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RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB
Page 179
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Jock McBean glances prim* along the row of 22 ERFs lined up in the yard of his premises at Kirknewton, a few miles to the west Edinburgh: "I've wanted to line them up like this for a long time," he says, "but this has given me the excuse."
It is also an excuse for Mclean to review the fruits of his 29 years in the business as a general haulier. J B McBean Ltd was started up in August 1969 with £165 when Mclean's previous employer went out of business. "I had just two trucks," he recalls, "and two drivers. The trucks went years ago, but the drivers are still with me:" His original premises were Nissen huts on the Mid Camps Industrial Estate, and McBean's yard is still on the same site, although now expanded to cover five acres, with 60,000ft2 of warehousing.
McBean's first ERF was bought in 1970: a two-axle tractor with a Gardner 6LW engine. Although it was underpowered, it managed regular return trips to London, with multi-drops on the southbound trips and loads of Brill° Pads on the way back. Since then McBean has owned 70 or 80 ERFs, and his present 25-strong fleet is 100% ERR "I've tried other makes," he says, "but I keep coming back to ERFs."
Back-up service
A major factor in the successful operation of the company's fleet is the back-up service Mclean receives from local distributor's James Bowen & Sons Ltd, of nearby Newbridge. Mclean says, "Bowens are there seven days a week to supply what we need, so I don't need to tie up money in a large spares stock. All I hold here are the quick-moving items bulbs, tyres, brake shoes and the like."
Not that major items are needed very often: "We keep our tractors for four or five years, hut work them hard maybe 80 or 90,000 miles a year So when we sell them, they've done around 350,000 miles, and often we've not had to carry out any engine repairs on the Gardners at all. All we've usually had to do on the ERF tractors is reline the front brakes."
While he is enthusiastic about ERE and Bowens, Mclean is less polite about other manufacturers: "Most of them have never come near me, and others only seem interested in the really big fleets. One Scandinavian builder only condescended to send a salesman to visit mc because they considered that my fleet was now big enough to warrant their attention." That salesman did not stay long at McBean's premises.
Sweetness
So is all sweetness and light with his ERFs? McBean can only think of one real problem with them: "Windscreens. You just have to look at the trucks lined up outside and you'll see that quite a few windscreens are cracking."
Six of McBean's EREs are rigids two eight-wheelers and four four-wheelers but the rest are artics with a variety of Crane Fruehauf trailers.
Although the company is very much in general haulage, it also gets involved in specialist areas. Mclean is part of Eagle Express, providing a next-day parcels collection and delivery service on the west side of Edinburgh, but Jock is only too aware of the cut-throat nature of this growing business, and will continue in parcels only as long as the return is right.
Mclean also has low-loader trailers for large loads: among the loads he has carried have been World War 2 aircraft en route for museums throughout the country. The new regulations this year have forced Jock to think about a new unit, a three-axle tractor and a five-axle trailer, but at a cost of around £100,000, he is approaching the purchase with good Scottish caution.
It is clear that McBean is very much a family firrn. Jock is managing director and his son Keith is learning the business; daughter Karen runs the office and Ruth handles invoicing. Keith and Karen are directors of the company, along with Raymond Millar, who is in charge of maintenance in the well-equipped, purpose-built workshop area, and who has been with Mclean almost from the start.
There are 36 staff, and many have been with the company for a long time. The drivers each have their own truck, and Jock explains that the turnover of drivers is low. "I can't remember when a driver left us," adding, "voluntarily, of course."
Jock Mclean clearly recognises a winning formula, ''ERF have been good for the business," he reckons, "but it is equally important to get quality drivers. Add to that a list of good customers, and you can't go far wrong."