OPERATOR PROFILE
OPERATOR PROFILE
WAY OUT WEST Three generations in and the Evans dynasty, in the rural south-west of England, is going strong. The company, Evans Transport, is today headed by Nigel Evans with his son, Tom, now safely ensconced as a director of the business Words: Ronnie Hitchens Photographs: Karl Hopkinson
Reproduced with kind permission from Commercial Motor
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DAF DRIVER SPRING 2020
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ike the humble beginnings of many regional transport operators, the roots of Evans Transport lie outside of haulage; in this case, timber. It was 1964 and John Evans was felling trees locally, with his evenings spent handballing the timber onto the trucks and transporting it to various timber mills – a necessary evil. However, he quickly found that transport offered better returns and the focus shifted onto the road. Soon, John had established a small transport operation centred around the local timber and agricultural industry, using tippers and flatbeds to shift the loads. Nigel was 16 and fresh out of school when he joined the company in 1978. Then with around 15 trucks, mainly Volvos and Leylands, Evans
Transport hit the acquisition trail snapping up local W J Lamey & Sons in Appledore in 1981, adding nine vehicles to their fleet. At the same time, a clearly ambitious Evans Transport also chose to diversify, introducing a mail-order service. Into the 1980s, the company took the big step of moving to larger premises in Barnstaple – a fully-fledged transport operation was taking shape. Acquisitions and growth The next major milestone for Evans Transport came in 1994, when the business acquired Frank Tucker Commercials – the well-known ERF dealership. By this time, the operation had established itself in the construction sector with a thriving brick-haulage operation; a core discipline that exists today. Steady fleet expansion continued
and more business acquisitions followed into the new Millennium. Tipton Transport – which has since been sold – and, in 2009, Seymour Transport – which exists in its own right today with bases in Barnsley and Maidstone – were brought into the fold. Seymour, too, boasts a sound pedigree in the construction sector. More recently – September 2019, in fact – Evans Transport acquired Hicks Logistics of Caldicot, South Wales. As a result, the total fleet was boosted from 175 to around 260 trucks, while it also added a significant number of low-loaders to the equipment profile. Youth of today Rewind a decade and Tom Evans entered the business. Cutting his teeth in the Transport Office
in 2008 at the tender age of 18, Tom quickly learned the ropes. He was soon moved on to immerse himself in the dark art of pallet distribution – the company is a Palletforce and United Pallet Network member – before returning to the transport office to focus on the bulk haulage division of the company. Today, Tom boasts the enviable blend of youth and experience and is proficient in all aspects of the operation, from customer interaction to fleet compliance. “I’m really proud of the fact that we’re a family business,” says Tom. “My grandfather is the chairman and both my mum and my grandmother are board directors – keeping my dad and grandfather in check! The history of the company is important to us all.” Today, Evans Transport resides on a 17-acre
Main Image: Tom Evans is the third generation of the Evans family in the business
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