Irish manufacturer Knine racing in pole position for luxury off-roading market

“No one else in the world is really doing what we are doing and that’s kind of our competitive advantage and why we are able to do it in the west of Ireland," said company founder, Ben Shakal.  

A Knine truck in action. Picture: Ben Shakal

Did you hear the one about the Irish outfit building high-performance super trucks in Westport, Co Mayo? No? Good because for Knine racing, manufacturing automotives in Ireland is far from a joke; it’s an exciting reality.

Ben Shakal, founder and company director, still laughs at the disbelief their offroaders generate from curious onlookers. “Here in Ireland no one knows about us,” Mr Shakal said and describes incredulous but curious members of the public in Mayo asking where the vehicles were imported from. “They honestly don’t believe us,” he said when they found out the luxury off roaders are manufactured in a 5,500 sq ft facility in Westport Industrial Park.

“It takes a bit more effort for people to realise what you are doing. You say: ‘Oh we’re building a car” and they kind of look at you like: ‘Suuuure'.” 

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Established seven years ago, Knine racing began designing and producing composite carbon fibre body parts for high-end off-road racing. Company development followed with larger commissions sourced from the internet. 

Buyers contacted Mr Shakal with requests for components until projects began to become more and more complex. “It kind of just grew from there,” Mr Shakal said, “our current situation I guess you could call it an accident.” 

Ben Shakal, company founder and director of Knine racing pictured in Portugal with a happy customer. Picture: Ben Shakal

The off-road trucks are exported all over the world with buyers in the Middle East, Europe and South America. The US makes up half of this year’s commissions for Knine and represents the biggest segment of their market. Demand for luxury off-road vehicles has increased, Mr Shakal said with motor enthusiasts looking for something different than super cars.

“A lot of our customers would either buy a Ferrari or a Knine, that’s kind of the sector we’re in, it’s really high end and its custom luxury cars, our packaging is really unique,” said Mr Shakal. 

That market has just boomed over the last eight, nine years, especially in the US.

Constructed to order, Knine racing build their super trucks on top of the chassis of a Can-Am X3, a popular high-performance utility terrain vehicle (UTV). After striping everything back and replacing the suspension and vehicle body, Knine fits a new sealed driving cabin with leather seats and climate control.

Models come as two or four doors with two petrol engine options, a 1L  three cylinder turbo or a 4L V8. Depending on the model, super trucks can weigh 1060-1250kg, manual or automatic transmission and do 0-60mph in 3.2-4.0 seconds. 

The 56cm of suspension travel is perfect for long-distance off-roading or Irish rural roads, Mr Shakal jokes.

Production challenges

Mr Shakal said the company is beginning to grow quickly with increased customer demand and an 18-month waiting list for vehicles. His seven strong team manages to produce about a truck a month. 

Production capacity is Knine’s biggest challenge related to supply network complications. The Can-Am X3 frame is a cost-effective technique for the group to enter the car market but Knine racing plans to produce their own chassis and engines in-house soon, insurance allowing.

“From a technical perspective we have all the capability to do so right now inhouse it’s just that Ireland is a little tricky, insurance is a little tricky, insurance is really tricky, so if you are doing anything unusual at all it costs a lot of money, those are things we are still navigating.

“But like I said in a few years' time we’ll be in line to do our own chassis, our own engines, or own drive trains and our own hybrid systems,” said Mr Shakal.

Compared to the UK or the US or elsewhere in Europe, Mr Shakal describes securing insurance for his business as “really awkward”.

“I love Ireland. I don’t want to be insulting but the insurance industry here is not competitive compared to the UK, Europe or the US.

Because what we are doing is, I don’t want to say ordinary but it's not unusual either. 

If we set this company up in the UK, and went to the bank, they would say: ‘Oh you’re in automotive manufacturing we’ve got all these packages’. It’s no problem.

“Same in the US where there have been one hundred companies before us. We are the only company in Ireland manufacturing vehicles and they kind of just gloss over and go: ‘Why bother?’ because it’s not an industry here. 

"Whereas in the UK you literally have hundreds of manufacturers that are involved in this industry." 

Growing Pains

Funded by regional investors, the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) loan scheme and the local enterprise office, Mr Shakal said he can’t say enough good things about this support.

“I have to say we have received funding at a local level and they have been great and I can’t say enough good things about the local enterprise office and the SBCI loan scheme.

“The only thing it took a bit more work again to explain what we are doing and only because it's a bit more unusual for Ireland and not anywhere else,” he said.

A Knine truck constructed at Westport Industrial estate in Co Mayo. Picture: Ben Shakal

Their target for the future is increasing production but retaining their unique reputation for bespoke off-road vehicles. As well as finding or building a new production facility, Mr Shakal wants to develop their supply chain.

“We are starting to grow quickly now we have always been limited by production capacity and if you had to ask me what my biggest challenge was in Ireland it is that.

“The insurance aside, all that comes once you have a product and you can produce it in some sort of volume but the bigger issue to get that point is production.

Getting things made in Ireland, we don’t have the supply chain around the country that meets every facet of producing a vehicle.

“But at the end of the day if in five years we have it all in one factory and we have full control over it then it will be well worth it.” 

Product quality still remains the focus of Knine racing even if they manage to ramp up production. “Our biggest goal isn’t to produce, maximise volume, it is really just uniqueness and quality,” said Mr Shakal, “no matter what we build here it’s going to sell and we want to keep the exclusiveness.” 

Customer impatience and demand only adds to the attractiveness of the super trucks, Mr Shakal said. “It kind of adds to the allure of them to make them really exclusive, you get these guys on the internet saying: ‘You managed to get an order in, how did you do that? I’ve been trying to get these guys to build me a car’. So it’s kind of a good thing accidentally.” 

Happy with the niche they have found for themselves, Mr Shakal recognises other competitors may soon spot the gap in the market too but for now he is confident Knine racing is in pole position.

“No one else in the world is really doing what we are doing and that’s kind of our competitive advantage and why we are able to do it in the west of Ireland.  

“We can’t compete with other locations in terms of costs and efficiency but if the product is really unique and the quality is really high and it's exclusive then it doesn’t matter where you are.”