Sharp ■ Informed ■ Challenging
Industry Monitor 2022 edition
4.7.22
HIRECO CAN ADVANCE THE PERFORMANCE OF YOUR FLEET Uncertainty across sector as state of economy hampers recent upturn
No kidding
By Tim Wallace
Industry Monitor report inside
NEWS INSIDE Rollercoaster ride
Primark powers online trial with Clipper Clicklink p4
Stellar debut for ‘trailblazing’ RTX Road Transport Expo burst onto the scene last week in spectacular style, as thousands of visitors headed to NAEC Stoneleigh. This brand-new industry show, with its “all about the truck” mantra, attracted more than 170 trade exhibitors, alongside a host of leading speakers to the Midlands venue. New technology took centre stage, from manufacturer product launches through to a Ride & Drive opportunity for visitors and live product demonstrations. “We are delighted with the support we’ve received from industry for this exciting new event,” said Vic Bunby, divisional director at show organiser and MT publisher Road Transport Media. “This inaugural show has proved a huge success and firmly established itself as the go-to event for anyone involved with running a truck fleet, be it one vehicle to 500-plus.” Next year’s event will be held from 29 June to 1 July. n Don’t miss our bumper RTX supplement, with full coverage of this year’s event, in MT 25 July.
The industry is fighting back from the effects of the pandemic but a range of challenges are continuing to hamper confidence, according to a major new survey of operators. The 2022 edition of the Asset Alliance Industry Monitor asked 256 senior leaders from haulage and logistics firms to gauge the health of their businesses and identify the key issues facing the sector over the next 12 months. The research found 70% plan to add extra trucks this year, up from 45% in 2021, while 84% plan to replace existing vehicles (53%). There was also an 8% increase in goods moved domestically. However, only 40% of those surveyed believe their businesses will grow this year, down from 53%, with the majority listing rising fuel and operational costs, supply chain disruption and a constrained economy as serious concerns. International goods movement was also down 11% – 33% lower than the average for the last five years. The Covid-19 pandemic is continuing to “significantly affect” 22% of firms, although this was down from 43% last year. However, whether the HGV driver shortage has eased remains unclear, with only 20% of operators listing it as a key concern but 64% saying the situation had worsened in the last year, with another 64% forced to increase driver wages and 27% having to turn away work.
Photo: Shutterstock
Strife continues for DX Group p3
Recovery threatened by fears for the future
In association with
The sector’s transition to alternative fuels has seen limited takeup, the survey found, with fewer than one in five fleets (18%) currently operating such vehicles. However 62% said they expect to be operating them within three years – up from 33% last year. About one in five is looking at battery-electric vehicles, while biofuel (16%), CNG/LNG (13%) and hybrids (13%) are also contenders. The most commonly used vehicles are biogas (8%), CNG (4%), LNG (5%), battery electric (6%) and hybrids (5%). Most of those surveyed called for more government action on the issue, with 61% demanding a better public refuelling infrastructure. A further 59% listed scrappage schemes and reduced tax as most important, while 19% would like to see operational incentives such as better access to kerbside space. These figures are similar to last year’s survey, suggesting only limited progress has been made
on the road to net zero. “While many challenges still lie ahead, I believe every challenge brings huge opportunity and I’m encouraged to see this belief shared by several senior industry leaders,” said Willie Paterson, chief executive, Asset Alliance Group. “I’m also pleased to see optimism about growth.”
...by up to 75%
Contact us to find out how:
0330 124 5651 info@hireco.co.uk hireco.co.uk
Vox Pop p6 Focus: business barometer p8 Viewpoint: recession fears p10 Safety p12 Meachers Global Logistics p18 Marketplace p24
News
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Group seeks extension to accounts deadline to remain trading on platform
Stotts buys Parker Transport (SW) Stotts Group, which owns Willmotts Transport and S&B Transport Services, has boosted its presence in the south-west with the acquisition of Somersetbased Parker Transport (South West). The move adds two sites to its eight and expands its fleet to 160 trucks and 170 trailers. Family firm Parker Transport (South West), which was founded 40 years ago, specialises in transport, distribution and warehousing. It has an O-licence for 40 trucks and 48 trailers, with a depot at Chilcompton and 50,000sq ft of warehousing near Radstock. Shepton Mallet-based Willmotts Transport operates 97 trucks and 115 trailers, supplying storage and distribution and specialising in the FMCG sector.
DX hires auditor to keep listing on AIM By Carol Millett
DX Group has entered an 11thhour battle to keep its shares listed on AIM after they were temporarily suspended from the trading platform in January, following the company’s failure to publish its annual audited results. The company has hired auditor PKF Littlejohn and will enter into
negotiations with the Stock Exchange, which runs AIM, on whether it can be allowed to deliver its audited annual accounts later than AIM’s 5 July deadline. Under AIM Rule 41, failure to meet the deadline could see DX Group forced to quit trading on AIM. This is the latest development in what has been a rollercoaster
ride for the group and its shareholders, beginning in December last year when it emerged that an ongoing internal investigation into a “corporate governance inquiry” at the group was preventing its auditor Grant Thornton from signing off on the company’s 2021 accounts. The delay resulted in DX’s shares on AIM being suspended in January this year. Grant Thornton resigned as auditor shortly after, citing concerns about “actual or potential breaches of the law and/or regulations” by DX or DX employees; the performance of the investigation and the corporate governance inquiry; concerns about the action taken by DX in response to the evidence generated by the investigation and inquiry; and the “provision of inaccurate information”, which Grant Thornton believed “did not give a full picture of the scale and seriousness of the facts”.
Final reel for film transport firm
Yodel reaps rewards of online shopping
Attempts to rescue a Hertfordshire TV and film transport business have failed after the administrator was only able to sell its land and buildings. Mentmore Investments, which traded as Green Clover, entered administration on 19 April but it continued to trade as insolvency experts attempted to sell it. The company provided transport and recycling services to the film and entertainment industries. It held an O-licence for 12 HGVs and 20 trailers and traded out of a Berkhamsted operating centre. Mazars administrator Guy Hollander said the firm struggled due to legacy losses arising from Covid-19 lockdowns when film productions were paused or cancelled. In addition, its investments into a number of service offerings had affected cashflow and legal action was being pursued by a landlord in respect of outstanding rent and costs for approximately £515,000.
Yodel has delivered its first profit in 10 years after benefiting from the home shopping boom generated by the pandemic lockdowns. According to its latest annual results to 30 June 2021, revenue rose to £561m (2020: £430m) while pre-tax profit soared to £23.7m from pre-tax losses of £32.3m in the previous year. The company, which provides B2B and B2C packet and parcel delivery services and the Collect+ returns service network, benefited from the increase in demand for flowers, wine, spirits and food and from businesses shifting to online sales during the lockdowns. While Yodel grappled with increased absenteeism, due to the pandemic, and the driver shortage crisis, the company’s strategic report said it had nevertheless delivered a Trustpilot score of four out of five – and clinched some profitable new business from
4.7.22
retailers while maintaining a strong performance on customer retention. Yodel also reported that the £555,000 it received in government grants during the pandemic has been repaid in full in the current
financial year. This year the company is continuing to invest significantly in upgrading its IT systems, infrastructure and new product developments, and in the quality and capacity of its sort and service centres.
