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KEEP IT THE FAMI LI'
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Chemical haulier Suttons Group is coping with UK sector decline by moving into Asia, where customers appreciate its family values. Jennifer Ball reports.
The Suttons boardroom is certainly a grand affair with oak panelling, high ceilings and gleaming chandeliers reminiscent of years gone by This impressive room is also evidence of the ingenuity of founder, the late Alf Sutton — he bought the old Lloyds of London boardroom when it closed and moved it piece by piece from London to Widnes.
This methodical approach was reflected in way the late Alf Sutton built up the firm; this year the group's 400 vehicles will travel some 24 million miles and move in the region of 20 million tonnes of product.
Suttons Transport Group was recently formed by the merger of Sutton & Son (St Helens) and Suttons' International division, but the Suttons' family presence within the business continues, with the founder's son Michael Sutton serving as chairman of the holding company. In addition Alt's three grandsons,John Sutton,Tim Broadhurst and Robert Sutton, were all recently appointed to the board.
With the merger came a change in management, with chief executive David Brown named as chairman of the new company and Andrew Palmer appointed group MD.
Vibrant opportunities
Palmer's appointment surprised many industry insiders, coming just three months after DTS Logistics, which he headed up, was acquired by its rival,The Clipper Group. Palmer insists that the move back to Suttons —where he oversaw international business for three years before joining DTS— was too good an opportunity to miss: "In some ways lam sorry to be leaving my good colleagues at DTS but I have spent the past 35 years away from home, my wife had been ill and my son is in Italy.
"While I was working for DTS I was travelling from Chester to Milton Keynes. Its inevitable working in transport that you will have to travel. I have always kept in contact with Sultans but this is an excellent and irresistible opportunity. Sometimes we get these signposts in life."
In an industry so often full of doom and gloom it makes a refreshing change to meet someone who is confident about the future: Palmer relishes the challenges that his new role at Sultans will bring.
While he will not be jetting between Suttons global offices, his primary responsibility will be overseeing the integration of new company: "There were a number of synergies between the group such as sharing customers and property. My new role will drive forward the three operating divisions and ensure we develop the synergies between them for the benefit of our customers."
Palmer adds that he will also be developing the firm's safety policy by looking at its duty of care and ensuring that the management are developing their roles.The company canies out rigorous checks to ensure that it only employs the most reliable and safety conscious drivers; they are re-assessed every year to maintain standards of quality and safety.
Five years ago Suttons set up a training centre at its St Helens site to provide new drivers with safety induction training. This centre is also used for drivers' annual refresher courses which include updates on legislation, safety and customer care— the threat of a terrorist attack has put security onto the curriculum.
Regular debriefing
"This has always been a major part of the company," says Palmer. "We never stop training our drivers and at the end of the day they are always debriefed. Safety is so important to us that we have lost business on the back of this — we told one customer that we didn't like the safety measures that they had in place so they withdrew their business, "However, they later returned. They obviously realised that if Suttons was prepared to lose business on the issue of safety then we must be running a good outfit."
Like many other companies, Palmer says Suttons has had problems with driver shortages, particularly in the South-East.
"We have a low turnover of staff," he reports."However, we have lost drivers in some areas such as in the South-East. You have got to market yourself against the competition.We have three dedicated driver trainers and a quality management team, which makes us an attractive employer." While Sutton Group's red and yellow vehicles are a familiar site around Widnes, where the company has been based for over 50 years, few people are aware of its global presence with offices in Japan, Malaysia, Europe and the United States.There have also been rumours that the firm, which has always been a strong player in the chemicals market, was moving away from this sector, but Palmer says that chemical distribution is as strong as ever.And the company plans to continue to develop its international operations by opening a new office in Shanghai.
Adapting to change
"Traditionally we have seen a decline in UK manufacturing so we looked at what we could do about it," he explains. "In the domestic market we moved more into foodstuffs. We decided to get ahead of the game as we still want to he in business in 10 or 15 years so we looked to chemicals in the emerging markets in the Far East.There is major growth in chemicals and gases in India, China and South-East Asia."
Brown explains that apart from the director all the people employed in China are Chinese: "They are highly educated people who are committed to their work.We often bring them over to the UK for training, which they enjoy. We recruit via agencies in China as we are not able to employ anyone directly but through the state agency" The firm has also diversified into the UK 1111' petroleum and LPG market, investing over £6m to highlight its commitment to the sector. Its bought a number of high-specification 26 and 32-tonne rigids and tanks, including new 37,500-litre vapour-recovery, singlecompartment, stainless-steel tanks for Aviation and Middle Distillates.They offer payloads of 29.5 tonnes. Clients include Total. Shell and Petrolplus.
As well as its tanker operation Suttons has a general distribution division in nearby St Helens with a purpose-built 40.000m2 warehouse, capable of storing a wide range of goods from paper products to engineering components.
Palmer reckons the one thing that sets Suttons apart from its main competitorsNorbert Dentressangle, Hoyer,Wincanton and Exel is that it is a family firm. This means major decisions can be made quickly as all the major shareholders are working for the business on a day-to-day basis.
"This has definitely helped to build our reputation, particularly in Shanghai," he reports. "Our customers know that we do things right, don't cut corners and have integrity. which has proved a tremendous advantage in our operation."
Palmer is as enthusiastic as ever about the industry he has worked in for over 25 years; his biggest bugbear remains the way in which the industry is still portrayed in the media.
Bang the drum "Every week you see a story about locals trying to get trucks banned from their village or a photo of a juggernaut which has crashed with devastating consequences," he says.And he rebukes the Road Haulage and Freight Transport Associations for not promoting the industry enough:"Ilie Institute of Logistics has launched a training programme but aside from that I can't think of anyone who is proactive and not reactive in promoting the industry.
"It [haulage] is not rocket science but we provide an exceptional service. We should be promoting the sector and its image."
Asked about Suttons' plans for the future Palmer simply says: "We'll continue to consolidate the group and be customer led; the direction we take will depend upon on what our customers want.
"We should never lose sight in this business of why we are here.fundamentally.•