A small company in the Donegal Gaeltacht has proved that a remote location need not inhibit success with the unveiling of the first small coach to be fully designed and built in the Republic.
Gweedore firm Euro Iompu Teo (Euro Coach Builders Ltd), claims to be the only registered coach builder in the State. It builds them on Mercedes-Benz chassis and, with the launch of its new 29-seater Pantera, further expansion is planned. In the past it has supplied some Imp buses to Dublin Bus, and coaches have also been sold in Germany.
After 14 years developing the business, owner Mr Joe Ferry says turnover has reached £3 million, and 45 people, the vast majority young men, are employed full-time. He expects to take on another 30 people over the next three years.
A native of Gweedore, Mr Ferry says the location has advantages and disadvantages. "It is isolated, but I find the workmanship and the people top-class, and that has a big effect on what we produce."
All of the employees have been trained in-house, and Mr Ferry says young men want to work there because, unlike most factories, they can see the finished product. "They get a sense of pride in seeing what they have made," he says.
Infrastructure is an issue, however. He says English customers who visited him last week said they thought the roads in west Donegal were "Third World standard". Many of his clients use the nearby airport at Carrickfinn but, with only one flight per day, this necessitates an overnight stay.
Mr Ferry was originally a motor mechanic working in various garages in the area. In 1985, he moved into a unit in the Derrybeg Industrial Estate and started fitting emergency doors on PSV vehicles and converting vans into minibuses. He says all the state agencies have been very supportive as the company developed.
The new bus has been given a Spanish name, meaning Panther, in recognition of the help received from a Spanish company.
In an Udaras na Gaeltachta-funded project in 1995, workers from the Gweedore plant received training from the Spanish company, which has a 65-year track record in coach-building.
One of the reasons the Pantera was developed is that the company will soon have to stop producing its popular EX 35-seater coach because Mercedes has ceased production of the chassis used. The EX was exempt from VAT because it was designed for the tour market, and Mr Ferry says it is now imperative that the Government gives the same exemption for the Pantera. His call is being supported by the Coach Council of Ireland. "Getting the VAT exemption is vital because it will save money for the operators and it will help us to have more quality Irish-made vehicles on the road, and also create jobs," Mr Ferry said.