MotorTransport 3
News
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High street retailer enters online shopping market with children’s range
Primark to trial Clipper Clicklink By Carol Millett
Clothing retail giant Primark is to launch a click-and-collect trial using Clipper’s Clicklink operation. The trial will run across Primark’s children’s range in approximately 25 stores in the north-west and will be launched at the end of the year. It will give customers access to around twice as many items. Clipper will also manage any associated returns. Primark chief executive Paul Marchant said: “This is a milestone for our business – not only will it give our existing customers more of what they love with greater convenience, it will also give us an opportunity to reach new customers by highlighting the fantastic products we have. “We’ve chosen to trial the service
in an area of the north-west where we have a wide range of stores of different sizes and formats – we’ll confirm more details in the coming months.” Clipper chief executive Tony
Mannix said: “The Clipper record in retail logistics, e-fulfilment solutions and the development of our collaborative, retail-focussed, clickand-collect solution Clicklink will all be put to great use.”
East London haulage and freight forwarding firm Cargo Worldwide (UK) has entered administration. According to documents filed at Companies House, insolvency experts at KBL Advisory were appointed to the business on
7 June. The company describes itself as an international freight forwarder and road freight firm, which trades out of an operating centre in Barking. It holds a standard national O-licence authorising 10 HGVs and two trailers.
As well as offering warehousing, customs clearance and air and sea freight services, it also operated a same-day UK courier service with its in-house fleet of vehicles. Its last set of accounts showed that it employed 31 staff in 2021.
Autonomous HGV trial is a success The trial of an autonomous Terberg electric HGV, designed for final-mile delivery, has been completed successfully, according to the consortium leading the project. The pilot, which took place in Sunderland in June, saw a Terberg HGV, retrofitted with a range of autonomous technology, remotely test-driven as part of the £4.9m government-funded 5G Connected and Automated Logistics trial. The Terberg YT202, which is designed for moving trailers in DCs, depots and container terminals, was retrofitted by StreetDrone with drive-by wire components and a myriad of sensors and cameras. The vehicle tackled roundabouts, security gates, traffic lights, bridges and junctions, with the aim of developing large-scale autonomous supply chains.
Sector ripe for Cargo Worldwide (UK) goes into administration M&A spend
Yusen expands Howdens fleet with Renault order Yusen Logistics UK has extended its warehousing and distribution partnership with kitchen manu-
4 MotorTransport
facturer Howdens with a new fleet of 21 vehicles. The Renault T Evolution 6x2 44-tonne tractors will support the primary distribution operations in the UK for bulk depot replenishment and reverse logistics into the supply chain. Yusen provides several throughthe-night cross-docking operations and daily services to regional Howdens depots in the East Midlands and the south-east. It will shortly be also covering North Yorkshire and the north-east. The services use a combination of Yusen Logistics shared user sites and facilities dedicated to Howdens, delivering to more than
307 Howdens depots. Howdens has two dedicated manufacturing locations in Runcorn, Cheshire and Howden, East Yorkshire, and a national DC in Raunds, Northamptonshire. Yusen business development director Rob McWhirter said: “The strength of the relationship that has been built between Howdens and Yusen Logistics has been based on an open approach from both organisations to jointly recognise and meet challenges and the ability to react to the changing needs of the business with a key focus on delivering the highest possible service to depots and customers.”
Investment remains a key priority for the UK logistics sector in 2022, and M&A activity levels remain high, despite the sector facing challenges driven by labour costs, pricing and supply chain disruption. A survey of industry leaders found 65% of logistics businesses intend to make significant capital expenditure over the next year, with technology, such as transport and warehouse management systems, the main point of focus (48%). The survey, conducted in conjunction with a national series of events jointly hosted by accountancy and business advisory firm BDO and Barclays, found that investment in recruitment, sustainability and automation were also high on the agenda. Nearly half of respondents said they intend to focus on acquisitions and M&A activity in the next 12 months. The biggest drivers for capital expenditure include expansion or improvement of the service offering (39%), while increased capacity, cost controls and efficiency through investment were also important factors. 4.7.22
News
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VOX POP Should hauliers pay more under new road pricing scheme? Kevin Buchanan, group CEO, Pall-Ex It would be madness to increase the pressure on hauliers further. How quickly we all forget how crucial the sector was in keeping the country moving during the pandemic. The farming sector gets far more support than the road haulage industry does and is allowed to drive heavy equipment on UK roads at no cost. Our sector remains misunderstood and undervalued by successive governments. Bob Terris, chairman, Meachers It is inevitable that alternative methods of recovering costs from commercial and private road users will be introduced. The substantial loss of fuel tax plus VAT as a result of electric vehicles will need to be recovered. The fuel duty system ensures the cost is related to the amount of road use and any new system should also reflect this. The costs incurred should reflect the road usage and the current excise duty method does not meet this criteria. It would make sense to have one charge that also includes the excise duty. Perhaps there should be consideration regarding the charge for commercial vehicle users as any additional costs they incur would be inflationary.
Stuart Charter, MD, Aztek Aztek would be adversely affected by such a scheme at a critically inflationary time. But there is a sad inevitability about some form of ‘tarmac tax’ for those who use it most. Our industry is unfairly penalised and that hypothecated or ring-fenced road spending would lead to better local authority management of our highways – after all, it’s always the first area to be cut when government puts a cap on council spending. However, the haulage sector is an easier headline-grabber, so with climate issues so high on the political agenda, it’s easy to make a connection in terms of the industry simply running out of road when it comes to avoiding a road use charge. We cannot continually absorb additional cost, so it will ultimately be customers who pick up the bill for the higher prices that the industry will have to pass on.
revenue following the actions of colleagues in another responsible for addressing the targets for lowering carbon emissions. Lesley O’Brien, director, Freightlink Europe A national road pricing scheme will be inevitable if government is to replace the loss of revenue from fuel duty as the country moves to electric vehicles. That move will be reliant on a countrywide EV charge point infrastructure. Many small operators, which rely on the secondhand truck market, may be lost along the way. A scheme that places the main onus on those making the most mileage and/or carrying the heaviest weights risks adding inflationary costs. Taxes raised must not be more onerous than the current duty levied or result in duel taxation. Andrew Malcolm, CEO, Malcolm Group
Mike Parr, MD, PML Such a move would be catastrophic and perhaps it would be more helpful to engage in meaningful discussions with those at the forefront of this sector before threatening such radical action. The expression ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ springs to mind – this is a classic example of government departments not talking to each other; one team is trying to replace lost
This has been talked about before as long as it wasn’t an additional charge to the sector and was funded through fuel duty reduction, so those who travelled more, paid more. Our sector is already haemorrhaging costs, which we have no option but to pass on to customers and consumers. This sector needs real support or we run the risk of forcing more hauliers off the road, and where would that leave us?
ArrowXL profits from shift to e-commerce By Carol Millett
ArrowXL has returned to the black after two years of losses. The move was boosted by soaring online demand for garden, home office and gym equipment and a major shift to e-commerce during the pandemic lockdowns. Reporting its results for the 53-week period to 30 June 2021, the company, which is part of the Logistics Group and a sister firm to Yodel, revealed that its revenue rose in the period to £114.9m (2020: £90.3m). Pre-tax profit also surged to £1.9m, up from a loss of £465,000 in 2020, while EBITDA leapt to £13.3m, up from £8.7m in the previous year. ArrowXL specialises in warehousing, delivering and installing white goods and furniture, largely for retail clients. The company said it had made a significant improvement across all metrics during the year and maintained excellent service levels, evidenced by its 4.7 score out of a 6 MotorTransport
total of five on Trustpilot. It added that its financial performance was significantly ahead of expectations, with the pandemic driving a step change in shopping volumes. n ArrowXL has won a contract
with Tentbox to deliver 80 of its products a week. The roof-top tent business said it would take advantage of ArrowXL’s Diary Booking Service, which allows customers to select a delivery date of their choice.
