Commercial Motor

ESTABLISHED 1905 / 26 MARCH 2020 / £3.25

LIFE IN LORRIES

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S ED ER US AIL OF TR S D GE AN PA KS UC

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AT THE HEART OF THE MARKETPLACE

FROM ONE GOAT TO AN EMPIRE

No butts for Farrall’s Group founder Eddie Farrall

NEED A USED TRUCK? LOOK NO FURTHER

From the frontline How the haulage industry is coping with COVID-19

CM AWARDS WINNER

Dealer Principal of the Year Simon Griffin

DRIVERS’ RULES RELAXED Emergency measures to tackle COVID-19

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A ROAD TRANSPORT MEDIA PUBLICATION

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Everyone talks, one delivers.

The new Actros.

MirrorCam. In place of regular exterior mirrors, the new Actros is equipped with the revolutionary, aerodynamically ingenious MirrorCam. The system doesn’t just provide an optimal all-round view, it also offers high levels of safety when manoeuvring, turning and changing lanes. www.mercedes-benz-trucks.com For more information scan the QR code.

CONTENTS 

24 PARTNERSHIP APPROACH

CONTENTS

EDITORIAL COMMENT

NEWS AND PRODUCTS

Last week my 80-year-old mother asked me whether the supply chain would collapse and questioned whether we’d all starve to death. While there is so much uncertainty in the world right now, I was able to tell her, hand-on-heart, that she didn’t have to add this to her growing list of concerns.

Why? Because the UK road haulage industry is incredibly resourceful, resilient, and thrives on adversity. When you’re up against it, you and your staff always deliver. So it’s a huge thank you to everyone employed in this industry from me, my mum and the 66 million others who depend on you.

The entire Commercial Motor team is now following government guidelines and working from home until further notice. While we face a number of challenges, we will continue to strive to deliver the print and online content that you need to help run your businesses in these trying times.

Will Shiers, Editor, Commercial Motor

Logistics critical to COVID-19 fight 4 Drivers’ hours rules relaxed 6 EV Cargo battles demand spike 8 Morrisons seeks 2,500 drivers 10 Broughton sees pallet boom 12 Food retailers race to get tractors 14 Virus wipes out industry events 16 CV Show 2020 cancelled 18

34 LET THERE BE LIGHT

LEGAL News, cases and public inquiries 22

OPERATIONS

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Life in lorries Building Farrall’s Group was a labour of love for Eddie and Joan Farrall Weight watcher Aliweld and MAN have turned out a slimmed-down 8x4 tipper that can still deliver big time

44 BUILDING BOOST

Track star The government’s pledge to back HS2 construction is great for tipper operators

Follow us on: Commercial Motor is the official UK journal of the International Truck of the Year Awards

Team player Former rugby star Simon Griffin leads the pack at Watts Truck & Van From the archives Nothing to see here... it’s just an elephant on a Studebaker!

56 GONE TRUNKING

CLASSIFIED Used trucks Dealer directory Trailers and semi-trailers Specialist Parts and accessories Sales and services Auctions

59 122 133 148 154 158 163

Did you know you can get Commercial Motor delivered direct to your door?

Su bs c r ibe at www.c ms u bs using cod e 20 45

CONTACT INFORMATION Editorial To contacts us dial: 020 8912 + 4 digits Email: first name.surname@roadtransport.com Editor Will Shiers 2157 Deputy editor George Barrow 2156 Group technical editor Colin Barnett 2141 Head of content Tim Wallace 2158 Art and production Group production editor Clare Goldie Deputy group production editor Isabel Burton Supplements production editor Joanne Betts Art editor Tim Noonan

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26 MARCH 2020 COMMERCIAL MOTOR

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 INDUSTRY NEWS

Logistics critical to COVID-19 fight RHA chief executive Richard Burnett (pictured) has paid tribute to the positive response from transport secretary Grant Shapps to a set of measures requested to support the haulage industry through the coronavirus epidemic.

In a letter to Shapps seen by CM, Burnett warned that his members were reporting catastrophic effects on their businesses and the government needs to make immediate financial intervention to prevent bankruptcies.

“I am in regular contact with Grant Shapps and am confident he understands the scale of the problem,” Burnett told CM. “He has confirmed the government recognises logistics is a critical industry and its staff are key workers.”

In addition to the £330bn grant

UPS moves to electric ‘shifters’

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Suspended: The London Lorry Control Scheme has been suspended in order to ease the passage of goods into shops and supermarkets. London Councils said the decision to cease enforcement of the scheme, which controls the movement of lorries at night and at weekends, was made in response to concerns by the industry, as well as government calls to lift restrictions. It said the suspension is in place until 30 April, but the decision would be kept under review. In a statement, London Councils said: “We appreciate that the temporary suspension of enforcement will not solve all supply problems but should help provide some further fle ibility for London s businesses to help them do all they can to meet increasing demands at this challenging time. If you do plan to change your delivery routes and schedules in light of the suspension, please do take care to ensure the routes you use are suitable for your vehicles avoiding narrow streets and low bridges etc.”

Shutterstock

UPS has begun testing autonomous electric ‘shifters’ to move semi-trailers and containers at its advanced technology hub in London.

Initially UPS will operate the vehicles with drivers in the cab to evaluate efficiencies but later this year will start autonomous driving operations.

The Gaussin electric vehicles have zero tailpipe emissions and include battery swap technology, which enables the shifters to be operated day and night as discharged batteries are immediately replaced with a fully charged one.

“These tests are part of a major UPS effort to integrate electric vehicles throughout our global network,” said Juan Perez, UPS chief information and engineering officer.

“Gaussin’s shifters will help cut our fuel costs and reduce emissions.

“We’re also eager to test the shifters in autonomous driving mode.”

and loans package to support all UK businesses, the government has also announced transport workers are on its list

of those deemed critical to the COVID-19 response, meaning they can still send their children to school.

Other measures sought by the RHA specifically for hauliers include: enforced payment holidays with leasing companies; road fund licence reductions; deferment of clean air zones and the Direct Vision Standard for at least six months; relaxation of lorry road tolls; and fuel duty reductions for essential users.

Burnett warned that restrictions on cross-border movements in Europe could soon see falling import volumes. As a result, he said the relaxation of drivers’ hours rules for retail deliveries missed the point as hauliers delivering products for manufacturers were also under severe pressure.

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 INDUSTRY NEWS

Drivers’ hours rules relaxed The DfT has announced that the current limited drivers’ hours relaxation will be extended until 23.59 on Tuesday 21 April 2020 and apply to all road haulage operations. The move follows discussions between RHA chief executive Richard Burnett and secretary of state for transport Grant Shapps.

“This is a blanket relaxation covering all sectors,” Burnett said, “and recognises how integrated and inter-dependent supply chains are across the whole economy. The sector is working as efficiently and as quickly possible. This relaxation improves resilience in a way

that ensures all goods can reach the area where they are needed. Shortages are not the problem at the moment – the problem lies with supplying the current excess demand for goods caused by panic buying. This just creates bottlenecks that undermine efficient delivery schedules.

“The relaxation in hours will not reduce the levels of enforcement of the drivers’ hours. It is vital that companies only use these relaxed rules when needed and companies must monitor drivers to ensure they do not drive tired or in any way unfit. The need for compliance with the rules is absolute. This relaxation must

be used wisely, not abused recklessly. This is another example of the close working relationship that we have established with Grant Shapps and his team. When it comes to providing them with grass roots industry knowledge, I am pleased they are confident in our understanding of the industry and we are its first port of call.”

The rules can be relaxed by replacing the daily driving limit of nine hours with 11 hours; by reducing the daily rest requirements from 11 to nine hours and raising the weekly and fortnightly driving limits from 56 and 90 hours to 60 and 96 hours respectively.

Reason Transport in dock over crush death

Testing times: Logistics companies are paying thousands of pounds to private clinics to test their drivers and warehouse staff for the coronavirus in the absence of widespread testing for the disease by the NHS. The test, which costs £249, follows government guidelines prescribed for the testing of COVID-19 and is recognised by Public Health England. Customers are sent mouth swab kits that are returned by post to a UKAS-accredited laboratory, with results emailed back. However, Rod Mckenzie, RHA MD of policy and public affairs, said: “I am unhappy at private companies charging lots of money for these tests that may not be as verified as the H tests and which could cause companies to waste a lot of money. We keep hearing from the WHO that testing is important and the government is changing its position on this to hopefully make tests more widely available, which will be good.”

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Reason Transport is facing charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act following an HSE investigation into the death of driver Petru Pop in November 2016.

Pop died while making a delivery to a residential address in High Wycombe on behalf of Reason Transport. He was crushed beneath a 1,100kg pallet of tiles that he was attempting to unload from the truck.

Family firm Reason Transport was a Palletways member at the time of the accident. The Coventry-based haulier left Palletways and joined Palletline in May 2018.

The court case is set to open on 3 April at Reading Magistrates’ Court.

In 2018, the HSE recommended no limit on pallet weights and a requirement that drivers risk assess the safety of each tail-lift delivery. The recommendations were passed to the pallet weight working group, which put together draft guidance, which has yet to be published.

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 INDUSTRY NEWS

EV Cargo sees demand spike EV Cargo Logistics is reporting volumes at Christmas levels as it responds to increased demand for groceries across the UK. The company said “a collaborative spirit” has developed across the industry, as it works with subcontractors and other hauliers to ensure shelves remained stocked in the face of significant operational challenges.

A call from EV Cargo business Jigsaw for help from hauliers with spare capacity generated over 150 responses in just 48 hours and CM Downton has switched driver and vehicle resource from manufacturing-based customers to food and drink.

