. Our refrigerated units will send a text message and e-mail to our operations team should a temperature deviate from a pre-defined range, this gives us complete traceability throughout transit and of course comfort that we are in control of our work environment”

While the company remains family owned, the senior management team possess the necessary skills to operate a customer focused business in today’s challenging environment. Mr McBride goes on to describe the huge emphasis placed on people, “our trained professional drivers, multi-lingual operations team and skilled professionals show that our company has assembled a strong working team focused on serving our valued customers – our success depends on our people.”

Virginia have carried food produce to export markets for the past 30 years and are experts at ensuring traceability throughout transit. The goods are ultimately consumed by individuals and therefore product safety and security is paramount. This is where Virginia International Logistics differentiates itself. “Because we own and operate our entire fleet, we are in complete control of our services. Quick response to issues during transit eliminates potential problems for ourselves and our customers. Everything we do is customer driven in our business” explains Mr McBride.

Some indication of the area that Virginia covers can be seen from the fact that their trucks clock up more than 10 million kilometres annually. To handle this variety of traffic, Virginia has a strict quality system in place and is ISO 9001:2008 accredited

The company’s modern fleet comprises:-

• Over 80 modern tractor units, all of which have live track and trace capabilities

• Over 100 refrigerated trailers, ranging from standard splits, multi-temps and double decks. All fridges have temperature recording equipment, allowing live temperature readings to be monitored in real time, via the GPRS mobile network

• Over 100 Curtainsiders and Euroliners

• Over 100 fixed and sliding skeletal trailers, suitable for 20ft, 40ft and 45ft containers.

Mr McBride concludes by saying, “We are continually striving to provide the best available service to our customers and believe that being a family firm gives us a big advantage as every customer is important to us – we are big enough to service their requirements but we are small enough to care!”

For further information, visit www.virginialogistics.ie or telephone 00 353 49 854 7403.