Wincanton names W2 Labs start-ups Wincanton has revealed the five global start-ups that will take part in its 2022 W2 Labs programme. The five firms are: French digital fulfilment company Find & Order; Polish business No Magic; Manchester-based Automedi; US company Navflex; and Swiss startup Pick8chip Technology. The firms will be mentored by Wincanton’s senior leadership team, with the chance to trial their solution in a live environment. First launched in 2017, the W2 Labs programme is open to earlystage businesses that are invited to pitch proposals that use digitalisation to drive change across supply chains. The start-ups were asked to produce forward-looking technologies and solutions in one of three categories: digital fulfilment; ESG sustainable supply chain solutions; and a wild card category focused on robotics designed to transform supply chains. 4.7.22
Business barometer
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The stagnating economy and high inflation appear to point to a period of stagflation for the UK
Starting to turn a bit ugly
Inflation
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) annual inflation rate for May has just been published and climbed to 9.1%, up from 9.0% in April. The May inflation rate did not reach double figures as some had predicted, but the CPI is expected to hit 10% later this year – the first time since February 1982, according to historic data remodelled by the ONS to match the current measure. Inflation is soaring throughout Europe. Our chart depicts some of April’s equivalent annual Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) data published by EU’s Eurostat. It shows that the UK’s inflation rate was slightly above average. France’s 5.4% was the EU’s lowest, while the highest was 19.1% in Estonia. The inflation picture is even more varied further afield, with April rates ranging from China’s 2.1% and Japan’s 2.5% through to 17.8% in Russia. In Türkiye – the new name for Turkey – it was a whopping 70%, while the US rate was 8.1%. The latest forecast from the 8 MotorTransport
Oil and fuel
As this was written in mid-June the Brent oil price was averaging $120/barrel for the month to date. That is 6% above May’s average and on track to hit a 10-year monthly high. The all-time record monthly average was $132.7 in July 2008, during the global financial meltdown. Opec and its allies announced early this month an increase in their joint production for July and August. In theory, that should lead to some softer prices, but this is by no means certain. Some analysts doubt the production increases will materialise fully and others say refining capacity will become a limiting factor. And a major unknown is the EU’s aim of blocking most Russian oil by the year-end. Overall, most recent forecasts put oil at $100 to $112 in Q3, easing to $85 to $105 in Q4. The latest projections for Brent’s average next year range from $75 to $111, but with most around just under $100/ barrel. Sanctions on Iranian oil are expected to end in Q1, so the price should ease as Iranian production ramps up. March’s 5ppl fuel duty cut seems to have been lost in the pricing ‘noise’ since then. Many operators will have seen bulk diesel prices of around 141ppl to 147ppl in April and May, but were then hit with sharp rises to 150ppl to 155ppl in the first half of June.
Sterling
While runaway inflation has filled financial headlines, the pound too has had a tough start to the year, shedding value against key currencies. Crucially, it has lost 11% of its value against the dollar, dropping from an average of $1.36 in January to $1.21 in mid-June. A year ago sterling was worth just over $1.40. This loss of purchasing power has exacerbated the UK’s fuel price woes and inflated the cost of imported goods and services. The pound has also been falling against the euro: its mid-June value of
HAULAGE RATES 6.0%
% change on previous quarter
Bank of England anticipates CPI inflation peaking at just over 11% in Q4. Independent forecasters believe it will return to the 2% target level in two to three years.
5.0% 4.0% 3.0% 2.0% 1.0% 0.0% Q3´20
Q4´20
Q1´21
Q2´21
Q3´21
Q4´21
Q1´22
ANNUAL CPI (HICP) INFLATION: APRIL 12.0 %
Annual infla�on rate (%)
Recent Office for National Statistics (ONS) data indicate that typical haulage rates in the first quarter of this year were 8.9% higher than a year ago. The increase in Q1 was 1.5% – much more than the long-term average but substantially less than the 4.8% increase in Q4 last year. That was the largest quarterly increase recorded by the ONS in its Services Producer Price Inflation (SPPI) index. The annual increase of 8.9% in the first quarter means that the rise in haulage rates is outstripping general inflation: consumer price index (CPI) inflation in Q1 averaged 6.2%. This reflects the significant uplifts in operators’ two largest cost elements, wages and fuel. The ONS is due to publish its Q2 haulage rate data on 20 July, picking up the latest round of diesel price hikes. Providing fuel surcharge mechanisms are working as they should, the typical annual rate rise appears likely to be in excess of 10% for the first time.
10.0 % 8.0 % 6.0 % 4.0 % 2.0 % 0.0 %
BRENT CRUDE OIL PRICE 140
monthly average ($/barrel)
Haulage rates
120 100 80 60 40 20 0
Oct
Nov Dec´21 Jan´22
€1.16 is a nine-month low. Currency traders are fearful that government plans to unilaterally amend the Northern Ireland protocol are going to lead to more Brexit trade tensions with the EU, so they are unenthusiastic about investing in the pound. Weak GDP figures announced earlier this month (April’s GDP
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
was 0.3% down on March) were also discouraging, and the Bank of England’s decision in mid-June to raise the bank rate from 1.0% to 1.25% did not help sterling. Only a bigger rate hike would have tempted investors to buy the pound: the US Federal Reserve had just raised its own rate by 0.75%. 4.7.22
Viewpoint
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On the road to a recession? T
he UK economy shrank by 0.3% in April 2022, after a decline of 0.1% in March 2022, while inflation as measured by the CPI was 9.1% in the 12 months to May 2022 and is widely expected to hit 10% or even 11% this year. Steve Hobson Since December 2021, the Bank of Editor England has raised interest rates from Motor 0.1% to 1.25% and with its target of 2% Transport inflation these look certain to rise further – maybe a lot further. Public sector unions are demanding wage rates to at least match inflation after two years of pay freezes during the pandemic, while government borrowings are £2.4tn, up from £1.8tn in 2018. So it looks like the UK is heading for a recession, the first since 2009, something
that a lot of younger workers have never experienced. This could be a dangerous time for the transport industry, which has seen costs spiral as driver wages and fuel prices have rocketed. While volumes are strong and rates firm that is fine, but if a recession means work starts to dry up these higher costs could be fatal to many operators. How ironic and sad it would be if some of the new drivers recruited to the industry at vast expense had to be let go. There could also be a new truck bubble coming down the line, as lead times have gone out to 2023 for most manufacturers. Taking delivery of a fleet of very expensive new trucks in the middle of a recession would not be good business.
No surprise hauliers are on the brink R Matt Garland Head of sales DigiHaul
ecent research from accountancy firm Price Bailey revealing that a third of hauliers are at risk of bankruptcy was shocking – but not surprising. Driver wages have gone up on average 15% in the last year, the manufacturing backlog has driven up the price of secondhand vehicles, and now fuel prices have gone through the roof. It’s not possible for small or even mid-sized hauliers to absorb all these overheads increases. Commercial transport is already strained. Last year’s peak was touch and go for nearly everyone, so squeezing hauliers to the point of going bust is nothing short of self-sabotage. I have a lot of sympathy for logistics managers under pressure to make savings as inflation and supply chain disruption continue to drive up businesses’ operating costs, but we need to take a smarter approach to the problem. Reducing empty return journeys is the first and easiest place to start. By being part of an ecosystem in which complementary journeys are matched based on location and type of goods, shippers can bring down their total road miles. The savings from reducing overall movements are far bigger than trying to shave 2% off a contract with a haulier already operating on thin margins. Horizontal and vertical supply chain collaboration is a huge opportunity and many companies are, rightly, now becoming more open to this idea.
