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REMOTE OPERATIONS
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Many haulage companies concentrate on moving their depots near to the north/south motorway network and siting any smaller operations within easy reach of the main roads to cut running time and particularly costs. But some hauliers are established at the far corners of the country and operate successfully from remote places. CM takes a look at four: a bakery in Cornwall; a frozen food specialist in west Wales, a haulier for local industry in north-west Norfolk and in the far north, an operation on the Isle of Lewis...
FACTFILE: WT Warren & Sans (Flayle) BASED: ST Just, Penzance, Cornwall. FOUNDED: 1860. CONTACT Managing director Brian Warren, transport manager Des Johns. FLEET: Mercedes 11 tonnes, 7.5 tonnes and 3.5 tonnes. SPECIALITY CONTRACT: Produce of own bakeries. TRANSPORT BUDGET: E300,000. For WT Warren's transport manager, Des Johns, the run-up to Christmas started back at the beginning of November. "We made sure all vehicles were in and safety-checked and all maintenance done. If a vehicle needed a brake lining done in two months we do it now to ensure it's on the road during Christmas week".
The bakery and transport depot at St Just, are just five miles from Land's End, the most southerly tip of England. Deliveries are made all over the south-west of the country, as far north as Bristol, to 45 owned shops and other retail outlets in every town. In addition to Penzance, bakeries are based in Barnstaple and Plymouth in Devon, and Wellington in Somerset. Sandwiches are made in Helston in Cornwall.
The company was established in 1860 by a Mr Harvey and has been family run ever since the grandfather of the present proprietor, Brian Warren, married into the Harvey family. During its long history, transport scheduling has become more complicated. "Our vehicles have got 100 miles to travel before they get anywhere out of the county", says Johns. "This obviously costs us a little more than if we were based in a city in Cornwall." P.'
If anyone in the company can schedule vehicles within the drivers hours laws, it's Johns. He's been there for 21 years, spending over 19 of those as a mechanic. Joining the Institute of Road Transport Engineers 18 months ago put him on course to take the step up to the position of transport manager.
His fleet of 20 Mercedes-Benz vehicles travel more than 900,000 miles each year with much of the driving done at night. Long-distance deliveries are made in two 1117s, with one 1114, seven 814s, ten 3.5-tonne box vans and 17 Escort vans making more local deliveries.
Mercedes vehicles were chosen "simply for the reliability and lasting the distance," says Johns. But the cost of replacing refrigerated vehicles is being pushed up by increasing food legislation, he adds. Payload, in addition to which refrigerated body to choose, is an important factor. He is particularly pleased with a new Mercedes 1117 which has a body by Plymouth-based bodybuilder Arthur Reep. "It's not that much more expensive. We decided that not only did it have extra payload but it is a better designed body with round mouldings instead of square ones".
If you're in the South West for Christmas and you're adjusting your belt to allow room for another mouthful of warm Christmas pudding, dig the packaging out from under the Xmas wrapping paper—it might just be one of WT Warren's.
0 by Nicky Clarke
FACTFILE: Pegasus Freightlines
BASED: King's Lynn, Norfolk. FOUNDED: 1968. CONTACT Managing director and chairman Melvyn Pooley. FLEET: Scanias and Mercedes 38, 26, 17, 13 and 7.5-tonners. SPECIALITY CONTRACT: Foster Refrigerators; Potterton Myson; Sun Electric; Guy
Raymond Engineering. '0Vr 21.5m.
Much of the King's Lynn-based company's business is delivering and installing commercial refrigeration for local firm Foster Refrigerator UK which sometimes means delivering to hospitals, prisons, schools and supermarkets including Tescos and Morrisons. And one of the hazards of delivering to a mental hospital is that you may come away with an unscheduled Load.
A second big contract for the family-run company is with another local company Potterton Myson delivering its central heating and pond pumps No one likes to be cold at Christmas so deliveries on this contract to retail outlets such as Plumb Center and British Gas around the UK increases by 50% this month. The Foster traffic increases slightly too as people stock up with extra food for Christmas, says Pagasus managing director Melvyn "Hank" Pooley.
Founded by Stan Ewing in 1968 Pegasus Light Haulage was named after the parachute regiment to which he belonged. Twenty years later the business was bought by Ewing's three sons Hugh, John and Mark and son-in-law Pooley, who had married Ewing's daughter Gwen.
