18 | PROFILE
Graham Sand & Gravel – Still flying high after 40 years in business!
727 is a significant number for Tommy Graham. Nothing to do with the Boeing 727 narrow-body airliner, its relevance is more of a nostalgic nature as 727 formed part of the registration plate of the Prosperous, County Kildare Sand & Gravel merchant’s first truck, a Volvo F86 acquired in 1982. The numbering also featured on a later new F7 and more recently on his latest purchase, a Volvo FM. Aside from the signature registration, this new 8x4 tipper, which was bought to mark the 40th anniversary of Graham Sand & Gravel, also sports the company’s trademark predominantly red livery.
FLEETTRANSPORT | JULY 2022
Over the four decades, Tommy has operated and driven every make of truck in the sector, with a variety of tipper body builders. An operator who takes great pride in his fleet, Tommy has experienced many ups and downs and witnessed many changes and challenges since he first got behind the wheel on the roads around the midlands, but continues to remain positive about the future. Initially working in a fibreglass factory and having trained to be a welder while in his teenage years, the Clane native found his true vocation working for his uncle, also Tommy, drawing sand and gravel around the locality. It was back then that the younger Tommy became very familiar and fond of Volvo Trucks. From the F86 of 1982 and the F7 in the early days, to the FH and FM in the latter decades, he has remained loyal to the Swedish brand and currently runs two examples. At one time there were a mix of Volvos and Hinos lined up in the yard, and Tommy also remembers the Japanese brand with affection. The first Hino arrived in 1998 with other 6x4 and 8x4 versions to follow
over the next ten years. During the Celtic Tiger era, two Volvo FH tractor-units with tipper trailers were in the fleet but following the economic crash and more recently the Covid-19 pandemic, the fleet was rationalised and currently stands at six rigid tippers. Regardless of his fondness for Volvo Truck products, Tommy’s instinct for a good deal and a strong business relationship with local dealers has led to the purchase of Renault and Scania trucks over the years, as well as more recently a new Iveco Trakker.
His experience, plus an intuitive feel for a truck means Tommy can pinpoint the positives and negatives of a product within a short time of driving. That the latter Trakker, purchased last year, has impressed him is therefore worth noting. ‘It is a very good all-round construction truck and most under-rated’.
