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:7.0-t.trient, it can artive4tr..-'anything from a-Jiffy bag to a container and is as 'likely to have originated
. in Buenos Aires or . in Buenos Aires or
Brisbane as Bolton or Basingstoke. The firm, based in Golnbrook, on the doorstep of London's Heathrow Airport, is one of the country's fastest-growing air-freight hauliers, providing the first or last vital transport link for goods travelling around the world.
After clinching a prestigious deal two years ago . with Swiss forwarder Panalpina—for
which it ruris a dedicated fleet of2.-4 liveried trucks—*atki_us gr, Sole is poised to open -depots in Bristol and Glasgow, adding to . existing satellitesites in Birmingham and Manchester. The fleet is growing too, from 1'2.0 tow vehicles.
With more contracts with worldwide freight .caniers in the offing, owner John Watkins, who founded Watkins 81. Sole 30 years ago, firmly believes it can become one of the LI.X.'s top ten hauliers within a few years. The expansion has seen WatkiriS 8c Sole's turnover soar froin12111 two years ago to more than 15m in 2000, with 75% of it
coming from air freight; a market which is growing by 6% a year by volume, according to the Freight Transport Association. This year the company expects its sales to double.
The Panalpina deal was a turning point, says general manager Mike Higgins. Operating trucks in the colours of such a respected international name has been a marketing weapon in what is a ferociously competitive sector.
"Because we are so close to Heathrow, the company has always done air freight. But the Panalpina contract undoubtedly gave potential customers more confidence in using us," says Higgins. Customers pay a premium for air freight and expect their goods to be delivered on time—and to be secure throughout their journey.
To prosper, says Higgins, you have to add value to your customer's service, and you must be ultra-reliable.
"The emphasis on air freight is making sure it gets to its destination on time," he says. "We only take work if we can guarantee we can meet its deadline and we need to be able to tell customers exactly where their load is at any time."
Heavy Investment
That's why Watkins & Sole has been investing heavily in satellite tracking equipment for its largely Scania and Mercedes fleet. So far 25 trucks and vans have the devices; the remainder of the fleet could follow in the next 12 months. This year the firm will also launch an on-line service which will allow clients to obtain quotes and place orders 24 hours a day, without having to pick up the phone.
Eventually customers will be able to access the system using a password to pinpoint the location of their loads.
The system will have the added benefit of taking away time-consuming paperwork from the transport team. For example, customers will be able to print off their own account data and proof of delivery forms.
Training has also been a priority Since the Lockerbie bombing, the Department of Transport has insisted that staff at freight forwarders and consignors of cargo are trained and their sites are vetted if they want to be able to fast-track freight through airports' security systems. Hauliers working for freight forwarders are exempt from this security regime, but Higgins suggests that applying to be listed and opening the business to inspections sends the right message to potential customers. "We wanted to show our customers that we would be working to the same rules as them," he explains.
Opening satellite depots near leading UK airports will help Watkins & Sole operate more groupage services and further tap the single-package market. At the moment about 15% of its business comes from courier work, but Higgins believes this could increase to 5o% within a year.
He brings hands-on experience to the task: before joining the company eight years ago he ran his own three-van courier firm, Akorn Transport, out of Heathrow. "During this time I learned that parcel carriers were generally too expensive and inflexible," he says. "And because we are going from the haulage industry into the parcels side, we understand the real cost of a job. In haulage you can lose a job if you quote L5 more for a load than a competitor."
Watkins & Sole's fleet extends from a handful of Ford Couriers and some 30 Mercedes Sprinters to six i8-tonne Scania P94DBs and six Mercedes Atego 18235. It has about 35 tractive units, including Scania Rii4LAs with Topline cabs and Mercedes Actroses. On the trailer side, it has io Euroliners from SDC Trailers in Mansfield—this month it has taken delivery of two 13.6m double-deck box trailers from SDC for use on its two fivenights-a-week trunking runs from Birmingham and Manchester to London. "It's great because if there is an overflow on a load, it means we don't have to double up on vehicles," says Higgins.
Personal touch
Watkins & Sole has also been making its fleet more secure, phasing in armoured curtainsiders from Loughborough-based Southfield Trailers over three years; so far it has replaced 30 out of a fleet of 80. The trailers combine flexibility for back loading with similar security to a boxed vehicle, says Higgins.
In an industry which relies so heavily on professionalism, creating the right impression is crucial, says Higgins. All Watkins & Sole drivers wear a navy blue uniform and vehicles have personalised WAS suffixes on their number plates.
Despite the firm's growing stature and ambition to be running a fleet of 2oo vehicles within three years, Watkins & Sole is determined to hold onto its family image and personal touch. John Watkins, at 53, is still the lynchpin of the business and his children, Anthony, 27, and Julie, 32, are operations and customer services manager respectively. "We know all our drivers and their wives and families," says Higgins. "We know all about their lives and we don't want to lose this."