“As the likelihood of an extended COVID-19 lock-down increases, and the UK experiences a significant spike

Playing safe: Protocols for parcel deliveries by some of the UK’s largest couriers have been changed to reflect increasing concerns over health and safety in light of the current pandemic. Hermes said it was introducing “contact-free delivery” to everyone’s doorsteps, and requesting that customers choose a safe place for parcels to be left. For parcels requiring signatures, couriers will do this on behalf of the customer. This will only happen when the customer opens the door and gives their name for security reasons. The courier will stay at least two steps away. Yodel said couriers were not required to knock on doors if its carding process had been followed. If no safe place is available or a proof of delivery is required then drivers will place the parcel on the doorstep, ring or knock on the door, “and then where safe to do so, retreat 2m away from the door,” it said.

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in consumer spending, Jigsaw hopes its boosted volumes will provide additional support for hauliers being commercially affected by the situation,” a Jigsaw statement said.

"There is an immediate national requirement with full trailer loads available from locations across the UK for national delivery and coverage required on a seven-day basis.”

EV Cargo Logistics has implemented a business continuity plan, which includes splitting planning teams across depots, segregating staff teams and supporting colleagues with enhanced health and safety procedures.

Duncan Eyre, EV Cargo Logistics chief executive said: “Driven by the increased demand for groceries, our current food and beverage volumes are at Christmas levels.

“We’re working closely with other quieter hauliers and traction providers and there’s a real spirit of everyone cooperating and collaborating to ensure the shelves stay full.”

 INDUSTRY NEWS

TPN hails Stobart possibilities The Pallet Network (TPN) has hailed its acquisition by Eddie Stobart Logistics (ESL) in June 2018 as a positive move that has opened the door to accelerated growth.

Despite ESL’s continued financial turmoil, TPN revealed that it delivered a turnover of £84.3m in a reporting period spanning only eight months to 30 November 2018. This compared with a turnover of £107m for the full year to 31 March 2018, while pre-tax profit in the period stood at £3.2m (March 2017: £5.4m).

In its strategic report of the results, TPN said: “Being part of ESL positions the business well to further extend and evolve its offer to both members and their customers alike. The complementary nature of the new ownership further facilitates and accelerates the business’s plan for continued growth and to be

recognised as the number-one pallet network.”

The report added that TPN had seen strong revenue and volume growth in the period with service levels also rising “during a period of strong pallet growth”.

TPN was bought for £52.8m by ESL in June 2018. A year later, financial troubles at ESL saw the company’s shares suspended. TPN’s acquisition saw a cash payment of £44.14m payable with the remaining £8.66m payable to “certain sellers over a period of two years following completion”. The sellers were listed as LDC, Neil England and the TPN management team of Mark Duggan, Paul Robinson and Mark Kendall.

Morrisons ramps up recruitment for home delivery Morrisons is recruiting 2,500 extra drivers as it ramps up its home delivery network in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

It also said it would introduce new ways of delivering to customers, including vulnerable people and those affected by the virus.

The supermarket wants to recruit

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COMMERCIAL MOTOR 26 MARCH 2020

2,500 drivers and pickers as it rolls out its expanded home delivery methods. It will also seek to employ an additional 1,000 staff to work in its DCs. The campaign follows Morrisons’ announcement last week that it would implement immediate payments for its smaller suppliers and support their cashflow.

The new measures it is proposing include creating a range of “simple-toorder food parcels”, making more delivery slots available, and taking orders over the phone as it launches a customer call centre. It will also rely on 100 more stores to pick customers’ shopping over the coming weeks.

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 PRODUCT NEWS

Broughton sees strong gro th i all t tra fic Broughton Transport Solutions, the Broughton Gifford, Melksham-based temperature-controlled and ambient haulier, has reported considerable gains in its pallet network traffic as a result of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.

MD Toby Ovens told CM that in the week commencing 9 March, the firm handled 3,440 pallets, up from 3,060 the week before – which was in itself an all-time record.

The firm, which operates 29 trucks and 30 trailers, is a member of both UPN and TPN networks, covering BA, SN, SP and GL postcodes. It operates seven nightly trunks to hubs in the Midlands between both networks.

TPN accounted for the most significant jump in Broughton’s volume, at 1,469 pallets delivered.

“Last month we were putting in an average of 220 pallets a night; now it’s 262 across both networks. We have seen similar increases on the input side too,” Ovens told us.

Interestingly, he said the increase

had not been down to consignments of hand sanitiser or toilet rolls, but of decorative stone, bagged compost and other gardening related supplies. “I can only assume people self-isolating will be digging their gardens,” he said.

Ovens also reported a rash of new customer wins, which he said had left Broughton Transport’s fleet stretched to capacity.

“If it carries on like this, we will see the best trading period ever,” he commented.

“That said, I would exercise caution in being too jubilant. The next couple of months is going to be interesting for us all. If the country does go on complete lockdown, it will drop off a cliff.”

Panic buying fuels huge rise in food movements Wimblington, Cambridgeshire firm Knowles Transport has seen an unprecedented increase in volumes as food shoppers continue with widescale panic buying in the midst of the country’s struggle with COVID-19.

Knowles, which has several contacts with food producers and distributors – notably for Italian dried pasta, pasta sauces and tinned goods – said that in the week commencing 9 March, it saw a week-on-week increase in outbound loads from its fi e ware o ses rom to “So far, this has set an all-time record in our 80-year history,” MD Alex Knowles told CM. Since the virus hit the UK, the big supermarkets have all reported surges in sales, with customers clearing shelves of items such as antibacterial products, toilet and kitchen rolls, long-life milk and pain relief pills.

PM Boris Johnson told a press conference recently that he was a sol tely onfi ent o r s pply chains are working, and will work, and we will get farm to fork food supplies.” nowles sai is firm was wor in hard to meet current demand levels.

Rental firm reports surge in demand Demand for vehicles has surged at rental firm Dawsongroup Truck and Trailer as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

“It’s almost like a Christmas peak all over again,” said MD John Fletcher. “For anybody involved in food retail, pharmacy, or household goods, demand has gone through the roof.”

There has been a cooling in some sectors, like events haulage, hospitality and automotive, he admitted. But

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that has been mitigated by customers repositioning from these sectors into food, pharmaceuticals and household goods. “[If] it’s got wheels on it, [it] can go to wherever the requirement is,” he commented. “Having said that, there is no secondary use for a car transporter, so we’ll just have to stare at them for a while.

“The situation is changing by the hour, and we are having to react accordingly,” added Fletcher. “I’m proud of how the British haulage and distribution industry is standing up to the challenge – and we are proud to be part of that.”

■ CM would like to hear from any vehicle operator willing to tell us what experiences they are currently going through on the frontline. If you have a story to tell, please email will.shiers@roadtransport.com.

 PRODUCT NEWS

Food retailers snap up rental tractors RH Commercial Vehicles has reported rising interest in its rental fleet from food retailers amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

“We’ve put in an extra 20 tractors this week, all of which have gone into food retailers, to keep up with the unprecedented demand in the shops,” MD Nigel Baxter told CM. Demand on the new and used truck sales side of the business has, however, not been as strong, with enquiries coming to a halt, while other Renault dealers have had enquiries about cancellations.

“The new and used truck side of the business has dried up,” Baxter said.

“There’s very little in terms of enquiries, but there have been a number of people talking about delaying [deliveries].

There’s obviously a cost to that but we’re trying to accommodate people as best we can. There’s a cost of stocking the vehicle with Renault, and it will get more complicated in terms of cost if it became more protracted. I’ve not yet had anything cancelled – but some dealers have.”

Sales aside, RH Commercials continues to operate as best as it can, but four members of staff are currently self-isolating, two of which are apprentices

Stardes hit by decline in events The events sector has been hit particularly hard by COVID-19 and one company feeling the pain is Sheffield-based Stardes.

“Through no fault of ours, all our equipment and staff now have no work for the foreseeable future,” said director David Steinberg. “The summer peak is the season we all work towards as this is our

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harvest time. With all workload currently cancelled up to and including June, we are hoping that things are going to start from July onwards – but to be honest this is looking doubtful.”

Steinberg said he was currently trying to source other work for his fleet of low-ride 4x2 DAF tractors and 3-axle insulated Gray & Adams trailers, and believed “supermarkets are the way forwards for the time being”.

who have potentially been close to the virus while at college.

“Managing people has definitely become more tricky. Hygiene becomes the hardest thing to deal with but we’re generally a healthy bunch,” said Baxter.

“We had a very strong performance in the quarter and have made additional parts purchases from Renault. The workshops are busy and we’ve not had people telling us they’re not bringing vehicles in because of coronavirus.”

Despite RH Commercials taking up additional stock earlier this month, Baxter said he could foresee a time when supplies might become more difficult if manufacturers closed their factories, but reiterated that RH currently has more than 95% of parts in stock and that supply lines from Lyon were still currently flowing.

Bulk tipper operators ‘nervous’ about future Llandrindod Wells-based bulk tipper operator AE Gough & Sons, which specialises in delivering animal feed and quarried products in England and Wales, has said business is still thriving for the time being, despite the virus outbreak. But partner Simon Gough told CM the whole sector was in a state of nervousness right now.

With bulk hauliers so dependent on a few large customers, it would only take one phone call for things to change dramatically, he pointed out, adding that the cost of parking up lar e parts o t e eet an ontin in to pay ri ers wo l e si nifi ant Gough added that he was keen to hear how the government’s promises on wage support would turn into meaningful help.

