The firm is a subsidiary of Gaffer Group, which also owns NI Trucks – an Iveco dealer for more than 30 years, and one of the largest commercial vehicle dealerships in Northern Ireland. The acquisition sees Gaffer Group responsible for the sales and aftersales of the full range of Iveco vehicles throughout the island of Ireland.
The appointment of Emerald Truck & Van replaces a previous sales franchise with Truck Dealers International (TDI), which had represented Iveco in Ireland since 1993, with BOD Vehicle Support Services providing aftersales support. Emerald has acquired the trade and assets of BOD’s commercial vehicle business, for use as a platform to develop and grow its new distributorship.
This sees Emerald Truck & Van operating from Greenogue Industrial Estate in Rathcoole, County Dublin. The dealership is open six days a week and is supported by a complement of 25 staff – with plans to invest £10m in the new business and extend its team to more than 100 over the next three years.
Mark Smith, managing director of Emerald Truck & Van, said: ‘This has been a great opportunity to take our extensive commercial vehicle expertise and build on our current business portfolio in a sector we know well. We will bring a fresh perspective to the commercial vehicle market in Ireland in terms of sales, marketing and operational performance. In particular, we intend to grow the Iveco share of the commercial vehicle market as we see significant opportunities for the brand with customers ranging from owner drivers to established fleets.’
Iveco has also committed to support Emerald Truck & Van with range of initiatives designed to develop network coverage throughout Ireland.
Marco Leonardi, Iveco’s network director, said: ‘We are delighted to have appointed Emerald Truck & Van to represent Iveco in Ireland. We have a longstanding and very successful relationship with Gaffer Group through NI Trucks and we are confident in the abilities of the management team to manage Iveco’s future sales, service and parts business in this key European market.’