Pooley, known to everybody as Hank, because he resembles Hank Marvin of The Shadows, describes himself as "the odd one out" in the business because his three joint partners are brothers It is a real family business, with Pooley's wife Gwen as company secretary and Hugh's wife Sue in charge of personnel and tachograph analysis John and Mark both drive for the business.
Twenty vehicles, mostly Scanias and Mercedes-Benz, are operated by the company. Three are 38-tonners.
One is used as a shunt between Foster's and Potterton's factories and the Pegasus warehouse, while the other two are subcontracted to Felixstowe-based Transport UK for groupage work to Switzerland. Eight vehicles used to be subcontracted to the Swiss contract but numbers have dwindled over the years as "costs have outweighed the rewards", says Pooley.
The company's seven 17-tonne curhainsiders fitted with tail-lifts are used on the Foster contract to load and unload fridges The rest of the fleet comprises one 26-tonner and five 13-tonne curtainsiders with taillifts, three 7.5-tonners and a one-tonne pick-up.
Full use of capacity on Pegasus vehicles is made by consolidating different customers' products at its warehouse at nearby Terrington St Clement "We put everything together and then transport it, rather than having two or three vehicles. It helps keep costs down. Everything is cost concentrated." says Pooley,
In addition to the Terrington warehouse, the company leases 3,700m2 of warehouse space in King's Lynn for the Foster contract. Another depot in Tetbury, Gloucestershire is rented from Foster's. Other customers include Guy Raymond engineering which makes furniture castors and chair bases and electric engine testers Sun Electric.
It's undoubtedly been Pooley's love for computers that has helped smooth operations at Pegasus. "I call
myself a gadget man", he confesses. The accounts, fuel monitoring, links into customers' offices and vehicle maintenance are all done via computer packages and he is currently evaluating a route finder package from Magneti Marelli. "We're pleased with the way we run the company. We make a profit. We just hope it continues," he says.
LI by Nicky Clarke
FACTFILE: WOODWARD FOODSERVICE
BASED: Rhyl, North Wales with depots at Bodelwydden, also North Wales, Oswestry in Shropshire and two new sites under construction in Yorkshire and the Midlands. FOUNDED: 1959 by Norman Woodward. CONTACT: David Griffiths, head of IT and logistics, Jeremy Woodward, managing director. FLEET: 42 refrigerated trucks of which 31 are 13-tonners and 11 are 7.5-tonners. Mail* Leyland Dafs, Volvos and Mercedes-Benz. They are all leased from Transfleet, with the latest two additions being R-reg Volvos. SPECIALITY CONTRACT: Wholesale frozen food distribution. TURNOVER: £25m Agood delivery site is not the only claim to fame at Bodelwydden, which is thought to be one of the largest depots of its kind in the frozen-food distribution industry, having capacity For up to 50 trucks and space for 2,600 pallets.
Back-up generators ensure that the depot remains fully operational during any power loss, something which happens fairly frequently near the harsh coast of the Irish Sea. The entire site is surrounded by acoustic fencing, and trees have been planted in abundance all around. "We like to present it well," adds Griffiths, who is undeniably proud of the place. Just a few miles away at the seaside town of Rhyl lies the head office and cold storage site of this go-ahead frozen food distributor which has created its own individual recipe for success.
Although "chips with everything" may not meet with approval from nutritionists, it certainly represents healthy business for Woodward, having recently enjoyed a
takeover by Iceland Frozen Foods. The march is now on to expand across the nation, with two new sites already under construction in Yorkshire and the Midlands, and another established depot at Oswestry in Shropshire.
The company provides service on a plate to many pubs, hotels and leisure outlets in addition to schools, residential homes and even Manchester United football ground. Griffiths can vouch for the quality of the 2,000 or so food products supplied to a customer base in excess of 5,000. "I have the pleasure of testing it sometimes" he confesses, having sampled a range of prawns, pizzas, bread, meat, vegetables, ethnic Food such as curries, gateaux and of course, chips. Woodward Fooclservice already supplies frozen food to outlets throughout much of Wales and part of England. Commitment to continued expansion, a healthy turnover of £25m, and the backing of Iceland Frozen Foods gives reason to assume that Woodward's transport activities will soon be seen in a street near you. Until its takeover by Iceland in March this year the business was a family one. It was established by Norman Woodward in 1959. He delivered fresh poultry and eggs locally and this gradually developed into the supply of frozen foods to pubs, hotels and guest houses. Norman's son Jeremy joined the thriving family firm, and he remains working as managing director under the new regime today.