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 PRODUCT NEWS

Industry events disrupted by virus Grosvenor House Hotel in London's Park Lane. To stay informed of developments as they happen, please register for updates at mtawards.co.uk/2020/en/page/keep-meinformed

Road Transport Media, publisher of Commercial Motor, Motor Transport, Truck & Driver and Transport News, has issued an update on all the events it is involved with, either as orgnaiser or media partner. The current situation is as follows: Clean Air Sheffield – 17 March 2020 Event postponed – new date to be announced. You can still register your interest for this event and be kept up to date with any developments as they happen at cleanairroadshows.co.uk/ cleanairroadshows2020/en/page/sheffieldclean-air-roadshow Clean Air Edinburgh – 2 April 2020 Event postponed – new date to be announced. You can still register your interest for this event and be kept up to date with any developments as they happen at cleanairroadshows.co.uk/ cleanairroadshows2020/en/page/scotlandclean-air-roadshow CV Show – 28-30 April 2020 Event cancelled. For more information, see page 18 or visit cvshow.com/updateon-coronavirus-covid-19/

‘YOUR SAY’ Testing our patience ‘YOUR SAY’

Just read your article on Google news feed [about the DVSA cancelling vehicle tests]. I run an ATF with three DVSA testers daily.

At 12.11pm on Wednesday (18 March), one tester casually said he’d just got an email saying there was no testing on Thursday or Friday. A

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COMMERCIAL MOTOR 26 MARCH 2020

CM Golf Day – 9 July 2020 Currently due to go ahead as planned.

Truckfest Scotland – 1-2 August 2020 For updates, please visit truckfest.co.uk/ truckfest-scotland/ Tip-ex and Tank-ex – 28-30 May 2020 Event postponed until 2021 – new date to be announced. You can still register your interest for this event and be kept up to date with any developments as they happen.

Transport News Northern Rewards Breakfast – 29 May 2020 Event postponed until 2021 – new date to be announced.

Clean Air North East – 18 June 2020 Currently due to go ahead as planned.

Convoy on the Plain – 27-28 June 2020 Event cancelled.

Motor Transport Awards – 1 July 2020 Event postponed to 27 August 2020 at the

i erent tester a te te me an o r earlier sayin e was at my site t e ne t day so I had to get the custard creams in (standing joke), so I questioned the tester ne t to me it in min tes ot er testers onfirme w at t e first one sai ran t e one w o te te me an e had also got the email.

We thought to contact tomorrow’s customers, to tell them not to appear. y o e onta te w o enie everything.

Even by 4.30pm (when your article

Convoy in the Park – 22-23 August 2020 Currently due to go ahead as planned.

Convoy Cymru – 3-4 October 2020 Currently due to go ahead as planned.

Freight in the City – 3 November 2020 Currently due to go ahead as planned.

CM Awards – 26 November 2020 Currently due to go ahead as planned.

Truck & Driver Awards (formally Life on the Road Awards) – 26 November 2020 Currently due to go ahead as planned.

Transport News Scottish Rewards Breakfast – 4 December 2020 Currently due to go ahead as planned.

says test stations were informed), they wo l not onfirm anyt in an sai we were not to cancel tests until we got onfirmation T ey were more annoye that we knew, even though it was all over social media. e a t ally ot onfirmation at 10.31pm. No good to anyone.

Name withheld (by email) Got something you want to get off your chest? Drop a quick line to will.shiers@roadtransport.com

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 PRODUCT NEWS

This year’s Commercial Vehicle Show has been cancelled. In a statement published on the show’s website on 19 March, the organisers said the decision to cancel the show, which was due to take place in Birmingham on 28-30 April, had been taken “with great regret”.

“In light of the current COVID-19

pandemic together with guidance issued by the government on Monday evening (16 March) that all mass gatherings are to be avoided, it is clear that the only realistic options for this year’s show were cancellation or postponing to a later date,” said the organisers. “The option of postponing was given careful consideration given the importance of the show to the road transport sector; however it was felt there were too many unknown variables to make this option possible.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our exhibitors, registered visitors, show team and other stakeholders for their continued support during this most challenging and unprecedented of times.”

r lassified deal of the week is this day-cabbed 2011 DAF CF 75 6x2 food tanker, listed by Cheshirebased Sotrex. Plated for 26 tonnes, it features the 9-litre 310hp engine with 12-speed ZF automatic gearbox and a rear lift steering axle, as well as a single compartment, 16,500-litre stainless steel tank and hydraulic power ta e o e ipment nsi e it o ers an air-suspension driver’s seat, electric windows, a glass pop-up sunroof, trip computer, cruise control and radio CD player. With just under 482,000km on the clock, it is listed for £13,950.

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FROM THE FRONTLINE

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COMMERCIAL MOTOR 26 MARCH 2020

How the logistics industry is coping with COVID-19

TWEETS OF THE WEEK

@cabmutt So if I’m understanding this right, truck drivers’ kids can still go to school as they are included in key wor ers so t is is t e first time in my 40 years in the industry that HGV drivers have been recognised as what they really are – key workers! @Tesco From Thursday 19 March we will be implementing some changes in-store – changes to simplify what we do, create the most helpful shopping experience we can, and support our hard-working colleagues.

Together, we can do this. #EveryLittleHelps (Reply) @TrucknDriver Why aren't you doing everything possible to reduce the risk of infection in the drivers who are keeping your stores stocked?

Numerous reports today of drivers packed into waiting rooms in i in ston r eet an i fiel “Together, we can do this” – except drivers.

TAKING CENTRE STAGE

What’s made TruckingBy such a big hit in events

RULES FOR RULES’ SAKE?

Will regulation really solve our tipper safety issues?

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 NEWS EXTRA

AND RELAX...

Government moves to ease drivers’ hours regulations have been widely welcomed WORDS: JOHN KENDALL

With mounting pressure on a number of distribution operations, the government has taken steps to ease the pressure on drivers and transport operations to make sure that the supplies that we all need continue to get through.

Basically, the relaxation gives some stretch to daily, weekly and fortnightly drivers’ hours and

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COMMERCIAL MOTOR 26 MARCH 2020

lengthens the time available for driving between rest periods. “It is absolutely vital to get flexibility into the system so that the goods that we all need are delivered,” said RHA director of policy Duncan Buchanan. The RHA had already expressed a preference for the relaxation to be applied to all operators, and this was granted from Monday 23 March following the earlier exemption for those delivering essential items.

“In any given lorry, you don’t know how important the goods are that are in that lorry,”continues Buchanan. “You may have components that appear to be really mundane and not important, but they get built into a ventilator.

various actions that we need government to take,” said James Firth, head of road freight regulation policy at the FTA. “The operator obviously still has a responsibility for road safety. We cannot have drivers driving while they are tired.

“The operator has a duty of care to the drivers and to the public in terms of road safety. These are important steps that can be taken, but we must never risk road safety when doing so.

“This event is obviously unprecedented,” he said, “We’ve been in a situation before when we’ve had snow and other weather issues, but you know it will all be over in a few weeks. We do not know where the end of this is. The entire transport system is under stress and it needs a variety of support to help the country through this crisis.”

WAITING TIMES

“The entire supply chain needs the maximum of flexibility. For instance, when we pushed for the London Lorry Control Scheme to be suspended, that was all about creating the maximum resilience that is possible within the system.

PRODUCTIVITY “Rules that limit the way drivers can drive or the routeings or any of those things just get in the way. They actually affect your productivity and in the current circumstances, we need to maximise productivity of drivers, operators and their vehicles.

Anything that gets in the way of that is a bad thing and anything that helps is a good thing.

“We still have to work safely and it’s really important that drivers stick to whatever rules are in place. The relaxation is still a managed process, but only use the relaxation if you need to. This is not a target, it’s something to give flexibility and resilience in the system and nothing more.

“The supply chain is under stress at the moment and it needs help in various places and there are

Cambridgeshire-based Knowles Transport is involved in food deliveries to supermarket regional DCs and MD Alex Knowles told CM: “We’ve seen increased waiting times at regional DCs, so the relaxation is welcome. We have communicated the relaxation of the rules to the drivers and it is important that we told them what it is and what the statement is, but also it needs to be controlled.

“One of the key things we say to our drivers is that if they are going to use the relaxation, it has to be agreed with their transport manager.”

Knowles has set up a daily committee meeting with key managers to go through the changes as they happen and discuss how they should respond.

“What I would call for is calm,” said the RHA’s Buchanan. “There is enough stuff out there to keep everything going. I think the next stage is going to be one where we move from a partial lockdown situation into one where we can maintain commercial activity and public safety at the same time and that requires careful consideration.

“I believe there are some rules about driving licences and a suggestion that we’re going to shut down taking driving tests except for this person or that person or the other person. Again, I just think the distinctions are silly. I think in that case we need to do driving tests for all HGV drivers.”

Full details of the relaxation can be found at: gov.uk/government/publications/temporaryrelaxation-of-theenforcement-of-the-drivershours-rules-all-sectors-carriage-of-goods-byroad/ temporary-relaxation-of-the-enforcement-of-theeu-and-gb-drivers-hours-rulesall-sectors-carriageof-goods-by-road

26 MARCH 2020 COMMERCIAL MOTOR

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 LEGAL

NEWS AND CASES FROM THE COURTROOM / EDITED BY CHRIS TINDALL

O-licences revoked after trust breaks down OPERATOR: DD VEHICLE SERVICES AND WIZARD TRANSPORT / CASE: O-LICENCE / DEPUTY TC: FIONA HARRINGTON

TWO NOTTS-BASED operators that severely damaged the trust placed in them by the traffic commissioner (TC) have had their O-licences revoked and been put out of business.

North-east of England deputy TC Fiona Harrington said Keith Bishton, trading as DD Vehicle Services and Gary Harby, trading as Wizard Transport, had not been open and honest to the DVSA or the TC to circumstances that stemmed from a conviction in 2019.

