riving along
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the B863 through the Mamore Mountains is one of those happy occasions when you can use the word "breathtaking" with complete accuracy. There is no other word for it Craggy peaks thrust thousands of feet into the sky, reflected in the calm loch below. At the end of the road lays Kinlochleven, nestling at the foot of the mountains.
CM drops into the little town which a few minutes earlier had been just a collection of small dots. Closer examination reveals houses, shops and people—and the premises of Kinlochleven Road Transport, which runs a fleet of 16 trucks.
Its history is a little unconventional: the company was founded in 1923 by a consortium of British Aluminium and local businessmen. It made perfect sense because a going concern in such a remote location needs some sort of transport capability.
Today Evan Budge is the man with the biggest interest in the firm: "I came here as a mechanic in /975," he says. "At that time there were only four vehicles. I bought a share holding, and I became managing director 12 years ago."
Through the seventies, eighties and nineties the company concentrated on hauling aluminium from the smelter plant just up the road. It still carries these loads, which entails hauling aluminium residue down to Bradford and running aluminium ingot. laden flatbeds all the way down to Exeter, for use in the aeronautical industry (and, more mundanely, for teapot spouts).
But the plant's heyday has gone; today it employs 6o people, half the workforce of a few years ago. Next month it will leave
Kinlochleven for good and relocate to Fort William, 25 miles away by road. Kinlochleven Road Transport will follow it to Fort William—you can't get more flexible than that.
The town's setting is indeed striking, but staying there does not make business sense, with the smelter plant being the firm's sole customer in the town. "We are moving to a bigger yard, and we are looking to expand the fleet as well," says Budge.
Fleet expansion seems apt. Carrying the aluminium is stable enough work, but it accounts for only ro% of the business. Fortunately, there is a wealth of other work for the company's vehicles. "We collect fish from all along the west coast of Scotland," says Budge. It is all farmed salmon, picked up from as far north as Ullapool down to the south, to the Isle of Arran."
The fish is carried by
flatbeds in insulated bins to a fish processing plant in Fort William. The firm also hauls fish to a plant at Bellshill.
Budge explains: "We also have rigid tippers which work from local quarries, which are used to pick up stone and sand and take them to building and road construction sites."
As well as haulage, the firm runs a petrol station and is involved in car and van hire, Back to haulage. In addition to aluminium and fish, Kinlochleven Road Transport carries woodchip, which is used to make products like chipboard and paper. Budge says: This is a fast growing industry. We also pick up bark from Scottish timber yards, then usually carry it down to England. We can load it and leave it for a day—it is not really time-sensitive. General haulage is also undertaken, as long as the money is right."
Work is plentiful, but the
mountainous location causes its share of problems. "We do not get good mileage out of the vehicles which run locally, and the fuel is very expensive," Budge remarks. "We have our own pump but it has to be brought up from the Central belt ma miles south."
And if a truck is collecting from the Central belt and heading south, it has to negotiate those ioo miles of twisting roads before it even picks up its load. Spare parts demand a lengthy excursion to Glasgow or Inverness; there is no dealership anywhere near Kinlochleven.
Despite the drawbacks, in the wider scheme of things the impending expansion can only be good news. Cashflow is what it's all about. Like any canny haulier, Budge concludes: "As long as customers pay their bills, we do not mind."