10 MotorTransport
For one large shipper, we’ve identified that 15% to 20% of all loads could be matched with a return load, and we managed to match more than 2,000 journeys in just a month. That’s a saving of approximately £300,000 for it and a huge benefit to hauliers picking up income from journeys they would be making anyway – not to mention the environmental benefit. Payment terms and processes also need an urgent overhaul to help keep hauliers solvent. The Price Bailey research was based on credit scores, which suggests many of those at risk have already had to finance themselves up to the eyeballs. While 30-day terms are standard, it’s not uncommon for hauliers to be waiting for payment for 60 or even 120 days. Long terms and payment delays are further compounded by the out-of-date paper-based PoD system. This regularly leaves hauliers wrangling with customers over paperwork discrepancies and bureaucracy just to get paid at all. Everyone will benefit from taking some progressive steps to transform ways of working and treat hauliers with financial respect, and we’ll have a much better chance of avoiding the next crisis.
The newspaper for transport operators
To contact us: Tel: 020 8912 +4 digits or email: name.surname@roadtransport.com Editor Steve Hobson 2161 Head of content Tim Wallace 2158 Events and projects editor Hayley Tayler 2165 Group production manager Isabel Burton Layout & copy editor Nick Shepherd Senior display sales executive Barnaby Goodman-Smith 2128 Event sales Tim George 0755 7677758 Classified and recruitment advertising rtmclassified@roadtransport.com Sales director Emma Rowland 07780 604075 Divisional director Vic Bunby 2121 MT Awards Katy Moyle 2152 Managing director Andy Salter 2171 Editorial office Road Transport Media, First Floor, Chancery House, St Nicholas Way, Sutton, Surrey SM1 1JB 020 8912 2170 Free copies MT is available free to specified licensed operators under the publisher’s terms of control. For details, email mtsccqueries@roadtransport.com, or call 01772 426705 Subscriptions Email:customercare@dvvsubs.com Quadrant Subscription Services, Rockwood House, Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 3DH Rates UK £146/year. Cheques made payable to Motor Transport. Apply online at mtssubs.com Registered at the Post Office as a newspaper Published by DVV Media International Ltd © 2022 DVV Media International Ltd ISSN 0027-206 X
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If you would like to contribute to MT’s Viewpoint, email steve.hobson@roadtransport.com 4.7.22
Direct Vision Standard
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STAR QUALITY: the Mercedes-Benz Econic has the highest rating under the Direct Vision Standard
No end in sight? The Direct Vision Standard’s progressive safe system will soon be updated. Is TfL ahead of the times or suffering from tunnel vision? Louise Cole reports
T
he Direct Vision Standard (DVS) will kick up a gear in October 2024, when all HGVs will be required to meet a three-star rating or above, or fit a ‘progressive safe system’ (PSS). Today, 244,000 vehicles are registered with TfL as below the three-star standard and only 24,000 meet it. There are three-star vehicles available on the market, although, warns Volvo, ratings depend on exacting specifications – including tyre profile, narrower wheel arches and bumpers, specific mirrors (to allow thinner support posts), lower chassis height, and additional windows in lower passenger doors. Some of these make a significant difference only if the vehicle is close to a boundary between one star rating and another. All these decisions must be made before build as only factory-fitted products affect the rating. Phil Rootham, head of pre-sales technical engineering at Scania UK, says: “The scheme is specifically designed to push urban vehicles in urban environments. Scania can support with a variety of cabs and configurations to enable vehicles to be rated from three to five stars. However, there are obvious limitations with high-positioned long-distance cabs.”
12 MotorTransport
Mercedes-Benz offers the five-star Econic and the three-star Actros rigid or urban tractor. DAF says its New Generation range is designed to significantly enhance direct vision through a large windscreen and low belt line, with a redesigned dash. Marketing manager Phil Moon says: “This undoubtedly improves safety and reduces the stress of driving in busy areas and when manoeuvring.” However, he warns: “Many models, options or combinations will not achieve this standard.” He says operators should prioritise choosing the right vehicle for the job and use the PSS if necessary. Manufacturers do not design trucks for a single city. R&D focus is more concerned with the safety work of the EU, including the direct vision mandates that will come into force in 2028/29. The addition of mirrors, cameras or sensors at factoryfit stage does not affect the rating, but are counted as PSS elements. This can be a source of frustration for the manufacturers. “DVS doesn’t take into account our market-leading innovations like Active Sideguard Assist and Active Brake Assist 5,” says Oliver Soell, head of product management at Mercedes-Benz Trucks UK. “That’s because these are unique to us. Both systems can apply the brakes upon detecting a vulnerable road user and they serve the same [protection] objectives as the DVS.” Other manufacturers have similar products but, as with autonomous braking systems, they all work in slightly different ways. The EU has mandated that vulnerable road user (VRU) avoidance systems be applied to all new cars from 2022, and the standards for automatic emergency braking systems (AEBS) in trucks will ➜ 14 4.7.22
Direct Vision Standard
MADE TO ORDER: Scania can vary the specification for its L-series cabs to achieve a TfL DVS rating of five stars
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tighten from 2025. The EU is also working on damage mitigation systems such as improved crumple zones, which could absorb the energy of a pedestrian or cyclist impact. RHA policy director for England and Wales Duncan Buchanan says: “New cab designs emerge over a long period of time in line with domestic and international regulation and market demand. What we need are national and international standards that protect road users. Protecting VRUs is absolutely right in principle and practice. However, individual local initiatives are not the way to do it.”
TfL consultation
Loughborough University, which designed the original DVS, is reviewing which technologies operators use, how they are implemented and whether any safety benefit arises from them. It is also reviewing new technologies available. A TfL spokesperson says: “Loughborough University is assessing a range of retrofit technology, including ultrasonic sensors, turn-assist technology and movingoff detection systems. Requirements for the PSS for 2024 have not yet been determined. Once determined, the proposed set of requirements will be subject to consultation with stakeholders.” That consultation is slated for later this year, with the specification being published early in 2023. TfL has a working party comprising trade associations and stakeholders who are regularly updated on Loughborough’s work. Sources seem confident that the PSS will change. Buchanan says: “I have little faith in TfL consultations. We would like TfL to tell us what it is trying to achieve and then let us help it to achieve it in an effective manner. It tends to lead with its preferred solution. It needs to be more open to stakeholder feedback.” He says the talks have produced nothing concrete so far: “It’s like nailing jelly to the wall.” 14 MotorTransport
Natalie Chapman, Logistics UK head of policy, south, says: “Whatever equipment operators are asked to implement must be retrofittable, affordable, effective and industry recognised. However, there is a lot of frustration and anxiety among our members because operators want to specify new kit on vehicle orders, and even if they order now they are unlikely to take delivery of the truck for 18 months.” This means that trucks ordered today may have only a few months of operation before they would potentially have to be refitted to meet the revised standard. Logistics UK has argued that any truck that was previously compliant should remain so. “If operators have invested in kit for the current PSS, they should not have to remove and replace it. That can’t be an acceptable option,” Chapman says. “We would like TfL to recognise the industry’s good faith in terms of compliance.” However, although Logistics UK would like the revised standard to apply to new vehicles only, she says that TfL has never seemed keen on this option.
Does DVS work?