A public inquiry (PI) heard how in October 2018, a vehicle driven

by Harby but specified against Bishton’s licence was stopped in Suffolk. It was found that Harby did not hold an O-licence and so the DVSA prosecuted both men and each were convicted in 2019.

Bishton notified the Office of the Traffic Commissioner of his conviction, but Harby did not, meaning his application for an O-licence was granted. At the PI, the deputy TC found that although Bishton’s company had systems in place to deal with undertakings and test results were close to the national average, DD Vehicle Services had attracted an immediate prohibition for a trailer after serious road safety defects were found.

The operator also received

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KEY FACT

Failure to notify changes in financial standing resulted in trust being broken

COMMERCIAL MOTOR 26 MARCH 2020

warning letters from the DVSA about shortcomings in its administration of licence records and apparent failings in notifying the TC in changes to its operating centre and maintainer.

In a written decision, Harrington said she did not consider Bishton had been completely open to the DVSA or to her about the actual arrangements in place between him and Bishton and the use of the HGV that was stopped in Suffolk.

Regarding Harby and Wizard Transport, the TC said its licence had only been in force since 2019 and so there was little other compliance history to consider. But she said the offending conduct that led to the conviction, his failure to disclose the conviction and his additional failure to notify changes in financial standing meant trust had broken down. Summing up, she said both operators should be put out of business. “I consider a less onerous sanction than revocation is not appropriate given the seriousness of the shortcomings found and the need for a robust approach in these circumstances to uphold the integrity and efficacy of the regulatory regime.”

Bishton was also found to have lost his repute as transport manager and disqualified indefinitely.

Applications and decisions J&D Raj Transport has been granted an O-licence authorising three HGVs operating out of a base in Breedon-on-the-hill, Derby.

An O-licence for one HGV and one trailer has been granted to GJJ Transport, from an operating centre in Wisbech. Financial standing evidence must be provided by 31 July. he tra fi ommissioner (TC) has granted UK Truckrepairs an O-licence for fi e s an fi e trailers from an operating centre in atfiel erts Panta Transport in Grays can now operate two vehicles and two trailers from a base in Tilbury Dock.

An O-licence for two HGVs and two trailers has been granted by the TC to Shields Haulage, from an operating centre in Ipswich docks. Financial standing evidence must be provided by 31 July.

An O-licence for three lorries and three trailers has been granted to Fastruck, based in Northampton.

Financial standing evidence is to be provided by 31 July.

The TC has authorised Alan J Ostridge Holdings to operate two lorries based in Maldon, Essex. Financial standing evidence must be provided by 30 June.

Forthcoming public inquiries Sole trader Adnan Manzoor will face the TC at a PI in Cambridge on 30 March, when disciplinary action could be on the cards.

The TC has requested Croft Commercials Transport appear at a PI in Warrington on 31 March, where a new application can be considered.

A PI in Cambridge on 31 March will decide whether disciplinary action needs to be taken against Swift & Bold Transport.

Mak Haulage will appear at a PI in Cambridge on 2 April where a variation application will be considered, along with disciplinary action and transport manager’s repute.

Treasury stalls changes to IR35 until 2021 IR35 TAX REFORMS have been put on hold for a year to help companies battle through the coronavirus pandemic.

The chief secretary to the treasury Stephen Barclay said the deferral was in response to the ongoing spread of COVID-19 to help businesses and individuals: “This is a deferral, not a cancellation and the government remains committed to reintroducing this policy to ensure people working like employees but through their limited company pay broadly the same tax as those employed directly,” he said.

Under IR35, large and mediumsized haulage companies with a net turnover of more than £10m, or with 50 or more staff will not be able to take on drivers who work as limited companies.

Instead, drivers will need to be employed as a PAYE worker – either by the haulage company or the driver agency, or through an umbrella company.

The reforms have been criticised by driver agencies and self-employed HGV drivers.

A recent white paper from driver recruitment specialist Driver Require explained how IR35 would force agency drivers operating as limited company contractors to move to PAYE. Maintaining these drivers’ net pay – as well as maintaining agency margins, paying tax and NI contributions – will effectively raise agency labour costs by up to 25%, which will raise the cost of temporary drivers to the end client by approximately 20%.

26 MARCH 2020 COMMERCIAL MOTOR

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 OPERATIONS

LIFE LORRIES IN

EDDIE AND JOAN FARRALL

arra Gro fo n er ie arra fir a e a ae a e en er a e of i a i ar ner i i i ife oan a rea e e ri e eir ine o e

Additional photos: Farrall’s Group

WORDS: WILL SHIERS / PHOTOS: RICHARD LEA “That’s how it all began,” says a proud 89-year-old Edwin (Eddie) Farrall, showing me a photograph of a boy driving a goat-drawn cart. “That was me at the age of nine, delivering sticks to houses. I made that cart.

The shafts are chair legs and the mudguards are the sides of a barrel. They published that picture in the Staffordshire Evening Sentinel, because I shouldn’t have been on the road!”

“And I still have a copy of the newspaper,” adds Joan, his wife of 65 years, who together with her husband created and built Cheshire-based family-run firm Farrall’s Transport (now Farrall’s Group).

The photograph of young Eddie is one of three pictures the couple have brought along to illustrate their Life in Lorries.

“Notice that he’s wearing a tie,” continues Joan.

“That’s right. I always wear a tie, because I think it’s important to make a good impression,” adds Eddie.

I’m suddenly regretting turning up to the interview open collared, so quickly get down to business.

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What would you have done if you hadn’t had a career in haulage?

“That’s easy. I would have been a farmer,” declares Eddie without any hesitation, going on to explain that his father was a farmer when Eddie was a teenager. He followed in his footsteps – by the age of 15 he was working on eight farms.

The same applies to Joan, whose father was a farm labourer. “I’d have definitely followed him into farming,” she says. “The fact that Eddie’s father was a farmer was one of his good points,” she says smiling. “That, and he had a car!”

But before Eddie’s father farmed, he was a publican – and it’s here that Eddie had his first encounter with lorries. He takes up the story: “My dad was a coal miner in Staffordshire until 1933 and then he won the pools. He took a pub, which had a lodger, a lorry driver for Jim Shirley [Shirley's Transport]. I used to ride around in that truck and thought it was great. It was a 3-ton Bedford cattle truck. It’s what got me into transport. I didn’t like school, I wasn’t a listener and didn’t want to be there. But what I did want to do was go in the truck, and read all the signs on the road and the names on the trucks. I learned to read quicker.”

26 MARCH 2020 COMMERCIAL MOTOR

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 OPERATIONS

“It was parked down a lane, and didn’t have any running water or electricity,” remembers Joan.

Still struggling to scrape a living with the Bedford, it was sold and replaced by a Seddon.

Running on diesel, and capable of carrying more weight, the truck immediately put the couple in a better financial situation and the hire purchase was soon paid off.

This leads us neatly onto their second photograph. “There’s the Seddon, and you can just see the caravan in the background,” says Joan.

“And that’s an Austin I’m working on,” adds Eddie, who to this day is never happier than when he’s covered with oil under one of his SS cars.

Eddie’s parents moved to Cheshire when he was 15, and after a few years working on the land, Eddie was behind the wheel, driving for a local farm haulier. The seeds were well and truly sown now, and he wanted to set up his own transport company.

When he was in his early 20s, Eddie met someone who would help him achieve his dream – future wife Joan. But when he met her she was only 17, and despite the couple wanting to tie the knot immediately, Joan’s father had other ideas.

“In those days you asked the parents for the hand in marriage,” recalls Eddie. “And the first thing he [Joan’s father] said was ‘where are you going to live?’. I told him we were thinking of buying a caravan. Well!”

“He said bricks and mortar for my daughter,” says Joan.

So, with no wedding to plan or caravan to buy, the couple put the £300 they had saved towards an ex-BRS A-licence. In those days the cost for one of these was £300 per ton of unladen weight. And because Eddie and Joan wanted a 3-ton Bedford, they had to find £900. An extra £110 was raised by selling Eddie’s beloved SS Jaguar car (it would be many decades before he replaced it), and the rest was covered by hire purchase.

The petrol-powered Bedford was thirsty and capable of carrying no more than 6 tons, meaning it was difficult to make a decent wage. “It only did 10 miles to the gallon, and then there was the hire purchase to pay. At the time I was being supported by my good lady, who worked at bus company Crossley,” recalls Eddie.

Twelve months later Joan turned 21 and the couple promptly married, moving into a caravan.

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What’s your proudest moment?

“Buying my first new truck,” says Eddie with little hesitation. “It had been a struggle up until then, but now we were on the way to success.” The truck in question was a Thames Trader, which is almost identical to the one pictured below.

“Mine was getting my first computer,” says Joan, who left her job at Crossley to be the bookkeeper at Farrall’s Transport. “But I really had to fight for

it,” she adds. The computer in question, which was bought in the mid 1980s, was significant enough to appear in a CM article about Farrall’s Transport at the time. Eddie says: “I worked day and night in that Trader. Up to Scotland and all over the country, carrying Marley roof tiles. It was really hard work, and my wrists got cut to ribbons, but we made money.

“At this point he told me I could start drawing a wage out of the business,” says Joan. “It was £10 a week, and I felt like a millionaire. Although we were still living in a caravan!”

The arrival of kids (they would eventually have five) meant the Farralls finally outgrew the caravan, so moved into a cottage on Eddie’s father’s farm.

At this time the fleet was growing too, and by 1961 they had five Thames Traders, all doing Marley tile work. “It was hard graft, and we were blowing tyres on building sites,” says Eddie. “They said the tiles weighed 1 ton per 1,000, but I knew they were heavier than that.”

