Bridge sells up family firm
Page 6
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• Small and medium-sized haulage firms could be on the brink of extinction according to John Bridge, the long-serving national chairman of the Road Haulage Association.
Bridge's comments come in the wake of his decision to sell his family haulage business, CW Bridge, to distribution giants City Logistics.
He says although the industry is growing there will tough times ahead for some: "The bigger companies will be the most successful, as will those with under five trucks. But for those in the middle the future is not as bright as it should be because we are caught in the middle of changes that we cannot cope with."
Bridge adds that the investment small firms need to make is not cost effective. "Firms have not been making enough money to invest in the things they need for the future," he warns. "Customers are unable to pay that little bit extra for the personal service that a small firm gives."
Bridge says that he thought "long and hard" about selling up but decided that it would be best for the 40 employees at the Huntingdon firm, some of whom have been there since it started in 1958.
All the staff and vehicles at CW Bridge will be transferred to City; Bridge himself will take up the position of strategic development manager.