Comparing road traffic casualty statistics by vehicle type for London is problematic, owing to small sample groups, a 14% traffic reduction in 2020 and rising active transport figures. Safety improvements in London over the past decade are the result of many separate initiatives. There is no reliable basis, therefore, for judging the effectiveness of DVS. In 2020, there were 13 HGV-related VRU fatalities. In 2021, the first year of DVS enforcement, there were 11. TfL says six of these fatalities “involved vision”. It says there were eight (of 13) HGV fatalities in 2020, and 12 in 2019, in which “vision” was cited as a contributing factor. However, as a contributory factor, vision does not necessarily equate to a blind spot – 39% of all collisions in the UK have “failure to look” cited as a contributory factor and this holds true for London. Moreover, ➜ 16 4.7.22
Direct Vision Standard
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NEW RULES: the updated Highway Code gives greater priority at junctions to vulnerable road users such as cyclists
the contributory factors can apply to either party, not just the HGV driver. Whether improving direct vision works is only half the question. The other half is: are there better initiatives that would save more lives? There is a disconnect between the fatalities and injuries caused by different vehicle types and the regulatory attention paid to them. Nationally, the HGV fatality rate (13 per billion vehicle miles) has been decreasing, despite a slight blip in 2018. The van fatality rate, however, has stayed fairly constant, with 176 deaths or 3.5 fatalities per billion vehicle miles. Vans
GC DISTRIBUTION Graham Paine, MD of Essex-based GC Distribution, is confident that his trucks will meet any new DVS revisions. A FORS Gold operator, he says his trucks have all the cameras and sensors they could possibly carry. “They couldn’t be any safer in terms of technological aids,” he says. However, Paine believes that the market should foot the bill, saying that operators have had to pay out repeatedly for TfL schemes, including FORS, ULEZ and now DVS. “We have had to pay for the three FORS accreditations – Bronze, Silver and Gold – which London customers were encouraged to mandate and which now make us DVS-compliant.” He believes that freight customers should be prepared to pay for the safety improvements they have demanded. He says operators cannot afford to absorb cost, particularly if it means replacing vehicles. “To meet ULEZ requirements, we keep our fleet under three years old,” he says. “However, that’s increasingly expensive.” Paine, who waits at least 10 months for new trucks to arrive, bought one £100,000 vehicle at the beginning of the year, only to order a second three weeks later and find it had gone up by £18,000. “If hauliers do not start to pass these costs on effectively to customers, they will not survive,” he warns.
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caused 10,338 injuries in 2020 as opposed to HGVs’ 3,399. Cars, meanwhile, were involved in 1,494 deaths. Yet the regulatory focus remains entirely on HGVs. Equally, certain junctions in London are involved in a disproportionate number of deaths. Holborn has seen six HGV cycling fatalities in nine years.
Deprived areas
Another aspect of geography is deprivation. There were 21,000 traffic collisions in London in 2020, with 2,800 injuries and 94 deaths. According to charity foundation Trust For London, the areas with the greatest deprivation had double the number of collisions than the areas with least deprivation. The trade associations say that the current DVS has issues that need resolving, and they do not want to wait until October 2024 for this to happen. Immediate issues are: l one of the key problems with the original design standard is that no specific suppliers, implementation protocols or effectiveness tests were specified. Any camera or sensor, however cheap, ineffective or poorly attached, could help qualify a truck for the PSS; l new truck registrations can take up to a week to show in DVLA data, but there is no grace period for compliant vehicles while waiting for certification to come through. Scania’s Rootham says: “We continue to press TfL to look at its connections to DVLA to improve the link between chassis numbers and registration numbers as this can take time. Plus, it requires the customer to support and provide registration documents to prove the correlation between the two while waiting for government departments to go through their internal processes”; l permits are only confirmed to the email address of the individual applicant. Logistics UK would like to see a central register of permits, or all of an operator’s current permits listed on its TfL account. Otherwise, it is unnecessarily difficult for transport planners to know if the vehicle they are sending into London has a current permit; l permit revocation is also notified only to the applicant’s email address. So it is entirely possible for an operation to not realise a vehicle’s licence has been revoked until it receives a penalty notice. Chapman argues that revocation should be notified in writing as well as email; l operators have to send photographic evidence to gain their PSS permit – but not photos of the safe system kit. Instead, they must send images of under-run bars and Class 5 and 6 mirrors – both of which have been stipulated by law for many years – and a cyclists’ warning sticker. Chapman says this whole exercise is futile, and the admin involved is a waste of public funds that would be better spent on enforcement. ■ 4.7.22
Meachers Global Logistics
motortransport.co.uk
Man of the moment Meachers chairman Bob Terris has recently chalked up 60 years with the business. So how does he see the transport and logistics sector after so long, and what is the secret to his firm’s success? Steve Hobson finds out
W
hile attention this year has understandably been focused on the Queen’s platinum jubilee, a VIP in the transport industry is celebrating a diamond jubilee after recently passing the milestone of 60 years with his firm. Bob Terris, chairman of Meachers Global Logistics, joined the Meachers family coal merchant and transport company on 1 April 1962, aged 17. Starting from a small hut in a gravel yard in Westfield Road, Totton, near Southampton, the company now has an annual turnover of more than £56m, operates 500,000sq ft of warehousing and runs a fleet of 80 trucks. And 60 years on, Terris has lost none of his enthusiasm or passion for the transport and logistics industry, or for the company he and his family now own. Terris was born in Bristol, but moved to Southampton in 1962 and joined former coal merchant Fred Meacher
18 MotorTransport
SIXTY NOT OUT: Meachers chairman Bob Terris has worked for the company since he was 17
and his three sons at Meachers Transport, which was formed in 1958, in the role of traffic controller, the first employee outside the Meachers family. Terris was soon promoted to transport manager, then general manager, and became a director in 1976. In 1985 Meachers Transport came under the ownership of Pirelli Cables, which relocated it to Nursling and owned it for 15 years before Terris persuaded it to sell it to him in 1996. Ironically, Meachers now does work for Prysmian, the Italian owners of Pirelli Group, as well as a host of manufacturers and importers in a variety of sectors. Being close to Southampton docks also means the company is ideally placed to service the huge Carnival cruise ships that dock there, a business that fell away in the pandemic but is now recovering strongly.
Developing the service
Under Terris’s stewardship the Meachers business has expanded and boosted its service offering to include freight forwarding and 500,000sq ft of storage on seven sites around Southampton and a transport depot near Derby. And in 2009 the company rebranded as Meachers Global Logistics to reflect this wider range of services. The transport fleet of 80 vehicles still brings in approximately 50% of revenue however. “We have four sites at Nursling and warehouses on the docks at Marchwood [on the west side of Solent Water] and Fair Oak [on the M271 north of Southampton],” says Terris. “Some of it is high-rise, some low-rise and some open. We have just taken on another 4-acre open-storage site because we import stone from India. We ship it in and store it outside before doing the distribution.” Working first for a family owner and then a PLC was a salutary lesson for Terris, who now has two of his sons working with him – MD Stuart and fleet director Jamie. There are also three external directors: Noel Fensome (finance), Gary Whittle (commercial) and Rob Lewis (international operations). Terris became chairman in 2011 when Stuart stepped up from operations director to MD. “My sons and all my board directors have been ➜ 20
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Meachers Global Logistics
with Meachers for more than 20 years and we’ve all grown up together,” he says. “We get on well, enjoy work and all pull in the same direction – which is critical. “To run a family business that isn’t yours is difficult because everyone wants something out of it and the people making the money don’t get it. That’s not the case here now. Working for a PLC, the bureaucracy is a nightmare. I’ve kept the best parts of a PLC, which are the governance and control procedures, but have done away with the bureaucracy. “My sons are shareholders but they get paid for the job they do. The three non-shareholders get the money for the job and a share of the profit, but no family member gets a gallon of petrol or anything else out of the business – nothing.”