What’s your most embarrassing moment?

Over to Eddie: “One day a driver did a load of Marley tiles to Chester, which paid £10,” he recalls.

ASSET ACCUMULATION

It was really hard work, and my wrists got cut to ribbons, but we made money

Eddie says one of the most important things to have when running a successful company is assets – something he was sadly lacking in the early days of Farrall’s Transport.

“My sons are fortunate that they have collateral, but I never had that,” he says, before recounting a meeting with a bank manager during the early days of the company.

“I went to see him because I needed an overdraft. He asked me what assets I had, and I told him I had a caravan, a car and a truck. He said ‘they all have wheels and could be gone tomorrow, so we can’t lend you anything’.”

“He unloaded it himself, which took all day, and they paid him £2. So he earned £5 off me, and £2 more off them. Meanwhile I only got £5, so the driver was £2 better off than me. So the job wasn’t paying. I went into the office and told them that the driver earned more than me. He said ‘if you don’t like it you can get out of the yard’. So I did exactly that. I said to the

26 MARCH 2020 COMMERCIAL MOTOR

27

 OPERATIONS

drivers ‘don’t load’, and I walked out. Four out of my five wagons were on finance and I had just given up all of my work!”

Although embarrassed by his haste at the time, it would turn out to be one of the best decisions Eddie would ever make.

The next day he walked into paper and pulp business Bowater and started carrying cardboard for them. “It was forklifted on and forklifted off, and there were nice smooth roads to the factory. It was utopia,” says Eddie, who reckons it taught him a valuable lesson. “From that point onwards I decided I never wanted to carry anything heavy again,” he tells me. “Next I went into a toilet paper factory and got that job. People would say ‘you want to get some work in the steelworks’, and I’d reply ‘no I bloody don’t as it’s too heavy’.” Farrall’s Transport boomed, and over

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COMMERCIAL MOTOR 26 MARCH 2020

the coming years the couple purchased their own yard and house, and were soon running 20 trucks.

But there were some exceptions to the lightweight work, as we’ll find out following our next question.

What’s the strangest load you’ve ever moved?

“This was 16ft 6in high, and 16ft 6in wide,” says Eddie.

He slides another photo across the table to me. “It’s an oil separator, and we had two of them to move from Liverpool Docks to Runcorn. I had a man up a ladder on the back with an insulated rod, lifting wires out of the way. It paid big money, but it needed to as it was a hell of a worry – I couldn’t sleep for two nights! Look at the Atki Borderer, and that’s me following in the Mercedes car.”

Studying the photos on the boardroom table,

something that clearly bugs him, as we find out in his answer to our next question...

They [DVSA inspectors] only came here once, to my knowledge, and were clearly happy with what they found

What’s the greatest truck ever built?

“I think it has to be a Volvo,” Eddie says. “Certainly in the present day anyway. It’s streets ahead of the rest of them.”

Son Mike, chairman of Farrall’s Group, moved to Volvo in the 1990s, and today they are the most prominent truck in the 70-strong fleet.

As we are talking, suddenly three oversize tankers trundle by on the road outside. All are being pulled by agricultural tractors. “Did you see that?” asks Eddie. “How can that be legal?” It’s

Have you ever been in trouble with a traffic commissioner?

“No, we haven’t. Beverley Bell never caught up with us!” says Eddie, with a grin. “She was strict but she did a good job. They [DVSA inspectors] only came here once, to my knowledge, and were happy

Eddie recounts a story that was a close-runner for being his most embarrassing moment: “I had one truck at the time and was parked up in Dale Street, Liverpool, loading dry milk powder. I was loaded and sheeted and ready to leave, but there was a parked car in front of me, half on the footpath and half on the road. I couldn t find the driver, so I thought ‘sod it, I’ll drive on the other footpath’.

But what I didn’t notice was one of those square glass bricks on the footpath – the entrance to a cellar. My back wheels went straight through it, and the load was now leaning against the leaded window of Rees’s Cafe. A chef came running out.

He was an Italian, with a big white hat on, and I couldn’t understand a word. He got hold of me and took me down some steps. A cupboard door was open and my wheels were in it! It was a china cupboard and all of the china was smashed. The police came and told me to get in touch with my firm. I pointed at the name on the door and said ‘that’s me’. I managed to jack it up, put a long length of steel under one of the twin wheels and got it out that way.”

WHEELIE CLOSE CALL

it’s clear that Farrall’s Transport has run a lot of different marques over the years. In addition to the Bedford, Seddon, Thames Traders and Atki Borderers already mentioned, I can see some Ford D-series and plenty of 1970s Mercedes-Benz.

Eddie and Joan explain that the German make appeared heavily in the fleet, as for a spell they were operating a Mercedes franchise for Cheshire and North Wales. “We sold quite a few Unimogs to farmers, and trucks to other people, but it wasn’t easy selling German trucks after the war,” remembers Eddie. “It didn’t work out, so I got out. I had been neglecting Farrall’s Transport.”

So, with that huge mix of trucks to pick from, can you guess the answer to the next question?

If you could change one transport rule or regulation, what would it be and why?

“Agricultural contractors pulling 40ft trailers behind tractors,” says a clearly exasperated Eddie. “I was talking to a teenager the other day, who was driving a JCB Fastrack with a 40ft trailer loaded with bales of hay. He was roping it up and I said to him ‘you are making a good job’. I asked where he was going with it, and he said Anglesey.

Anglesey! Did he have an HGV licence? Did he need one? It’s a worry, and as far as I’m concerned it wants something done about it.” I add fuel to the fire by wondering what colour diesel it was running on!

By his own admission, in the early days of Farrall’s Transport there were a few sphincterclenching moments – like electrocuting a driver and parking a truck on top of a crockery cupboard inside a cafe (see box below)! So, I’m interested to hear the answer to the next question.

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 OPERATIONS

with what they found. We have always had good maintenance facilities and done our own repairs.”

number of long-serving drivers it has. One recently retired after 47 years with the firm, and another member of staff has been there for 37 years. Eddie believes the secret behind the haulier’s ability to retain staff has a lot to do with the respect they get.

So, with no shortage of drivers, he seems like the obvious person to answer the following question.

How do we attract new blood into the industry?

“I can only speak for ourselves,” he says, then

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COMMERCIAL MOTOR 26 MARCH 2020

We have enjoyed it all.

There were some bad times, but we got through them. We have done it together – me and my soulmate here

Farrall’s Transport has suffered two significant fires during its long history. The most serious, which occurred in 19 , resulted in the loss of three trucks and si trailers. One of the trucks parked up in the yard was loaded with insulation. It was made from wood pulp, pressed into sheets and stacked. In the middle of the night it spontaneously combusted. omeone came and knocked us up, recalls oan. Mike and Mark were out there in py ama bottoms and slippers, trying to disconnect the tractors from the trailers. ut the fire had burned the air lines and the brakes were stuck on. I was screaming at them to come away.

It was hard standing there, watching that. Mark finished up in hospital because of plastic fumes. ut he signed himself out of hospital the ne t day, took his class 1 test and passed. If anyone deserved to pass, it was him.

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

Has the industry changed for the better or worse?

“Definitely for the better,” says Eddie. He believes the modern O-licence system “made people get their acts together”.

During their days at the helm of Farrall’s Transport, Eddie and Joan built a very successful transport business. By their own admission Eddie was a tough boss, but definitely fair. He also commanded a lot of respect among his drivers, many of whom counted him and Joan as friends.

And this leads us to photograph number three, which depicts one of Farrall’s Transport’s first Christmas parties. You can see a handful of drivers sitting around a kitchen table. It’s an intimate affair, and a far cry from the extravaganza the company threw last year (check out the highly entertaining videos here: bit.ly/Farralls1 and bit.ly/Farralls2).

Farrall’s Transport prides itself on the large

recounts a story about a young lad who asked for a job with the company in 1983. “He came straight from school and said ‘can I have a job?’. His dad was our transport manager. I said ‘yes, in the garage, sweeping up’. It wasn’t long until he was reversing vans into the workshop, and not long after that he was backing in artics. And then he was working on them. One day, he says he wants to be a driver, so he passes his class 2 and his class 1, and he’s on the road. He says he quite likes it, but would rather be in the workshop. Now he’s our transport manager and his son is about to start with us. So, the answer is to show them some respect, and give them a chance.”

The couple retired in 1995, when Eddie was 65, handing over the reins to sons Mark and Mike. But needless to say, neither Eddie nor Joan put their feet up completely. In fact Eddie went straight out and bought himself a JCB, then dug the pits in the workshop. “I enjoyed that as it was a practical job,” he says.

Taking a back seat in the business they’d built from scratch didn’t come naturally, and Eddie admits that in the early days of retirement he couldn’t quite let go.

He says: “I remember we went on holiday once and when we came back Mike had put new electric garage doors on the workshops. Bloody hell, how much have they cost? And then they resurfaced

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KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY The growth that Farrall’s Group has seen in recent years is beyond Eddie and Joan’s wildest dreams. Both were incredibly proud when, in 2019, grandchildren Matthew and Kat took the reins as joint MDs. The aim of this third generation is to take the business forward while striving to remain at the forefront of the industry through technology. They tell CM they “want to ensure that the ethos of a traditional family business and the longstanding culture and values our grandparents and parents built are retained”.

the yard to motorway spec. It cost £100,000 and I nearly had a heart attack!”

“Eddie said to me ‘they’re going to make mistakes’,” says Joan. “I said ‘yes they will, but they will learn from them’. I said ‘leave them to get on with it. If they want advice they will come and ask for it’, and they did, and still do.”

