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THE MANAGING DIRECTOR
Page 57
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"I have been involved in the waste sector since 1969," says Bale Group MD Tony Bale. He established his first company, Acetip, in 1981,"doing exactly what we do now".
He sold Acetip in 1995; three years later he bought Dewsbury manufacturer West Yorkshire Tanker Services.The firm is now called Bale Fabrications and its former owner, Dean Ellis, became depot manager. It makes four tankers a year but most of its work involves tanker refurbishment — up to 30 are overhauled annually.
This northern site is a long way from Honiton, but its distant location suits Bale: after building the group up in the South, especially the West Country, he is steadily pushing Bale Group's influence northwards. As well as the group's own tankers the Dewsbury team looks after vehicles for third parties and this work accounts for 75% of its business.
As a result Bale enjoys the convenience of an internal maintenance service offering guaranteed back-up. "We can get repairs done immediately;' he points out. We have control:' Meanwhile Bale Fabrications operates as a cashgenerating business in its own right.