A busy year for Suttons

ON THE GO

STRATEGY • SUTTONS GROUP CEO JOHN SUTTON DISCUSSES THE COMPANY’S APPROACH TO IMPROVING ITS MARKET POSITION IN A VOLATILE AND UNPREDICTABLE WORLD

MANAGING AN ONGOING fleet revamp, working with government agencies and then finding the time to host a safety day event is a lot to consider, but UK-based Suttons Group has done just that. The specialist logistics service provider has done more in the last few months than many businesses achieve in years and more is set to happen. HCB caught up with John Sutton, Group CEO, to discuss developments since the last conversation (HCB May 2019, page 39).

Following up on the progress of the fleet expansion, John Sutton explains that “in addition to the trucks already on order, we’re also placing a pre-order for trucks in 2020”. Suttons has orders for 72 units for delivery by the end of 2019 and a further 55 are for delivery in 2020. All of these orders are for Volvo FM GT XL models.

“The reason for pre-ordering the trucks for 2020 is due to the uncertainty about what may or may not happen with Brexit,” says Sutton. “A lot of manufacturers indicated that there might be tariffs on trucks of up to 20 per cent. So, because of this, our orders have been secured throughout next year.”

Despite all the uncertainties and variables that have been a constant source of frustration in the UK/European market for the last few years, Suttons is positive of future opportunities, shown by this large order.

“There is still room for expansion for us within the UK. We’re just about to go through a strategic review as we are three years into our five-year plan and, on the UK side, we’ve been successful implementing this, improving the calibre of people within the business and completing some of the acquisitions we identified.”

BRANCHING OUT Suttons has diversified its reach and expanded through acquisitions over the last couple of years. This has allowed the business to develop relationships with new customers and grow in sectors where it previously only had a small representation.

“These new acquisitions have got us into different sectors and solidified our position in the chemical sector,” says Sutton. “These acquisitions have really helped us in sectors that we weren’t particularly strong in, such as waste products. This has allowed our customers to see our service levels and quality we provide.”

Of course, these new acquisitions and pre-emptive vehicle purchases are, in part, designed to offset any issues that may arise when Brexit happens – if it happens at all. “Brexit is a difficult one to answer as we just don’t know what will happen,” laughs Sutton. “I think our general view on that is that over the next five to ten years whatever is currently coming in and out of the UK will continue to need to come in and out of the UK.

“Even longer term, we believe that where production of raw materials, perhaps, moves out of the UK, these raw materials will need to be shipped into the UK and, rather than being moved domestically from factory to factory, possibly it will come from port storage or importing ISO tanks into the UK.”

According to Sutton, the UK economy seems to be doing as well as – if not better than – most mainland European economies in terms of demand. He then sums up concerns surrounding Britain and Brexit best when he

states: “The nature of the business might change, but the need to move chemicals from A to B will continue.”

In addition to the new Volvo orders and preparing for any Brexit upset, the ongoing fleet refurbishment is gaining momentum. Suttons has received 36 of the 70 GP tanks – with the balance due by April 2020 – and has completed seven major refurbishments. Currently, 600 ISO tanks per year are in the process of being renovated. Due to this, Sutton does not expect to place any orders for “at least the next six months because the market seems fairly flat”.

UNITING FOR SAFETY Getting back to its roots and core focus of safety being number one, Suttons showcased its commitment to safety and innovation during a customer-focused event at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground, Leicester, this past September. Workshops were organised where attendees could discuss issues such as safety culture and compliance excellence, and heard about an innovative technology project, run in coordination with Suttons’ fleet telematics provider Microlise.

Furthermore, the new 2019 Volvo units and new general-purpose tanks were on display and visitors were given an opportunity to drive one of the rigs around the track. Many people involved with the day-to-day running of businesses such as Suttons have never had the chance to drive and reverse a truck, so the opportunity provided all attendees with an insight into the difficulties and skills required to operate such machinery – particularly when in tight locations and on active worksites.

“We wanted to give our key customers an insight into our commitment to safety and how we’re investing for the future, in both assets and technology,” says Michael Cundy, managing director of Suttons Tankers. “This location provided the perfect backdrop for customers to take part in workshops, have a drive of the vehicles and climb inside our innovative training tank. An event of this kind gives us an opportunity to meet and listen to our customers and demonstrate our capability across a range of areas.”

Suttons has not arranged this event in the past but plans to develop on the theme in the coming years thanks to the great feedback it has received. For example, Mark Beal from BOC Fleet Services describes the safety day get-together: “What a great event! The day was well structured and gave a very informative insight into the great work that Suttons is doing for its customers and the industry. Everything was slick and timed very well.”

BEST DEFENCE Smuggling is not something that is commonly associated with the chemical logistics industry, but it is in fact something the industry needs to be diligent about. Suttons has been working closely with the UK Border Force, a law enforcement agency within the UK Home Office, to help train staff on how to inspect different types of tank container and identify where goods can be smuggled.

There can be a great number of ways in which units such as tank containers can be adapted to create a vessel suitable for smuggling contraband and illicit goods. Suttons provided Border Force with a tank container designed specifically to help train officers in the detection and prevention of illicit goods entering the UK.

“Suttons is proud to assist the Home Office in keeping the UK’s borders safe and secure and has supplied Border Force with a training tank that can be used to demonstrate where contraband items might be hidden to aid detection when freight enters the UK from overseas,” says Barry McNally, managing director of Suttons. “As experts in ISO tank training, we were quickly able to fit out a suitable tank, based on our existing training design, to show how the tank could be modified to hide contraband.”

The tank container provided by Suttons will continue to be used by Border Force for demonstration purposes at courses and conferences, as well as training for other border agencies. www.suttonsgroup.com

SUTTONS IS INVESTING NOW IN NEW TRUCKS TO EXPAND

ITS CAPABILITIES WHILE PROTECTING ITSELF AGAINST

POSSIBLE COST INCREASES IN NEW VEHICLES AFTER BREXIT