Funding the business
Terris bought the business from Pirelli with a mix of debt and equity funding, with RBS owning 35% of the shares. The debt was quickly repaid but RBS then wanted Terris to sell the business to a venture capitalist to give it an exit. “I said ‘I didn’t buy it to sell it – if you want out, sell me the shares’,” he says. “So we negotiated a price so we had 100% of the shares. I don’t want external shareholders – I have given some shares to my sons but I still have control. “We own some of our properties but not the warehouses, which are all leased. As we kept adding buildings we ended up with different run-out dates. I’ve now got them all on similar dates so if we lose a contract or the mix is wrong, I can rejig the business. We have different types of activity in different locations so we have less congestion because there are different entrances to the buildings, even though they are on the same site.” Covid replaced Brexit in the headlines but as an international freight forwarder as well as a UK transport and warehousing business Meachers is still seeing the effects of the UK’s exit from the EU single market. “Brexit has been hidden by the pandemic but there have been major consequences for our shipping side,” says Terris. “The extra paperwork on clearances means there is a huge cost that everyone has forgotten since the pandemic and Ukraine has taken people’s attention.” The pandemic provided good opportunities for Meachers and in the year to the end of May 2022 it saw record sales and profit. Turnover was £56m, up from £36.5m in 2020/21, and while pre-tax profit had not been finalised at the time of MT’s interview, it is likely it will be well up on the previous year’s £3.3m. “The interesting thing about this year was the mix of revenue because our shipping side saw a big increase,” 20 MotorTransport
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DREAM TEAM: (from left) Rob Lewis, Noel Fensome, Stuart Terris, Bob Terris, Jamie Terris and Gary Whittle
says Terris. “We had a small customer that got involved in Covid testing so we had a huge amount of business in air freight with it. We also warehouse and distribute the product for it, which replaced the drop in our cruiserelated business with Carnival. “But our cost base has risen enormously with an 18% increase in wages and the price of trucks has also gone up. While the volumes are there and there is an understanding that there is inflation, you can pass those extra costs onto customers. But when you get higher inflation you also get erosion of the margin if you only review your costs once a year. “We review ours every six months with existing customers but with new customers it is changing all the time. The concern has to be that if inflation continues and disposable income drops, the economy will reduce and then you are left with less volume, which puts pressure on prices, and a high fixed-cost base. “The worst scenario is that we go into recession, volumes drop and supply exceeds demand. I believe there will be a recession this year because with inflation at 10% people don’t have the money to spend. What might offset that is that I think there will be fewer hauliers and trucks. Secondhand values of older trucks are good now but not on Euro-6s because you can’t export them as they are too high-tech. “People are getting unbelievable amounts of money for anything older than Euro-6 but when those trucks run out they haven’t got the money to buy new ones so they go out of business or reduce their fleets.” The investment gap will only increase as diesel trucks are phased out in favour of zero-emission electric vehicles, which will be approximately three times more ➜ 22
THE FUTURE FOR PALLET NETWORKS Meachers covers most of the SO postcodes for Palletways and Terris is a great believer in pallet networks – although he worries about their future. “All networks are losing good-quality companies and bringing in lower-quality companies,” he says. “So the overall quality of hauliers in the networks is not good. When you are selling a collective service you are only as good as the weakest link. “We were in Pall-Ex when Hilary [Devey, the late founder of Pall-Ex] owned it and it worked for us as we were running 18-tonners all over the country doing multi-drops. It was very beneficial to us at first but over 10 years it ceased to be any benefit because we are in a consumption not a manufacturing area, so we were taking more out and you lose money on the deliveries and make money on what you put in.” But after a spell outside the pallet networks an acquisition in 2021 saw the company join Palletways. “We got into Palletways when we bought AFS [Haulage, based in Fair Oak] and it is working OK for us. When we weren’t in a network we were a customer because if we do all of one of our customer’s distribution we would pay to put some of its pallets into Pall-Ex,” says Terris. “AFS had a shortfall on its input but we had all the pallets we were putting into another network to plug the gap. If you can get the balance right and you don’t have an area too far from the depot it is OK. Those members covering postcodes 25 or 30 miles from their depots must be frustrated. “When an operator goes bust the network puts pressure on the next member to take over and what might be decent business is all of a sudden not such decent business.” Like many people with long experience, Terris says the principles behind running a successful transport business are simple – it is just the execution that is hard. “You need three things to be successful in our industry: volume, mix and price,” he says. “You can have as much volume as you like but if it doesn’t fit properly or you don’t get the right price, you will never make any money. “That is where these big conglomerates are losing the plot – they are going after volume without looking at the other two. Every week our operations guys meet the sales guys and they say ‘we’ve got a gap, we need work out of there’. Ideally, if we have work going there and we can’t get anything back, we don’t send our trucks, we subcontract it to reduce the empty running. “Too many people do not pay attention to the detail – they think if the wheels are running they are making money – but that is not always the case.” 4.7.22
Meachers Global Logistics
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expensive and less productive because of their limited range. Meachers’ usual policy regarding trucks is to buy outright with a five-year contract maintenance package and then move them on. “That reduces the downtime but we have had to invest a lot of money to get to this position,” says Terris. “Our problem now is availability – we have 15 trucks and 25 trailers on order but none will turn up on time. So if we have a truck on contract maintenance that is coming up to five years old and the new one doesn’t arrive on time we are at risk of any breakdowns. “We have 10 Mercedes-Benz vehicles on order and I argue that if they are replacing existing Mercedes trucks, and it doesn’t deliver, it should underwrite the risk and extend our contract maintenance at the same rate. That would encourage you to buy the same vehicles again.” As well as delays in getting new trucks delivered, Terris says the rental market has almost disappeared with the impending exit of Ryder from the UK. “You cannot get a spot hire vehicle now,” he says. “You used to be able to hire for a week or even a day – now it’s six months minimum and most are 12 months. We have three peaks and use regular subcontractors where we manage their vehicles, so it is just like adding on to our fleet. Then we had spot hire vehicles and agency drivers to cover the peaks. Why would you hire a vehicle for a year if you only have three months’ work for it? “There will be huge shortages in the Christmas and Easter peaks.”
While Meachers is experiencing a truck shortage, its increases in wages have more or less solved its driver shortage. “We have 100 drivers and only have one vacancy,” says Terris. “We increased wages in June and November last year. In July drivers got a £500 loyalty bonus and in June 2022 they got another increase. And they weren’t badly paid in the first place. “The only way we can pay those higher costs is to be ultra-efficient and highly profitable. We have warehousing and shipping, where the margins are bigger than transport, and we are highly efficient. We don’t do much empty running, we double-shift and we squeeze the pips.”
Agency drivers
Subbie concerns
Terris also worries about the future of the subcontractor base as costs relentlessly increase. “A lot of smaller operators won’t survive,” he predicts. “We use subcontractors with two or three trucks and they will be OK with us but if you take the large 3PLs where a huge proportion of the contract work they do is subcontracted, if those subbies don’t survive they will have to put more trucks on the road. “But they can’t do the work for the same price as the subcontractors. There isn’t enough in the contracts so if they don’t sub out some of it, the margins will go down.”
