Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister has congratulated the country’s largest independent parcel carrier,Nightline, on its 20th birthday and “for showcasing the very best of Irish entrepreneurial spirit”.
Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore TD claimed Nightline’s record of success illustrated how a combinationof innovation and effort could provide a recipe for growth, despite challenging economicconditions. He was speaking on a visit to Nightline’s Dublin headquarters that coincided with thefirm completing its twentieth year in business. Nightline, which began trading in May 1992 from aback bedroom in Dublin, had grown to handle more than 11 million parcels by last year.
Gilmore said: “Nightline is an excellent example of an innovative Irish company that isenjoying success despite the current downturn. Twenty years in business is a significant milestoneand it is clear that the company has been built upon a solid foundation of innovation, commitmentand hard work. Businesses like Nightline are important to not only the national economy but alsolocal communities through employment and local expenditure.”
Nightline CEO John Tuohy stressed that the company would not be resting on its laurels andremained committed to the strategy that now saw it handle one in every four parcels carried onIrish roads. “We have certainly come a long way in two decades but, in the last 12 months alone,the expansion in the size and capability of our depots, the acquisition of more business from majorretail clients and our investment in staff and IT underlines our desire not to stand still. Thelaunch next month of Parcel Motel, a novel new approach to handling consumer packages, should makeeven clearer how ambition and growth is very much a key element of this firm’s DNA.”
One hundred of the state-of-the-art self-service parcel terminals will be positioned acrossthe greater Dublin area from June as part of the first phase of the Parcel Motel project. Thesecond stage will see as many as 400 of the parcel locker units rolled-out nationwide by 2014.
The initiative follows 12 months of expansion and investment for Nightline. A huge surge inbusiness led to it moving to new premises in Belfast which were three times the size of the firm’sformer depot in the city. Two more of the company’s seven facilities – in Limerick and Sligo –doubled in size while a third has grown by 50 per cent. The physical growth was underpinned by a €1million spend on Nightline’s IT infrastructure and equipment.
