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GOODS
Page 69
Page 70
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BODYWORK
AND REFRIGERATION
AN 11-vehicle-business deal being finalized over the phone—"I'll settle it when I go over on Sunday", and: "I've just bought 16 trailers, I shall order 12 more now" are statements made by Mr. Geoffrey Hallam rather in the way that many people might dismiss the purchase of a packet of frozen peas.
While recognizing that many hours of thinking, costing and planning lie behind statements such as these, they are not untypical of the man who has built up a company which plays a prominent role in the transport of frozen food in Britain. In fact, without Geoffrey Hallam, Humber Warehousing Co.'s managing director, it is possible that for some people there would be no packets of frozen peas.
He is in control of an operation that entails the carrying of frozen food and ice cream: making for his own use, and supplying for others, refrigerated and insulated containers; storing in his warehouses the boxes and plastics wrappings that are required to wrap frozen fish and other frozen produce; and the operation of insulated and refrigerated vehicles for the frozen food producers in their own various liveries, as well as his own.
Humber Warehousing claims to be the biggest independent frozen food transporter in Great Britain, with 130 vehicles engaged on frozen food transportation (as well as a sizeable general-goods fleet). It is also unusual in having its own refrigerated bodybuilding company (Link).
Humber Warehousing uses its own (non-ISO) containers for controlledtemperature transport, normally mounted on flats or skeletals, but new trailers on order are platform /skeletals to provide maximum flexibility.
Until recently the refrigeration of the containers has been undertaken solely by Thermo-King PCL 50 units. These units are powered by BMC 1100 cc engines converted to operate on propane gas. Mr Bert Wenman, Humber Warehousing's administrative manager, explained that this conversion was comparatively simple and was undertaken for an equally simple reason—to prevent the risk of petrol pilferage.
It was found last year, however, that due to the hot summer, the Thermo-King units which are thermostatically controlled to switch on when the container reaches a pre-determined temperature, were in operation for long periods. Because the units require maintenance after about 30 hours running time, it was found necessary to overhaul them at too frequent intervals, necessitating the containers being in the workshop rather than in service.
Because of this another method is undergoing a six-month trial: liquid nitrogen, which dispenses with a refrigeration unit and is therefore initially cheaper, although more expensive to operate. Nevertheless, Mr Wenman thought, the higher cost would be offset because it was unnecessary to employ staff to maintain the refrigeration units, and the containers would not be in the workshops so often.
Apparently customers, both those for whom Humber carries goods and for whom Link supplies bodies or containers, are nowadays demanding stricter control of the temperatures at which their produce is carried. Frozen food is transported in refrigerated containers at —5degF. A tolerance of a few degrees either way would not necessarily be detrimental, but I was assured that Humber, and the frozen food hauliers generally, do not accept tolerances. They feel that once they are accepted the tolerances are likely to become wider and the present strict control lost; Mr Wenman recalled Humber's own experience of the holiday camp managers who, on the arrival of a consignment of frozen food, would first check the container's temperature with a pocket thermometer before accepting delivery.
Humber is well able to offer the high standards of service demanded, because its rates are based on realistic costing and it is geared to depreciating and replacing vehicles at short intervals. Despite this, it has been plagued by the new-vehicle problems thrown up on some current models, and its excellent workshop at the new Grimsby headquarters has been kept busy.
Many of the tasks undertaken by Humber Warehousing, have, by virtue of nature alone, to be handled in an "all stops out" manoeuvre. The country's entire pea crop is grown in a period lasting usually about six weeks, beginning early in July. Humber Warehousing was last year involved in the collection of about 20,000 tons of peas from farmers throughout Lincolnshire. Once picked, the peas have to be in the processing factory within four hours at the most, to preserve tenderness and prevent sugar content from becoming starch.
The collecting of the peas is only a small part of the story, however. Pea seed, mainly imported, is transported from the docks to a warehouse until required by the farmers, to whom it is then distributed. On receipt of the grown peas at the producer's cold store they are frozen, remaining there until required for distribution throughout the year. When they are so required they are first packed into the wrappers that are familiar in the retailers' frozen food cabinets. These wrappers are often stored at the various warehouses of the Humber group, being delivered to the producers as and when required.
Most vegetable crops demand this type of operation and are picked, frozen and stored in a similar manner.
New tendency A trend that Humber Warehousing has recognized, and is gearing itself in readiness for, is the increasing tendency of farmers' associations, or even single farmers having facilities to grow a large crop, to have their own cold store and so sell their own frozen produce. This method, which proves more profitable to the farmer, requires reliable transport facilities and Mr Wenman is prepared to get up very early to meet the farmers and sell his company's services.
Warehousing is an important part of Humber's activities, offering customers a total dry-storage area in excess of 64-rn cubic feet, divided between warehouses at Grimsby, Immingham and Bristol. At Grimsby and Immingham the distribution of food was very evident. Pea seed, fertilizer, frozen food wrappers and even the machines that harvest the peas during the season were in store. Another commodity stored in bulk was rolls of paper, many intended for newsprint.
The company runs 263 vehicles in all, 39 of them being in contract liveries, such as Bird's Eye and Findus, and its trailers will soon reach a ratio of 2 to 1. It operates from seven depots and the total mileage of the whole fleet including the general freight vehicles was last year reckoned at approximately 9fm. Drivers engaged on tramp services can generally expect Saturday at home. Humber recognizes the fact that these men, who, Mr Wenman told me, may on occasion earn as much as £50 a week, regard Saturday night as a special occasion and appreciate being at home. Grimsby, the biggest depot, has 170 drivers and 160 vehicles.
Although I was told that an application by myself for a driver's job (1 have a psv licence) would not be entertained because of my lack of truck experience, Mr Wenman felt that soon enough the company would have to take on novices and train them to hgv licence standard. The training at present involves a full-time training officer and a full-time driving instructor who, with the aid of an articulated training vehicle, are able, at the rate of about four a week, to train either rigid drivers to artic standard or offer refresher courses to those already driving artics.
Labour relations with drivers and other manual employees are good. A 16-member works committee, consisting of eight from the management and eight employees, meets regularly once a month to discuss any grievances. Although Mr Wenman was ready to recognize that not every meeting ended with both sides in harmonious agreement he was content that disagreements could be settled without a dispute. Humber Warehousing has never suffered a strike.
Perhaps an outcome of one of these