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SWEATING THE ASSETS: Terris says his trucks are worked for an average of 19 hours a day to spread high fixed costs and make money
While Meachers does use agency drivers, they first have to go through the company induction process and be registered. This policy had to be loosened in the pandemic when volumes shot up, with a resulting decrease in productivity and increase in vehicle damage. “We are better off paying our drivers more and having a full quota than paying less for agency drivers,” says Terris. “Agency drivers benefit from being able to pick and choose when they work, which they can’t do here. “The days of saying ‘this is the job, take it or leave it’ have gone. We have five-day shifts, night shifts, four-on, four-off, and some older guys want to work only four days a week. We try to accommodate their circumstances within our requirements.” Only approximately a dozen drivers now routinely night-out in the trucks as this means the vehicle can’t be double-shifted, which is the aim for the 50 tractor units at least. “We are getting, on average, 19 hours’ work a day from those trucks,” says Terris. “That is the only way to spread the high fixed costs and make money.” At 77, Terris is still in the office every day and immersed in the business. When he does relax, he enjoys playing golf and watching sport, especially football and cricket – he’s honorary vice-president of Hampshire Cricket club. He enjoys gardening at his home in Hampshire and spending time with his wife Josie and their family. He says: “It’s 60 not out for me! The plan is to carry on as long as I feel I’m making a contribution – I love it.”■
4.7.22
Marketplace news
Ford & Slater opens new Birtley facility
New 28-acre Bedford facility to support diesel, LNG and electric fleets
Volvo relocates its Milton Keynes site
Volvo Truck and Bus Centre South & East is relocating and expanding its Milton Keynes operation to a new site in Bedford. The new 28-acre site on the Wilstead Industrial Park is approximately 11 miles from the current dealership and will increase the workshop’s capacity. Stuart Potter, operations director, Volvo Truck and Bus Centre South & East, said: “For the last 25 years Dawsongroup has been both our landlord and customer in Milton Keynes, with our team sharing its
site. It has been fantastic to us, but as our local operations continue to expand, it was the right time to move into our own depot. “Geographically it’s a perfect fit for our network; and we’ve been able to tailor the configuration of the workshop to cater for both current and future needs, supporting diesel, LNG and electric fleets.” The new site is located just off the A6 trunk road, a mile south of the A421 Bedford Southern Bypass and 10 miles from junction 13 of the M1.
The workshop has been fitted out to maintain the whole range of Volvo trucks and buses, along with bodywork and trailer servicing. The workshop will also have brake testing, headlight beam setting and tachograph and speed limiter calibration equipment. It will stock more than £425,000 worth of Volvo parts. Three Volvo Action Service vans will also be based at the site, which are on 24/7 standby for emergency roadside assistance.
Ford & Slater has opened a 2.5-acre state-of-the-art facility in Birtley with five workshop bays. The new site will operate 24 hours a day from 7am on Mondays to 7.30pm on Saturdays, and from 7am-7.30pm on Sundays. A total of 19 trained DAF technicians will work at the site, which also has a tachograph calibration centre and will hold as much as £800,000 in parts stock. Genuine DAF Parts and TRP all-make truck and trailer parts will be delivered free to anywhere in the north-east. Huw Teasdale, regional director at Ford & Slater, said: “We’ve got a fantastic team here ready to deliver the levels of quality and service which the Ford & Slater name is synonymous with throughout the transport industry”. The opening of Birtley takes the number of Ford & Slater sites in the UK to 13, following the opening of the new Chesterfield location in January 2022. Ford and Slater joint MD Tim Strevens added: “We have a long and proud history representing the DAF brand and we’re delighted to be further expanding our network.”
Sapphire Vehicle Services launches fleet management arm Commercial vehicle repairer Sapphire Vehicle Services has launched a new fleet management division. Sapphire Fleet Services will allow operators to concentrate on running their core business, rather than their vehicles, said head of fleet services Paul West (pictured). “Those who make or build products need to get their goods to their customers, but their expertise tends to be in manufacturing, not distribution,” he commented. “By allowing Sapphire Fleet Services to take over the management of their entire delivery operation, they can rest easy in the knowledge that not only are their vehicles being deployed with optimum efficiency and safety, but they are also guaranteed to 24 MotorTransport
be legally compliant.” The Derbyshire-based firm came up with the idea after being approached by one of its customers, which runs a line-up of trucks to provide traffic management and other services to utility contractors. “We were already looking after
the repair and maintenance of the vehicles, but the customer asked whether we would consider taking over management of its fleet. With our expertise, experience and national network of facilities, it was clear we were ideally positioned to offer a high-quality, cost-effective
and hassle-free solution, not just to this business but to others too,” West said. Sapphire Fleet Services can take over responsibility for maintaining trucks or vans with service planning and MoT scheduling, vehicle inspections and DVSA tests. Sapphire Vehicle Services already maintains more than 28,000 trucks and vans in 19 dedicated Vehicle Maintenance Units and independent workshops across the country. “There are literally tens of thousands of trucks and vans out on the roads, which are kept running smoothly by Sapphire workshops. So even customers who have never heard of us can have complete confidence in our exemplary standards of support,” said West. 4.7.22
motortransport.co.uk
Rebranded programme to include thorough multipoint inspection on late model, low-mileage trucks
Merc tweaks used offering
Mercedes-Benz has rebranded its used truck offering with every Mercedes-Benz Certified used truck undergoing a multipoint inspection at Mercedes’ Wentworth Park. Every truck on the Certified programme undergoes an intensive inspection by Wentworth Park technicians, with all trucks on offer less than five-and-a-half years old or having covered a maximum of 550,000km. Other requirements of the Certified trucks programme include vehicles not being due a service for at least 20,000km and the tyres having a tread depth of at least 6mm. Vehicles must also not require an MoT for five months, and the manufacturer’s warranty will be valid for a minimum of 12 months. Enhanced cover for the driveline and full vehicle will also be available on all Certified trucks with
Extend and ExtendPlus options. “We understand that it’s not easy to find the right used truck,” said Tom Morris, head of used trucks. “That’s why we created Certified. Offering confidence by the truckload, it’s nothing less than a personal guarantee that a vehicle has been meticulously prepared by a truly passionate team of Mercedes-Benz truck specialists. If a truck hasn’t been through our dedicated facility, which is home to a unique concentration of inspection, maintenance, testing and tooling capabilities, then it hasn’t been Certified.” Morris added: “I’m not so naïve as to think that the unprecedented demand for pre-owned vehicles we’re seeing at the moment is going to last. It won’t. However, Mercedes-Benz Certified has not been designed to take advantage of a short-term phenomenon. Rather, it’s about sustainability and
longevity. By managing the route to market for the very best used vehicles, we will underpin the
premium values and future success of the entire Mercedes-Benz Trucks business here in the UK.”
Greenhous Group appoints three key dealership managers Greenhous Group has appointed two new dealer principals and a sales director in its North West Trucks and Adams Morey dealerships. The DAF dealer has made Neal Walker its dealer principal for the southern region of Adams Morey, covering 10 sites in Hampshire and the surrounding area. North West Trucks, meanwhile, has promoted Simon Davis-Rice – who has served as sales director at the company for more than a decade – to the role of dealer principal, and has also recruited Neil Parkinson to replace him as
the firm’s sales director. North West Trucks and Adams Morey MD Kevin Swinnerton said, “Congratulations to Simon on his well-deserved promotion – he’s been a central figure within North West Trucks for many years now and is hugely respected and wellliked by customers and colleagues alike. “Neil and Neal both join us with a wealth of experience within the transport industry and we’re excited to see what their impressive and proven track records can bring to the Adams Morey and North West Trucks businesses.”