Eddie needn’t have worried. Farrall’s Group has grown steadily in the past 25 years and now owns and operates a number of warehouses.

These days Eddie and Joan are well and truly retired, happy in the knowledge that the company they founded is in the safe hands of two younger generations of Farrall. Joan passed on her book-keeping skills to daughter-in-law Elaine, who in turn passed them on to her daughter Kat. These days Eddie spends much of his spare time under the bonnet of his three beloved SS Jaguars.

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Dead or alive, which industry figure do you admire the most?

It comes as little surprise to me when lifelong Jaguar enthusiast Eddie proposes the late Sir William Lyons, the founder of Jaguar. He then proceeds to tell me his hero’s life story. It’s a fascinating yarn, but unfortunately we don’t have room for it here.

There’s only one more question for us to ask, and it doesn’t take a mind-reader to guess the answer.

If you could do it all again, would you?

It’s a resounding yes from both of them.

“We have enjoyed it all,” says Eddie. “There were some bad times, but we got through them. Yes, like laying awake at 3am, trying to decide whether to buy the next truck,” adds Joan.

“We have done it together – me and my soul mate here,” says Eddie, putting his arm around his wife. “I’m just his back-up, to catch him when he falls,” adds Joan, with a smile.

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OPERATIONS

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COMMERCIAL MOTOR 26 MARCH 2020

NORTHERN LIGHT LIGHTWEIGHT TIPPERS: MAN 35.400 8x4

Specialist bodybuilder Aliweld and MAN have teamed up to produce a slimmed-down 8x4 35.400 tipper that’s a heavyweight performer WORDS: LUCY RADLEY / PHOTOS: STEVE McCANN News that MAN’s Gateshead dealership had got itself a new 8x4 TGS 35.400 tipper demonstrator didn’t have anyone at CM clearing their diary to race up the A1 – especially when we heard it was specced to carry Tarmac, so there would be no excuse to sink it up to its axles in a quarry somewhere. Then we got the details and everything changed.

This tipper is special because it’s light. It has a tare of just 11,940kg and we have the weighbridge tickets to prove it. That means it has the holy grail of tipper payloads – 20 full tonnes. And that still leaves another 60kg for the driver to use up with a week’s food and clothing, which is handy, because it’s hit that weight despite having a sleeper cab.

In fact, in no way is this truck poverty-spec to achieve that low tare. It has a 400hp engine, toys including MAN’s Paver Brake and off-road steering brake, a 12-speed TipMatic gearbox and a big 390-litre fuel tank that was full when we weighed off. This thing even comes with an underbunk fridge, for crying out loud.

All of which begs two obvious questions: how did MAN get the weight down, and how does the skinny little thing that’s left perform on the road?

It was time to head for Gateshead after all.

SLIMMING WORLD The first thing we spot on arrival is a full set of Alcoa Dura-Bright EVO wheels, the obvious place to start a vehicular diet. But the next place

is under the cab with MAN’s D15 engine, which was released last summer as the first in the manufacturer’s new Euro-6d engine line-up. A 9-litre engine, it replaces the 10.5-litre D20 and, while producing the same amount of torque as its predecessor, comes in around 230kg lighter. Part of the saving comes from an improved exhaust after-treatment system – dispensing with the EGR – making this an SCR-only engine.

In basic terms, to get the best bang for your buck you need combustion to take place at high temperatures, but that produces more NOx. Adding EGR sorts out the NOx but lowers combustion temperatures so reduces the power that can be extracted. Ditching all that in the D15 means MAN

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There’s no other bodybuilding company in the UK that does that.”

The sides of the body are 4.2mm thick and 4ft high – the standard for this part of the country – and insulation is provided by a simple air pocket.

Some bodybuilders use a fibre filling in the walls, but Aliweld prefers not to. “The problem is it gets wet, and then it falls to the bottom of the cavity,” Welch explains. “So, in time, it’s not doing what it’s supposed to, and the bodies end up bulging out.”

Marshall returns with the file and joins in. “The air pocket acts like a thermos flask,” he explains.

“The Tarmac’s red hot, the air inside the cavity warms up and reflects between the inner and outer skins, which in turn keeps the temperature of the product higher for longer.” This, we’re told, is a tested and proven principle. One of the larger operators in the road business conducted a 10-year trial of all the various body insulation options, including Rockwool and polystyrene slabs, and after extensive studies concluded that air pocket insulation was most effective. “We said ‘we told you that in the beginning, before you started!’” Marshall chuckles.

LIGHT FANTASTIC has been able to keep down the physical size of the whole engine.

Another 70kg has been lopped off by use of a single-stage turbocharger – the lack of EGR means the twin-stage turbo needed by the D20 is unnecessary. And it’s got what is, to all intents and purposes, a plastic sump. All of these changes are claimed to give an improvement in fuel efficiency of 2% over the D20.

Next comes the body, which has been supplied by aluminium specialist bodybuilder Aliweld – run

by Toby Welch and Trevor Marshall just down the road from Gateshead in Ryton. We call in and find them both in their overalls and covered in evidence of their hands-on approach to the business. They know which vehicle we are talking about as soon as we mention it. “We’ve got customers waiting for that on demo!” Marshall immediately pipes up. He disappears to find the paperwork from the build, leaving Welch behind to chat.

“It’s got an Edbro CX14 ram on it, which is the lightest of them all and still carries a three-year warranty,” he enthuses. “And our bodies now are made with 8mm thick one-piece flooring in Dural, which is the hardest aluminium in the marketplace.

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VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS Make/model MAN TGS 35.400 8x4 BB tipper, Tarmac spec, L sleeper cab

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Aliweld bodies are some of the lightest in the marketplace. “We keep the body floor closer to the chassis so we don’t use as much aluminium,” Marshall tells us. “Then the way we fit the hydraulics doesn’t use as much steel as other people. It’s just common sense.”

To prove exactly what they’ve added to a vehicle, and to save arguments further down the line, Aliweld weighs every chassis in and out of the factory. Our MAN demonstrator started off at 9,460kg as a bare chassis-cab and left weighing

Engine MAN D1556LF07, 9 litres, 400hp,

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Euro-6d Transmission MAN TipMatic12 automated man al wit

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Chassis Wheelbase 1,795mm+3,205mm +1,400mm, rear frame overhang 800mm, spring suspension Tyres 295/80R22.5 HDC1 TL Fuel/AdBlue tank 390 litres (aluminium)/35 litres

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11,580kg, meaning the body comes in at just 2,120kg. “That’s everything,” Marshall confirms. “So oil, tipping gear, load cells, sheeting system, body and paint.”

“People forget about the paint,” Welch adds.

“But it’s heavy enough in tins, isn’t it?”

Time to see what the finished truck can actually do. Fully laden to 32 tonnes, we get behind the wheel in the company of MAN Truck & Bus Gateshead’s driver trainer, David Smith, who runs through the various controls, including the two we won’t get to play with – the paver brake and the steering brake. He also points out that this is a FORS-spec truck, so it has four-way cameras that can be viewed on the integral screen in the middle of the dash. This switches to a larger view down the blind side of the vehicle when indicating left.

There’s an audible warning too, which turns a few heads as we wind our way out of Team Valley – this kind of safety equipment isn’t standard fitment in the north-east yet.

The route takes us up into the County Durham hills to the west of Gateshead and along the A692 towards Consett, before turning back along the

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PAVER BRAKE One of the neatest toys on this tipper is the Paver Brake, which we weren’t able to demo for obvious reasons. Normally, when tipping into a paver on the level or a slight downhill slope, the driver must constantly keep one foot on the brake to stop the vehicle from running away and asphalt being lost. The Paver Brake is operated from a switch in the cab, and applies just enough pressure so that the paver itself can push the vehicle along, but without danger of it rolling away. This means the driver doesn’t need to get involved unless the slope is a steep one.

A693 past Stanley and Beamish. This is not an easy ride out, but the D15 immediately proves that its 9-litre displacement is up to the job. The 400hp variant generates 1,800Nm of torque, all of which is needed to climb up out of the Tyne Valley with no real sign of a struggle. In fact, our main concern at this point is the steering – although it is light and easy to use, the actual wheel is the size of an old dustbin lid. This is purely a matter of personal

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 OPERATIONS

taste, so we stretch our shoulders back at the first junction and get on with it.

PERFECT HARMONY Of course, engine size doesn’t matter one bit unless you have a decent gearbox and the two are properly in synch – especially on roads like this.

Out of the 12 speeds on offer, 8th and 7th gear are most commonly picked by the TraXon (Tipmatic) transmission. The truck is held comfortably around 1,200rpm as we head uphill, and it’s only at ear-popping stage 20 minutes into the drive that we realise how high we’ve come.

TraXon is quite a responsive gearbox, in that you can make it shift about by varying the pressure of your right foot. The software in this instance is clearly leaning towards economy at all times, and backing off allows the engine to lug down as low as 800rpm before making a block change down, rather than grabbing every gear in sequence. Give it a bit more throttle pressure, however, and it will happily drop a couple of cogs and pull away – albeit with a predictable effect on the fuel consumption. Those block changes, incidentally, are remarkably smooth, with no sign of a lurch as the lower gear engages.

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People forget about the paint.

But it’s heavy enough in tins, isn’t it?

MAN recommends that its vehicles are mainly driven on cruise control, even on winding stretches like this, and while it is easy enough to tap the speed up and down using the buttons on the steering wheel as instructed, it doesn’t feel quite sensible up here. On the other hand, Brakematic is a triumph.

If you brake down to your preferred speed – or tap the brake if you’re already there – the engine brake and gearbox together will keep you within 4kph of that, regardless of whether you’re in cruise or not.

