Radius Components celebrates 10 years in business
Radius Components Ltd., the Clondalkin Dublin 22, truck, bus and trailer parts distributor is celebrating 10 years in business this year.
Owner and founder, Christy Deegan gave John Loughran the low-down on this thriving, customer centred CV parts distribution business.
Christy Deegan’s career in the CV parts stretches back to the late 1980s, where he learned the nuts and bolts of CV parts distribution.
As time passed it became apparent that Christy’s future lay in parts sales, which has led to a long and successful career stretching back more than 35 years.
Having worked for a number of leading CV parts distributors down through the years, Christy decided to set up in business in 2013.
At that time Christy found himself at a crossroads in his life and decided to take the plunge and set up his own business.
He drew on past experiences in the CV parts business and spotted “a gap in the market” for a brake lining specialist following the closure of a number of a leading brake lining providers around that time.
Christy knew there was a demand for brake lining and a pool of talent available. To that end, he “assembled a highly skilled team and re-ignited a niche in the market for a brake lining specialist.”
Located at Clondalkin Industrial Estate, Christy drew on all his knowledge and experience in CV parts, accumulated over many years to get the business off the ground.
It was challenging to say the least! Back in 2013, Ireland was coming out of Recession and the haulage industry was getting back on its feet, after being in the doldrums since the banking crash in 2008.
It was against this backdrop that Radius Components Ltd took its first tentative steps on its way to carving out a niche in the ultra-competitive world of CV parts distribution in Ireland.
Back then, the company specialised in brake relining and quickly developed a reputation as being a specialist in this field. The company’s initial success was based on carrying out high quality work, in double quick time and at very competitive prices. A decade later these remain the cornerstones of the company’s ongoing success.
There have been a number of landmark moments along the way for Christy, wife Breda and Dave McNamara who make up the management team at Radius Components.
The decision to branch into “CV hard parts”, while maintaining its preeminent role as a brake lining specialist, is one of those landmark moments. Another landmark was the decision to add only premium brands to its product portfolio.
“We now represent leading brands such as ZF, Lemforder, Sachs, LuK, Winnard, Ferodo, Valeo, FAG, Templin, Koni, Westinghouse, Textar and Lumag,” Christy enthused.
“We have built up our brand portfolio over many years, with the emphasis being on quality,” he added. With the addition of these quality brands, the company steadily grew the business, adding new fleet customers year on year.
Christy noted: “The addition of these brands turned us from a small brake lining specialist into a large CV Parts Distributor, allowing us to offer a wider service to our customers. It didn’t happen overnight, but we kept going and made steady, continual progress.”
The company’s expansion plans gathered pace five years ago, when an adjacent premises became available.
Having secured the premises Radius Components doubled it warehousing capacity, which allowed the company to add new brands / lines to its existing product portfolio. It also allowed the company to streamline and better organise existing stocks.
The warehouse still has the capacity to add even more brands / products in line with planned sustainable growth, which is the life blood of any business.
With a staff of 12, and six vans on the road, Radius Components offers a country wide service to haulage fleets of all sizes and is highly regarded as a “one stop shop” for CV parts.
“We offer a same day service in the greater Dublin area, and a next day service to the rest of the country,” Christy explained. “We pride ourselves on offering the customer an excellent service, and we are willing to go the extra mile for the customer in everything we do.”
Christy believes the company’s continued success is built on the premise of offering quality products at value for money prices and backing that up with high levels of customer service.
It’s a successful business cocktail that has stood the company in good stead over the past decade. Wholesale factoring is all about having the required part on the shelf when it is required and Radius Components is well regarded for carrying a comprehensive stock-holding at its premises.
However, in the unlikely event that the company does not have the required part in stock, it will source the part from its suppliers in the UK or mainland Europe.
Christy attributes much of the company’s ongoing success to the company’s knowledgeable and friendly staff, who are always customer-centred in everything they do. This customer-centric business benefits from large volumes of repeat business, which is testament to the way it operates.
“Our customers are very loyal to us and have stuck with us through some very tough periods in the past, and for that we are most grateful,” Christy elaborated.
Christy also puts great store in staff training, and team members regularly benefit from ongoing training, whether it’s on the latest IT and cataloguing systems or customer service.
Phrases such as Persistence, Vision, Strength, Goals and Perseverance are key to Christy’s business philosophy and are integral in driving the business forward.
Christy’s business ethos can be summed up simply though: “It’s all about having the right quality part, at the right price and backing up that proposition with high levels of customer service.”
Radius Components is open Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 5.30pm and from 9.00am to 1.00pm on Saturday. You can contact Radius Components on 01 457 0002 or out of hours on 086 260 3679. Email: info@radiuscomponents.ie