Aston Barclay joins forces with 247 Money to resell its used vehicles Aston Barclay has announced a new partnership with 247 Money to resell its used vehicles. Initially, between 500 and 1,000 vehicles will be sold through Aston Barclay’s sale lanes nationwide, with that number expected to rise in the future. Remarketing specialist 4.7.22
Aston Barclay, which deals in passenger cars and commercial vehicles, was selected because of its network of auction sites and the strong buyer base at its physical sales. Martin Potter, Aston Barclay’s chief customer officer, said: “This new contract with 247 Money will
facilitate the rapid sale of the quality used vehicles which have come out of contract. “The wide range of vehicles on offer will be of particular interest to our buyers, and the number of physical sales held by Aston Barclay across the country will allow for easy disposals for the lender.” Potter added: “The strong
buyer base which Aston Barclay enjoys across its wide network of physical remarketing sales is a key factor in our rapid conversions, and the consistently good performance against CAP. “We are look forward to working with 247 Money and contributing to the ongoing growth of the business.” MotorTransport 25
Marketplace
T
here’s something of a theme developing at Mac’s Trucks in Huddersfield, where it’s not only the management that has seen son follow father into the business. Owner Alec McDade has son Adrian running the business as MD, while his son Alex is learning the ropes as sales executive. Meanwhile, technical director Andy Hall’s son Gabe is also on the staff as a crane technician, having joined as an apprentice. Following the company theme is also fabricator apprentice Tom Graham, who is the son of operations director Craig Graham. With all this succession planning going on, it’s probably no surprise that we’re here to talk about apprentices – when it comes to young talent Mac’s Trucks is investing in the workshop, the painting booth and the office to help its business expand. “We’re getting a better quality of individual from our apprenticeships than with the other people we employ,” explains Alec McDade. “You can’t find qualified staff. There’s a real skills shortage, so it is a constant battle to find and keep people. Also, as you expand you need more.” Of course, Mac’s Trucks hasn’t just invented the concept of apprenticeship; in fact the firm was in this position about a decade ago when taking on young staff wasn’t quite as successful. However, after moving to a new site and with ongoing expansion plans for the business, the need for more highly skilled workers emerged again. What started with bringing in existing staff’s family members for some work experience has blossomed into a full-on apprenticeship programme and a conveyor belt of young, talented and motivated new staff. “We tried it [an apprenticeship programme] 10 years ago and were not successful. Staff either found it too hard or ended up wanting to join the army,” Alec remembers. “We shelved it because we just weren’t getting the quality we needed, but then we had some employees whose sons were interested in coming into the business. We gave them a chance and they all did really well, so we thought we’d try some outside people.”
Learning process
During the first venture into apprenticeships the firm found that many recruits would turn up to interview and make all the right noises about a career in transport, only to quickly become disinterested. By taking on family members first, the company instinctively offered more of an ‘arm round the shoulder’ level of support to newbies. It has been an eye-opener, and created a blueprint for the level of help that is needed for all young apprentices. Getting close to recruits also means you can better understand their skills and interests.
The best relations
Taking on and training the children of existing employees has helped shape a successful apprenticeship programme at Mac’s Trucks, writes George Barrow FAMILY FOCUS: Alec McDade (left) with his grandson Alex and son Adrian
“You don’t know their skills when they first turn up here,” Adrian McDade says. “You’re really working on character and trying to find out if they have a genuine interest. There needs to be a little spark – then you can feel like you’ve got something to work with. We set them up for six months in a job that interests them, see if they like the work, and then send them off to college to really start investing in them with qualification and training courses.”
Magnificent seven
Photos: Tom Cunningham
So far, seven youngsters have been trained and given permanent jobs, all of them “on proper money”, according to technical director Andy Hall. His son Gabe, who was among the first to progress through the system, has arguably become its most successful candidate, having become a qualified gold standard Fassi crane tester, inspector and fitter. Reaching these heights was something Gabe says he had been pushing for, and he was supported all the way by Mac’s. “Gabe is a great example of someone fitting in, working hard and becoming an expert in their sector,” Adrian comments. “Because we’ve trained them how we want them, they have really high standards. If you train people from day one you can nurture them, support them and access where they are at with their development every six months. 26 MotorTransport
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They can see that there’s a proper position for them in the business and that they’ve got a career path,” he adds. Gabe’s father, technical director Andy Hall, agrees. “We have tried to show the training colleges what we want from an apprenticeship, but there aren’t enough people to take up the course,” he says. “That’s why we’ve taken it on ourselves to train them, get them on a professional route, and give them the skills they need to pass their qualifications – whether it’s in the workshop, for cranes, forklifts, or even training for being a trainer. We’ve got a lad who’s come from being a sweeper-upper to a fabricator supervisor. We help them achieve what they want. Even from a personality point of view, you can see the confidence form from having to work with everyone from drivers to directors.”
Human resources view
Hall’s assessment that there simply aren’t enough apprenticeship courses available with a sufficient number of students to make them viable is something Laura McFarland, office and HR manager, has also spotted. Despite Mac’s Trucks’ eagerness to train its own staff, there is a shortfall in courses. It means the company is constantly talking with colleges to help them place applicants in the industry. “The apprenticeship market is massive at the moment; they’re the new big thing,” she says. “We’re in touch with the colleges all the time and we get a lot of applicants. We’ve got a new one starting in September as a mechanic who approached us. But we’ve also got people on training courses and we’re taking trainees on even if there aren’t any courses for them to go on. “It’s also really important for young people to know that apprenticeships and training don’t have to be in the workshop – they can come into the office too. You’ve got to expand the skills you need, whether it’s as a technician or an office worker. There’s lots of scope for personal development here. When you get a school leaver, it’s about settling them into a workplace mentality and not just giving them a spanner. They have to become part of a team.” Hall adds: “I’m very pro apprenticeships and training in general because to be a true engineer you never stop learning. If you can see something in someone you’ve got potential to get it out of them. That’s why we’re constantly training. If you train them right and look after them, they stay. People tend to train an apprentice, skill them up and don’t pay them ‘skilled’ money. Keep them happy, keep them learning, and they’ll keep working.” Aside from the well-documented skills shortage in 4.7.22
the road transport industry meaning good workers are hard to come by, Mac’s Trucks also has a need for new staff to help fuel its ambitious expansion plans. These include adding six bays to the 15 already in operation. That’s on top of 11 workshop bays operating out of a temporary building. This massive increase, something that has only come about in the five years since moving to a new site (while also retaining the eight bays at the old yard) is down to bringing much of the work that was previously subcontracted in-house. A need to have greater quality control of the work has led Mac’s to bring everyone from electricians to painters under its own control, a move that echoes the strategy with apprentices. “We used to subcontract a lot of work out, and the quality we were getting was mixed,” explains Alec McDade. “We knew we had to do something to be in charge of quality. We’ve had very natural growth, but it was a big thing getting rid of subcontractors and bringing it all in-house; but it’s paying off like the apprenticeships have. The quality we get from family members following their fathers into the business is so much better than the quality we started out with 10 years ago.”
RECORD OF SUCCESS: the success of its apprenticeship scheme has contributed to the success of Mac’s Trucks as a whole, reports its senior management
Strengthening the business
Together, the expansion and the apprenticeships are helping to strengthen the Mac’s Trucks business and the vehicles it is selling. Described by Alec as a one-stop-shop for trucks, it’s now in a position to complete all of a customer’s work itself and, as a result, is taking on increasingly complicated and ambitious tasks. “You’ve got your main dealers, but they’re chassis people,” Alec says. “They farm it out for someone to fit a body, fit a crane, or paint it. But when it goes back to their depot they’ve got no skills. We have so many different skills here. It starts and finishes here. “If you want an elephant, we’ll get you an elephant; if you want it painted pink, we’ll paint it pink. We have the ability and the talent to do a lot of bespoke work. That’s what we’ve been building towards.” And the view from the workshop is the same, with Andy Hall saying that he and his technicians are inspired by the vehicles they’re able to create. “The vehicles we sell that come out of the door are the best; in our eyes, that is a beautiful thing and we get excited about that,” he says. “There is a bit of excitement about working on these trucks with the biggest cranes, the biggest reach, the biggest weight. There’s satisfaction about the hard work they’ve put into it. There’s pride in the work.” ■ MotorTransport 27