It’s remarkably effective, and we’re happy to report it will just about hold you at 30mph down the long descent past High Flatts, though the locals won’t thank you for it.

If we have one complaint about this truck, it’s that once we’re back on flatter ground and more urban roads, it can feel somewhat sluggish pulling out at roundabouts and junctions. It’s not a delay in the gearbox – give it the correct input by tapping the throttle as you slow to a halt and it is ready to go every time. It’s just that it seems to take forever to get going. This is entirely down to the software, which is a little optimistic when it comes to changing up. That’s fine when you’re clawing your way up a drag and need the engine to dig in, but not so good when you need to nip out in front of Mrs Smith in her Aygo. Perhaps we’re just being too impatient.

Running back down the A1 and returning to Team Valley, things become more relaxed, which is a relief after what was quite a challenging drive to this point. Even that massive steering wheel seems sensible now, since it makes being precise in traffic much easier.

The only thing we haven’t talked about is road holding. For the record, this is excellent, but then with 20 tonnes in the back, it should be.

All in all it’s been an enjoyable day – always a good sign in a working vehicle. And now we’ve given it back to the guys at MAN Truck & Bus in Gateshead, some of Aliweld’s customers might finally get a turn as well!

STEERING BRAKE Another toy we would have liked to play with is the Steering Brake, which brakes the rear wheels on the inside of a bend by an amount based on how far the steering wheel is turned. The truck then turns far more tightly, rather as a tracked vehicle would. The Steering Brake activates when the driver depresses the switch in the cab, and is functional up to 30kph – but it only works going forward, and must only be used off the road.

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COMMERCIAL MOTOR 26 MARCH 2020

Photo: Simon Vayro/Shutterstock

FULL STEAM AHEAD INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS: HIGH SPEED 2

The government’s green light for HS2 should provide a major boost for the construction industry – and a spike in demand for tipper operators WORDS: JACK CARFRAE / PHOTOS: HS2 The UK’s High Speed 2 (HS2) railway was given the go-ahead for serious construction on 11 February, having spent the 11 years since its inception in a ‘will they, won’t they?’ soap opera and mired in controversy.

The controversy is still going strong but whatever your politics, HS2 has been given the green light and work is set to begin on phase one – London to Birmingham – with a target date of 2028-31.

It’s obviously good news for the construction industry, after hanging in the balance for so long, though it is far from the only major public infrastructure project in the offing.

“It removes a huge source of uncertainty,” says Robert McIlveen, director of public affairs at the Mineral Products Association (MPA). “A lot of our members, on the material production side, had invested in expanding their capacity and training people on the basis that a whole set of projects would be going ahead. HS2 is the big one, but you also have Hinckley being a bit slower than expected, you’ve got the Highways England roads

Work has already started in terms of preparation, but getting the final n li is a huge relief

expansion not really delivering as expected, and Heathrow is a never-ending saga.”

Heathrow’s third runway was ruled illegal by the Court of Appeal on 27 February on the grounds that ministers did not adequately account for the government’s environmental commitments in the Paris Climate Agreement. Airport bosses said they would appeal the ruling in the Supreme Court, but it’s on the back burner for the time being, rendering HS2 all the more appealing to budding builders.

“Obviously, work has already started in terms of preparation, but getting the final green light is a huge relief,” adds McIlveen. “If it had been cancelled, it would have been a huge disappointment, because it’s been built into business plans but with a lot of caveats around it. And if you’re not entirely sure it’s going to go ahead, it’s quite hard to commit to investing.”

The scale of the project is daunting. Factor in phase two, which comprises additional lines from the West Midlands to Manchester and Leeds, and assuming current estimations are correct – a lofty supposition, admittedly – HS2 will be done and dusted in 2040.

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He also thinks such a mammoth project will give operators the scope to rethink the ways in which they work and come up with some sharper ideas about how and where they use their vehicles.

“I think this should make businesses stronger in the future, because people will start to ask ‘how can we move aggregate and spoil around?’ What I’m seeing, talking to different people, is a bit more innovation around how they go about moving stuff.

So rather than just thinking ‘OK, I need X number of 8-wheelers that will carry 18 tonnes apiece, people are starting to ask ‘should we be using 40-tonne or 50-tonne 8-wheelers just off-road?’”

ECONOMIC IMPACT

“It is the biggest construction project the UK has seen in decades,” says Nigel Butler, MD of Weightlifter Bodies. “I don’t know how true this is, but I was with a customer a couple of weeks ago who had been talking to one of the main contractors, who said, ‘do you realise how big HS2 is? If you thought the Channel Tunnel was a big contract, HS2 dwarfs it and will dwarf it for many years to come’. That’s anecdotal, but you can see it not being a million miles from the truth.”

The next decade or two will not be a bad time to be in the tipper business if you’re linked to the project’s suppliers, and the government’s thumbs-up has already got things moving. “It’s going to be huge,” says Scott Burton, joint MD at bodybuilder Thompsons Group. “Someone told me that one section alone, around the south of Birmingham, will need 400 tippers every day. Demand is going to spike.”

SERIOUS INVESTMENT Butler reckons HS2 is sufficiently long-winded for contractors to invest in serious vehicle numbers for long periods. “If it’s a seven or eight-year contract, then you could buy a piece of equipment now and it would see its life out on the contract, whereas if you’re building a spur off the M6, it’s maybe a two-year job.

“A classic bit of road building is maybe 12 months to two years, so whatever you buy would need to be road-going and you would need to have sight of what you could use it for after that contract.

Whereas if you’re building lines for the next eight, 10 or 12 years, you could buy kit now and it would never be off HS2 – so why not buy a 50-tonne, 8-wheeler?”

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One section alone, around the south of Birmingham, will need 400 tippers every day

The government’s announcement is said to have caused an immediate impact on the economics of tippers, too. According to Burton, it created an almost instantaneous spike in demand for used examples, pushing up values. “We’re already getting feedback from customers that used prices are starting to rise and enquiries for used trucks are rising as well. One of our customers had some used trucks they wanted to dispose of around September/October last year; they couldn’t sell them, so they put them back on the road, and now, they’re getting so many phone calls about them.”

There is a paradox to the spike in demand for older vehicles, however, as the project’s lords and masters have set out stringent requirements.

In January 2019, HS2 Limited – the public body tasked with overseeing the project – said all HGVs working along the length of the 345-mile site must be Euro-6 compliant. “By setting new vehicle emission standards for contractors, we will

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contribute to efforts to improve air quality and leave a legacy of a new fleet of low-emission HGVs and construction equipment to work on future projects,” said the body’s director of environment Peter Miller at the time.

However, a government information paper about vehicle management and safety requirements for HGV operators working on the project made no mention of Euro-6, and those within the industry are sceptical as to whether it will be enforced, simply because the demand for vehicles – tippers in particular – will be so great.

COMPROMISE “There won’t be enough trucks to do the job,” says Burton. “When it comes down to it, that [rule] will relax, and they’re going to end up putting other vehicles on the job. They’ll have to compromise because there are not the trucks in the country – it’s going to need thousands – and they just can’t get them quickly enough.”

“They’ve got to be pragmatic,” says Natalie Chapman, head of urban policy at the FTA. “It’s not the case that every vehicle is a bog-standard truck, so that’s going to extend the lead times for those vehicles, especially if there is an increase in demand [for Euro-6] not just because of HS2 but also because of clean air zones.”

Chapman reckons operators need to keep an eye out for any standards imposed on vehicles working on the contract, as they could be imposed on some or all of the sites. “That might be something to bear in mind,” she says, “what we’d like to see is that HS2 is open to a variety of schemes and standards – and that they do not replace basic legal operating requirements.”

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What we’d like to see is that HS2 is open to a variety of schemes and standards

According to the aforementioned information paper, principal contractors will need to have “an approved and audited fleet quality plan”, but authorities weren’t fussy about which one, citing FORS, ISO39001 and “other quality management plans… as long as they address the themes of the FORS standard and have independent auditing”.

That could change as the project moves forward, though, so it’s worth keeping tabs on the small print.

Another one to watch, as if you needed reminding, is the UK’s eventual Brexit agreement with the EU. We’re still well and truly in the dark about it, but the MPA’s McIlveen warns that, if the outcome is not favourable, operators could be looking at import tariffs of up to 20% for on-road vehicles.

“The slight challenge on that horizon is the tariff situation,” he says. “It’s all a bit hard to predict, because it depends on the final trade deal with the EU, but if there isn’t a trade deal with the EU and we go with the current tariff set-up… off-road vehicles will be fine – but [imported] on-road vehicles might have a 20% tariff on them. Stuff for use in the quarry will be OK, but if you’re transferring to site, that could be quite a challenge – but it’s all dependent on whatever trade deal emerges.”

His advice to anyone working on HS2 is to keep your ear to the ground and, if you can, get your trucks on order early. “Keep a really close eye on the progress of it, and when the contracts go out, try and work out when the quarries and the various plants are going to see their orders step up, because it makes sense to get everything in line so the central equipment is in place before the orders start piling in.”

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 OPERATIONS

THE POWER

BEHIND WATTS DEALER PRINCIPAL OF THE YEAR SIMON GRIFFIN

The former Wales Students rugby captain has proved an able leader at Watts Truck & Van, where he has built a tight-knit team and turned around a struggling operation WORDS: COLIN BARNETT / PHOTOS: RICHARD LEA When a company boss puts a senior member of his staff forward for a prestigious award such as Dealer Principal of the Year in the Commercial Motor awards, they can be excused for gilding the lily a bit.