The 42-strong fleet of refrigerated trucks at Woodward comprises 16 Leyland Dafs, 14 Volvos, 10 Mercedes-Benz and two Fords, and the number is steadily increasing. They are leased from Transfleet, with the latest additions being two R-registration Volvos.
"Our fleet is well maintained", says Griffiths. "We run them in a practical way—they don't do a huge mileage and they don't carry too much weight. They are repainted regularly—a good looking fleet including some dating back to H-reg." Like Santa's elves, the 50-strong personnel in the transport department put in extra hours at Christmas, one of the busiest periods of the year. A typical busy day at Oswestry depot during the festive season may represent 90 tonnes of mixed frozen food.
"We are a people company. When it's busy, we are busy, when it's quiet, we enjoy quiet times too. We prefer to keep staffing pretty solid throughout the year, therefore everyone is trained up at all times", says Griffiths.
So why was this particular company targeted by Iceland? "They liked what they saw. We have very advanced load planning, a high customer service level and a good system whereby we move products quickly and efficiently," says Griffiths. "However; we are still currently a regional supplier. The big names want a national contract and although we can do a better job we are scuppered—you have to be a national player in that game". EI by Caroline Knight
If the predictable jams on the ring-road, or the latest weight restrictions through the city centre give you headaches, spare a thought for Hebrides Haulage. The Hebrides Haulage fleet is based in Stornoway on the Isle Of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides and numbers nine vehicles. Starting with a Leyland-Daf FA45 7.5-tonne box van and a Volvo FL6 12 tonne box, two 17 tonne curtainsiders (one a Mercedes-Benz 1617 and the other a Oaf 1900) complete the small end of the fleet. The mainstay of the fleet, however, are four Volvo FL10s and a Daf 2700. These operate at 26 tonnes or 38 tonnes with turntable drawbar trailers, in box, curtainsider and flatbed forms.
"We keep the vehicles for six to seven years," says director Hector MacDonald. "In that lifespan they will cover around 500,000km, it's not a huge mileage," he admits.
"We carry everything from steel to Harris Tweed, and have a saying that we'll transport anything that doesn't breathe," says MacDonald.
The Harris tweed is an unusual cargo if only for how often the company sees it. "We take the wool to the mainland to be treated, then we transport the treated wool back to Lewis to be made into the tweed, finally we transport the tweed to the mainland for sale, that's three times—I don't attempt to make sense of it," says MacDonald.
"Our nearest manufacturer's agent is 55 miles away, and although we have a local contractor on the island we carry out most of the work inhouse with two mechanics. The more technical work needs electronic diagnostic equipment and has to be done by the agent however, and we find them very efficient," he says.
FACTFILE: Hebrides Haulage BASED: Stornoway, Isle Of Lewis. CONTACT: Hector MacDonald, director. Fleet: Four Volvo FL10 and one Dal 2700 6x2 rigids with drawbar trailers. One Mercedes-Benz 1617, one Dal 1900 17-tonne curtainsiders. One Volvo FL6 12-tonner and one Leyland Daf FA45 7.5tanner. SPECIALITY CONTRACT: Harris Tweed.
tonnes and 38 tonnes operation the threeaxle flatbeds are returning an average of 9.2mpg, which even considering no engine operation for unloading like a tipper or tanker, would still be reckoned impressive by most operators.
However the location on Lewis means that Hebrides Haulage is totally dependent on the ferry operator. "It's a two and a half hour crossing with two per day in the summer and two crossings on two days per week and one crossing on every other day in the winter, excepting Sundays, and is our biggest cost. "It's £465 for an 11
metre long vehicle. On average we pay £13,000 per month," says MacDonald.
And this greatest cost is about to get even bigger, with a 9.2% increase in fares per year for the next two years. "We and other hauliers are lobbying the Scottish Office on this, how can we absorb 9.2%? We certainly cannot pass it on to the customer," argues MacDonald. "We have to fight it."
"At this time of year, the Christmas period gives us further problems with the ferries, as we have to book space up to six months in advance. Cancelled bookings can cost, if you do not use a space you have booked it counts against you in future, the rigid and drawbar outfits at least allow some flexibility.
"If we book 18 metres and only use 11 metres we can give the space to someone else, it's better than cancelling an 11-metre booking," says MacDonald.
by Ian Shaw