Automotive logistics specialist Walon UK has formed a partnership with Autocar Logistics Ltd, an Irish-owned company with offices in the UK & Ireland, to create a new joint venture company called Vehicle Logistics Ireland (VLI). VLI will provide vehicle distribution and technical services to the growing automotive industry in both Northern and Southern Ireland.
Vehicle Logistics Ireland will work with Walon’s existing European customers, including the majority of vehicle manufacturers, together with Irish vehicle importers and dealerships to provide a new integrated logistics service from the technical preparation of vehicles in the UK through to final delivery to dealers throughout Ireland. VLI will be based in New Ross, Co. Wexford.
  

From left to right: TJ Crosbie, Managing Director of the new joint venture company and Mark Hindley, Commercial Director of Walon UK and a director of Vehicle Logistics Ireland, shake on the new joint venture deal.
 
The new joint venture will utilise Walon’s advanced Vehicle Tracking and Management System (VTMS) which tracks vehicles through the logistics process in real-time enabling customers to view the status of their vehicles via a dedicated website facility.
 
Walon UK is the leading supplier of vehicle distribution and technical services to the UK automotive industry. With a fleet of over 500 car transporters and a network of 25 logistics centres throughout the UK. Walon UK is responsible for over 1.2 million vehicle movements each year on behalf of vehicle manufacturers, importers, fleet operators and dealerships
 
TJ Crosbie, Managing Director of the new joint venture company, said “We are delighted to form this strategic alliance with Walon UK. Our combined resources will ensure that we can provide a professional and cost effective service to all our customers. We recognise a change in the strategy operated by the main distributors in servicing their customer base throughout Ireland and Vehicle logistics Ireland is ready to adapt to that change.”
     
Mark Hindley, Commercial Director of Walon UK and a director of Vehicle Logistics Ireland, said, “Vehicle distribution to the Irish market is an important factor for many of our vehicle manufacturer customers and one which requires a single and complete solution. We have worked with Autocar Logistics in both the UK and Ireland for many years and in that time we have developed a strong relationship. Their knowledge of the Irish market together with our position as a market leader in the UK ensures that we are well placed to create a new, integrated vehicle logistics service in Ireland.”