Fermanagh business is creating a spark for the past 50 years

Since 1973, Michael Tierney – who founded the business with the help of his wife, Mary – has seen the changes in their industry, and the Tierneys say that to keep up with them and adapt, you have to be continually learning.

From humble beginnings 50 years ago, Auto Electrics has stood the test of time and currently caters to a wide customer base in Fermanagh and bordering counties.

It all started when Mr. Tierney decided to go out on his own.

“He was a mechanic in Clarke’s quarry and specialised in electrical work out there rather than the mechanical work,” explained Mrs. Tierney.

“Any electrical work that had to be done with the vehicles, he was the man to go to.”

But then the time came to go out on their own and Auto Electrics was born.

Mrs. Tierney continued: “At the time, we started off fixing alternators and starters, and then we bought this site here where we are now and built this workshop on it.

“And then it expanded and we worked on all sorts of vehicles.

“We went into refrigerated transport and we repaired fridges on the transport vehicles.

“And then gradually we worked into diagnostic, which is the main part of our business now.”

There have been many challenges, admitted Mrs. Tierney, such as the 1974 Ulster Workers’ Strike, which denied people of food, water, gas, transport, money and electricity.

“We worked away with a tilly lamp,” Mrs. Tierney recalled, before adding: “You could have done a certain amount of work, but we needed the electricity to operate the test bench.

“We had many financial problems too. We started off with no money, and had to borrow money, and the interest rate was very high.

“We started off and continued on. We struggled on. It wasn’t easy, but it worked out all right.”

Throughout the 50 years, one thing that has been a constant has been a loyal customer base.

“It has moved on a wee bit, I suppose, since then our customer base would still be much the same,” explained Mr. Tierney.

“Loyalty of the customers is a very big thing [for us]. And we have to say thanks to our customers for their loyalty over the years.

“The families that have [done business with us], the older generation have probably passed away, and their families are still coming to us.

“It is still carrying on in the same manner,” added Mr. Tierney, who also paid tribute to the loyalty of the staff in Auto Electrics.

But as the customers keep coming back, he explained there have been plenty of learnings to be taken on board and expansion, such as refrigeration.

“Our transport refrigeration [businesses] were coming in and saying ‘We need you to fix the refrigeration. You are able to repair the electrics but we need to repair the refrigeration’.

“We took up Thermo King after that.

“It’s been a learning process right through, even at the present minute. And it continues to be a learning process and Cathal [Mrs. Tierney’s son] has done a lot of different training on vehicles and technologies.”

Mr. Tierney, who has taken a step back from the day-to-day decision-making, said all the changes keeps the job interesting.

This can be seen in the diagnostic work, which is the main part of the business.

Cathal spends a lot of his time in the workshop while his brother, Barry is on the road doing work onsite on vehicles and refrigeration.

Between it all, it keeps them very busy as Cathal Tierney can testify to.

“It can be very time-consuming,” he explained in terms of the diagnostic side of the business.

For those readers who may be unfamiliar with this type of work, Mrs. Tierney laid it out plainly: “You know the wee funny lights that come on your dash that shouldn’t be on?

“We take out the bulb and it doesn’t go back on again,” she joked, referring to the lights for things such as ABS, the airbags or engine lights.

Clearly, the work is not as straightforward as this.

Mrs. Tierney continued: “We have all sorts of headaches. We generally get problems that most people go with to the mechanics, first of all, and then when they can’t sort it out, they come to us.”

“You could be spending all day trying to find something. You could find it in an hour, or you could find it in two weeks,” said Cathal Tierney.

“Your ordinary car could have 40 computers talking on five different networks.

“If stuff gives up and one particular computer is pulling down the network, it’s very time-consuming.

“It’s a lot of programming control modules online, and a lot goes through the dealer’s computer.

“A programme for BMW would go through the BMW server in Germany.

“Different cars work on different systems.”

And while it may take some time to find the root of the problem, he said you just have to keep going until you do: “Once you have found your problem, then you can say how much it is going to take and ‘X’ amount of money to replace it. But until you find out what is wrong, you don’t know.”

Michael, Mary and Cathal Tierney all agree that Auto Electrics Refrigeration is a busy place to be at the minute.

With a third generation of the Tierney family working in the business in the form of Barry’s two sons, it bodes well for the future.

“With the help of God,” added Mrs. Tierney.