INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK BRUNO SCHMIDT, FOUNDER, PRO BUS & CAR
ACHIEVING the status of a Michelin Star chef working in the five-star Park Hotel in Kenmare is an unlikely start for an entrepreneur in the luxury car and bus business. But a passion for cars radically altered Belgian-born Bruno Schmidt's career path in the late 1990s.
As an accomplished chef, he never saw himself leaving the kitchen and certainly didn't see himself heading up a luxury car company.
This year, he has invested €1.5m in his expanding fleet and has entered into a joint coach venture with Aircoach's John O'Sullivan on the Dublin to Cork route.
The origins of his company - Pro Bus & Car - are closely linked to his experiences in the five-star hotel sector.
After training as a chef abroad, he eventually settled in the Park Hotel and achieved his goal of being awarded a Michelin Star. Steeped in an ethos of perfection and customer service, he noticed that coaches and cars in the area were not of a five-star standard. Well-heeled Americans were being driven around by the local undertaker or hackney cab.
"I always had a love of cars but couldn't afford one of the big ones," he recalls. "I thought maybe there's an opportunity to buy a nice car and get somebody else to pay for it."
Francis Brennan, owner of Park, was supportive of the plan.
So for three years, he owned one car which provided a service to customers of the hotel while he continued his job as head chef. The car reflected the luxury of the hotel and Mr Schmidt says that a new professionalism was given to customers.
"Francis Brennan was a master in detail and we brought this from him into the car business," said Mr Schmidt. The company also took on drivers with no professional experience and trained them from scratch, giving them training in the best restaurants, international etiquette and the golf courses.
Word spread about the Park Hotel's high-level car service and neighbouring luxury hotel the Sheen Falls also asked Mr Schmidt for a luxury, chauffeur-driven car service. In 2000, he started running the company full-time. "A hotel is much more than a hotel," said Mr Schmidt. "The service starts at the airport." According to Mr Schmidt, his company provides the five-star service in between.
Demand exceeded expectations despite lulls in tourism and American customers requested luxury, chauffeur-driven Mercedes cars for several days at a time. "It was also a small stroke of luck and foresight that in the late 1990s the golf market took off," said Mr Schmidt.
Growth in this market resulted in the introduction of coaches and minibuses - but these were also luxurious, with tables, leather seats, air conditioning, DVD players, espresso machines and kitchens.
"The first thing I do with all these vehicles is reduce the number of passenger seats, keeping business class in mind," said Mr Schmidt.
One of the next major stages of development for the company was an agreement reached in 2001 to supply services to the Four Seasons Hotel in Ballsbridge, Dublin. Having an office in the Four Seasons has been a huge endorsement for the company. "It certainly helps us a lot, especially with US clients, where people are very into referrals," he said.
The company owns 17 vehicles, including limousines and minibuses.
In the past 12 months the company has moved into profitability and turnover is in the region of €1.5m. There is a new emphasis on branding and there has been a €1.5m investment in the fleet to give it uniformity and also to outdo the competition, which has become more intensive.
When the company was established in 1998, Mr Schmidt went to the bank with his Park Hotel salary to guarantee his borrowings. However, this year the expanding company worked with Bloxham Stockbrokers to raise the large investment through the Business Expansion Scheme (BES). The company is wholly-owned by Mr Schmidt and his wife, Sandra.
About 60pc of the business comes from US customers.