A customer's eye view
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of contract hire by John Darker JUST as many people are finding it cheaper and more convenient to hire a car on contract instead of owning one, so do some haulage operators find it beneficial to hire vehicles for their fleet operation.
One man who finds contract hire a success in Roy Morey, He runs a small business at Reading, Berks, with a fleet of five vans—all are hired on contract from Western British Road Services.
His business, Chiltern Transport Services, is conveniently located at Reading in the Cardiff Road depot of BRS, making maintenance a simple matter.
In the West Country and East Midlands, Chiltern vans are maintained by local BRS branches.
Chiltern Transport provides a popular spares supply service using vans which are in effect travelling stores. The vehicles-4 Bedford KDS and a Ford A Series—have a payload of just over 4-tons but they are light enough not to require drivers to hold HGV licences.
Each van is fitted out with Dexion racks and stronger steel shelving for the heavier spares carried.
Salesman-drivers operating from their homes provide a weekly or twice weekly " milk-round" spares supply service to the West Country and South Wales, the East Midlands, London and the Home Counties. The salesmen call on about 70 customers a week, most calls being at the depots' of large fleet operators.
The original Chiltern specialisation—trailer spares for the most popular makes—has recently been supplemented by a range of truck spares-clutches, filters, air brake equipment, brake linings, etc.
Mr Morey's first vehicle on contract from BRS was a 35 cwt payload Ford Transit. He found that this vehicle, though otherwise excellent, was not large enough for the job. It was exchanged, with a minimum of formality. Constructive advice was given as to the least replacement.
Chiltern Transport Services actually stemmed from another venture called Trailex—a company exporting British built trailers—and recently large capacity tipping lorries—to the Middle East and to Africa. Trailex customers asked Mr Morey if he could help with spares supplies and the result was the Chiltern Transport Services organisation that is flourishing so well that new depots at Dagenham and Tamworth are planned.
Each of the Chiltern vehicles, on three-year contracts, do about 35,000 miles a year. The company holds its own 0-licences and are helped by BRS . with the necessary paperwork. Roy Morey says the service is not the cheapest, but in his initial market assessment he found that BRS were supported by a national spread of depots providing fuelling and maintenance services.
Salesmen in the West Country and in the Midlands have leir vehicles serviced monthly. yre failures on the road are ealt with by BRS agents, sually within an hour. Roy lorey thinks this level of serice quite satisfactory.
Most businessmen working rithin the road transport inustry would think it quite ormal to own their transport eet. Mr Morey and his colagues see things differently. ;ecause they are interested in xpanding their business and he contract hiring facility ffered by BRS frees Chiltern rom certain day-to-day chores. 'he business has been helped to grow because the fixed monthly outgoings are known in advance; the firm has been able to make the best use of its capital and its cash flow problems have been eased. The only records kept are drivers' log sheets; all maintenance records are kept by the BRS depots.
Yet another advantage to a small busineSs is the facility of maintenance at night or at weekends. The Chiltern sales staff can work from Monday to Friday with no worry about losing a vehicle for routine servicing.
Other contract-hire contract-hire firms told Mr Morey that out-of-hours maintenance services might be possible. He decided not to put it to the test.
In 31 years Chiltern Transport Services has increased its turnover from £3000 a month to more than £35,000. The company is so service-orientated that from August 1 this year it intends to offer a 24-hour truck and trailer spares service for customers within a 40-mile radius of Reading, The minimum spares purchase for this additional, year-round service, will be £20. If an operator calling up after normal working hours has no credit account the transaction will be in cash.
The Chiltern vehicles bears its name in a distinctive script, which Mr Morey agrees annoys some people, because it is written in an obscure " Chinese type script." I think the firm would be firmly based for profitable growth without this device. Certainly, BRS are providing the kind of service which many enterprising businesses could use to mutual advantage.