Sadleirs carries off double win

Sadleirs Transport, winner of the FBA Family Business Awards third-generation and family employer categories for 2005, is really two family businesses in one, according to the company’s managing director Ian Cook.

“It’s a family of the shareholders but it is also a family of employees, and there is that family relationship right throughout the organisation,” he said.

“I think most of our employees take pride in working for our company which they feel part of as well, they feel part of the family of Sadleirs and I think that is a big factor in contributing to the success of the company.”

It can’t be an easy task, heading a third-generation family business that is a household name, has a 110-year history, employs 300 people nationally and is the nation’s oldest independent road and rail freight forwarder.

And although Mr Cook said it was fun and he enjoyed his job, the tough part was striving to continue the company’s success.

“You can’t take your eye off the ball,” he said.

“It is a full-time job; you’re always out there looking to see what you have to do to continue succeeding in your business, and like most family businesses or any business – it is pretty competitive out there.

“Anything you do you have to focus very intently on and make sure that you succeed.

“But I think enjoying it while you are doing it, that’s the most important thing.”

But the Sadleirs journey hasn’t come without its bumps in the road, and each twist and turn has been a challenge and a lesson learned.

“There are challenges but they’re not things which make you give up. They are what inspire you to do better things, to try harder and to focus on where you are going to go for the future,” Mr Cook said.

One of these ‘bumps’ resulted in a long and hard fight for the company, but, ultimately, a fight Sadleirs won.

From 2000, the company had to fight a battle to retain direct rail access, which is the lifeblood of the business.

Sadleirs managed to secure access, but not without problems. The company’s major competitor controls the railway, which means there’s an additional burden on internal operations when freight comes in late.

But good relationships with the railways, suppliers and customers enabled Sadleirs to beat this challenge, Mr Cook said.

Succession is one issue the company is looking at very seriously at the moment.

“Any family business benefits from having family members involved. Over the history of the company there have been significant periods when non-family members have been in charge of running the company,” Mr Cook told the audience.

“I think any business that’s going to succeed in the long term has to be flexible enough to be able to cope with both family and non-family members at the helm or in various positions at senior levels throughout the company.”