But John Thurston – chairman of DAF dealer Watts Truck & Van – had no need for exaggeration with Simon Griffin last year. His fulsome praise was backed by cold, hard facts and figures.

Facts such as turning a business losing £400,000 in 2013 into one making almost £640,000 profit in 2019, becoming the most successful truck dealership in South Wales in the process – and with a regional market share greater than the next three brands combined.

When CM arrived early for our meeting at WTV’s recently completed flagship branch in Swansea, Griffin was already there, unloading some urgently needed parts from the back of his company car. The top-of-the-range (but not exactly new) Isuzu pick-up was also packed with a set of rugby

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tackling pads for the junior team he coaches. Isuzu pick-ups, along with Fiat vans, were part of the light commercial vehicle franchises dropped by the group in order to concentrate on the DAF business. Griffin, incidentally, was partly behind the Wales rugby team carrying the Isuzu name on its shirts.

Despite not selling vans any more, WTV still derives a considerable business from maintaining them, so the ‘V word’ remains in the business name.

TEAM PLAYER In his award entry Thurston recalled WTV when Griffin arrived in 2013, describing it as “three separate locations in Newport, Swansea and Cardiff, under two separate ownerships, each with discretely managed and fragmented parts, sales and service departments. “Simon has created an integrated team providing superb after-sales service to customers across the large geographical area of South Wales and market-leading vehicle sales penetration.

Leading and moulding the individual managers into an integrated team has been achieved without any senior management changes. In his leadership, he

2019

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has reduced the traditionally confrontational attitude between departments, so that they work as a team.”

Key to this success is the flat management structure that Griffin experienced during the early days at Griffin Mill (see panel). Communication is seen as vital to keep everyone working to a common purpose, and every staff member participates in a twice-yearly briefing on the company’s performance and plans.

The turnaround has been steady. In 2014 and 2015 the operation returned to the black, but by 2019 WTV returned a profit of almost £640,000.

Within the Watts Group, which also includes a couple of specialist plastics manufacturing companies, WTV became the biggest contributor for the first time.

While DAF Trucks is the UK market leader, with a record share of 30.5%, its dominance of the South Wales market blows that away thanks to WTV. Here it has an amazing 38.2% share – to put that into perspective, it sold 322 DAF trucks in 2019, compared with the 286 trucks Scania, Mercedes-

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WTV sold 322 DAF trucks in 2019, compared with the 286 trucks Scania, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo sold combined

Benz and Volvo sold combined. Griffin is in no doubt that the competition is likely to fight back, and says he would be happy with a consistent 35%, given that WTV’s previous best share was 30%.

Although geographically defined sales territories aren’t allowed these days, WTV’s customer base covers a large part of Wales south of the A44. South Wales remains a challenging territory for volume sales, with a two-truck order being considered a fleet deal.

EXPERT ADVICE WTV operates more than the required two demonstrators, currently running an XF FTR 530 SSC, a CF 450 FAD 8x4 tipper and an LF 230 sweeper. In keeping with the philosophy of promoting through the ranks, each member of the sales team has a technical background. A great deal of effort goes into speccing new vehicles, with every order being seen by two pairs of eyes to ensure the optimum configuration.

One of the most impressive recent deals was

imon Griffin may not have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he certainly had a truck order pad in his hand. In his early years, his family ran Pontypridd Volvo Truck dealership Griffin Mill. From the age of 11 he spent his weekends and holidays washing vehicles and helping in the accounts department, until passing his driving test when he added work in service reception and truck sales to his early CV. In 19 1 Griffin went off to university to study French including a year in France, teaching and playing rugby for tade Foyen but still working at Griffin Mill during the holidays. The lure of the trucks was too great, however, and he returned in 19 . He began working with Volvo Truck Finance to introduce Volvo Contract Hire Contract Maintenance to the Griffin Mill team, while playing rugby for Pontypridd RFC. However, the top-flight rugby career ended in 1991 when he became Griffin Mill s truck operations manager. Despite the recession, and with the help of salesmen ob eech and arrie Rees, the ne t few years saw sales increase five-fold, including many R M contracts, and the Griffin Mill estate grew from two to si locations, stretching from Leominster to wansea.

In 199 , the truck business was sold to estward Commercials. The Griffin Mill name continues to sell cars today, but there is no longer any family connection.

The ne t milestone was in 1, when estward became Volvo ales est and Griffin became a director and general manager.

This continued until , when he was recruited by Isu u Truck s ikki ing as general manager network sales looking after the retail business, which increased by a third during his tenure. His appointment as dealer principal at TV in 1 gave him the opportunity to return to ales and his adopted home of arry.

THE DAYS BEFORE DAF

a total of 52 vehicles to the film and TV support company Facilities by ADF, including LF and XF Space Cabs, a low-ride XF 4x2 tractor and 3,100mm-wheelbase LF 16-tonners for generators and water bowsers. The area’s first XF FAW tridem with the low-roof Comfort cab was recently sold to Chepstow tipper operator S&R Whistance.

Sales is but one aspect of the equation, though, and it’s the parts and service operation that retains customers. The MoT first-time pass rate at Cardiff and Newport is 100%, and while Swansea’s performance during its relocation period fell to 97.29% in 2019 (still just ahead of DAF’s target), Griffin is confident of a full house in 2020. Newport is ranked in the top 10 parts dealers in Europe. The company as a whole was awarded DAF UK Dealer of the Year last year and it consistently features in the leading DAF network rankings, with all three sites achieving the highest Category A status four years running.

There’s still time for giving back locally, too.

WTV invests significantly in apprenticeships, while it also supports bodies such as Business in the Community, South Wales Wheelchair Sports and the Kids Cancer Charity.

Describing the impact of becoming the Commercial Motor Awards Dealer Principal of the Year, Griffin is at pains to point out that he is the captain of a team of 110 players, all of whom

contribute to the success of the business. “The award rounded off a great couple of years, but I couldn’t have done it without the team’s support,” he says.

The last word should go to chairman John Thurston though: “Simon is not frightened to take difficult decisions and somehow they are implemented with the goodwill and co-operation of all employees. He always exudes enthusiasm.”

HOW TO ENTER The Dealer Principal of the ear award recognises the achievements of an individual who has led success in a franchised or independent, new or used, HGV dealership. If you re someone who has made a huge difference to a dealership, are a real people person, and have built a strong team with strong customer relationships, enter at commercialmotorawards.com. ominate yourself or someone who fits the bill.

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 OPERATIONS

Commercial Motor Magazine

Nothing to see here! It’s just a 7-ton elephant with a bandaged leg riding on the back of a 1911 Studebaker electric truck.

FROM THE ARCHIVES IN COMMERCIAL MOTOR ON THIS DAY: 26 MARCH ON THIS DAY… 26 MARCH 1976 We reported on a bizarre story ‘Housewives measure truck aggro’, which must have made a good few readers wonder whether we had accidentally run an April Fool’s Day story a few days early. Some 22 Cambridge housewives took part in a Mercedes-Benz-sponsored exercise to measure the aggro caused by trucks. Seven unidentified 32-tonne tractors (Bedford TM, Foden S80, Ford Transcontinental, Leyland Marathon, Mercedes 1626, Mercedes LPS 1418 and Volvo F88) were driven within 6ft of the housewives, who were then told to rate them in terms of noise, aggression and general disturbance.

Needless to say, the two Mercedes were deemed to be the least offensive, while the Foden caused the most aggro by a clear margin.

As weird as this story is, we wonder whether there would be any merit in running the experiment again today, but with vulnerable road users replacing housewives.

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COMMERCIAL MOTOR 26 MARCH 2020

1998

CLASSIC ADS

It’s 1998, and Cheshire haulier ames Irlam has taken delivery of this smart fleet of Leyland DAF 85 400s – and don’t they look great? The side skirts and under-bumper spoiler with lights really set them off. According to the DVLA, R279 SNA was last taxed in 2005.

Does anyone know if it was exported?

ON THIS DAY… 26 MARCH 1954

In January 1954, British Road Services (formed in 1948 by the nationalisation of Britain’s road haulage industry), started to hand back vehicles to private hauliers. Two months later, CM broke the news that this had resulted in what we described as a “senseless spate of rate-cutting”.

In our lead story, we wrote: “Indeed, they [hauliers] are said to be quoting rates so low that they would be better off if they allowed

R to continue to accept the traffic from the customer and were paid 10% commission for it. This is commercial suicide and will make conditions e tremely difficult for other free-enterprise hauliers, as well as for BRS.” We warned that such low rates wouldn’t allow operators to maintain vehicles properly, and said such practices would act as a strong case for renationalisation, should Labour get back into power.

Here’s a classic 1952 advertisement for the recently launched 6-wheel-drive Scammell Constructor. Powered by a RollsRoyce engine, this truck was aimed squarely at the construction, mining, oil drilling and military sectors.

ON THIS DAY… 26 MARCH 1929 In 1929 British truck makers had their eyes on developing foreign markets, and CM had some advice. We suggested that Poland was ripe for expansion, pointing out that as of January that year it had fewer than 5,000 lorries on its roads. In fact, it had just 34,298 “mechanically propelled vehicles”.

Although this represented a 33.7% increase in 12 months, it equated to one vehicle per 889 people.

“The use of motor vehicles in Poland is evidently on the increase, and the saturation point is yet a long way off,” we said.

Today Poland’s 38 million people have access to almost 30 million vehicles.

Beer is best conveyed in ERF tankers, according to the self-proclaimed manufacturer of the world’s best oil-engined lorries. This 1952 Gardner-powered Model 6.8 8-wheeler belonged to Edinburghbased Younger’s Brewery.

26 MARCH 2020 COMMERCIAL MOTOR

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