WAY OUT WEST

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

Like 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

Reproduced with kind permission from

Commercial Motor

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

Above: The operator’s XFs are used for a variety of jobs

Right: The Evans Transport fleet totals around 260 vehicles

site in Bideford with locations in Launceston and Exeter, plus the Seymour Transport operation. Bideford affords on-site warehousing and a fullyfitted workshop with Tacho and ATF capability.

As for the fleet, vehicles are kept busy on a number of Evans Transport, Seymour and Hicks operations, including general haulage, sand and aggregates, ready-mix concrete, bulk tippers, bulk powder tankers, low-loaders and pallet networks. All of this work ensures the company is staying true to its traditionally strong capabilities in the construction and agricultural industries. There’s a real mix of marques too, with Scania, Mercedes, MAN and Volvo all featuring. We visited the company at a time when a tranche of DAF vehicles had just been delivered, with the market-leader starting to emerge as the truck manufacturer of choice with a good spread of LF, CF and XF models entering service.

DAF tips the balance

DAF had, in fact, been selected in 2006, but poor fuel and a few mechanical issues excluded the Leyland-built brand from further consideration. In late 2015, however, DAF was back, with Evans unable to ignore the excellent reputation of the DAF product and its evident popularity with operators of all persuasions.

“We heard some good things about DAF, especially the lighter LF range, so we spoke to the

local dealer, Wessex DAF,” recalls Tom. “We took a 16-plate 12-tonne LF with a tail-lift and, to be fair, it performed really well. We needed more trucks and we opted for a 26-tonne rear-steer DAF CF, which Wessex had in stock. That vehicle was quickly followed by another two 12-tonners and then a three-axle CF tractor for our bulk tipping fleet. I’m happy to say the tractor was great on fuel and we got a decent payload too.”

What became apparent to Evans Transport during this time was the level of aftersales support the operation was receiving from Wessex DAF – something for which the DAF marque is wellknown throughout its UK network of 130-plus locations. “We now have a cracking relationship with Wessex, especially with Kevin Wills who, unfortunately, has just moved on to pastures new,” says Tom. “Nonetheless, the dealer reacts superquickly, even to very minor issues – and parts supply remains exceptional.”

The very latest DAF deliveries include CF drawbar units for Seymour’s and four XF Super Space Cabs in Evans’ green livery. The XFs are fully tricked

Above: The Devon-based operator is a Palletforce and United Pallet Network member

out as well, with fridges and microwaves among a full range of driver comforts. A dedicated CF Mixer chassis is also proving its worth and is a new addition to the company’s ready-mix concrete division.

Driver acceptance of the DAF marque has been all but 100%, says Tom, with drivers happy with the cab accommodation

Main image:

Evans Transport boosted its presence in the construction sector with the acquisition of Seymour Transport

Safe and sound

Evans Transport is big on safety, for its drivers as well as vulnerable road users. The Evans fleet is FORS Bronze accredited while Seymour Transport has attained FORS Silver status. “We’ve invested extensively in three-way camera systems, and our customers are making more and more enquiries regarding our safety credentials,” says Tom. “Some of our Seymour customers specify FORS accreditation as a stipulation of the contract.”

Tom also extols the virtues of remote Tacho download allowing the transport office daily analysis of its drivers’ on-the-road data. “Much of our work is tramping and long-distance – and remote downloading makes Tacho analysis very manageable.”

Business is ‘busy and challenging’ presently, according to Tom, although the fleet size continues to grow steadily. He is ambitious and is keen to see Evans Transport continue to develop in size and scope. “Whether we expand organically through winning new business, or by strategic acquisitions, I’m willing to explore any opportunity.”

The family ethic is very much in evidence in Bideford, with the three generations of Evans front and centre of operations; even grandfather John, we were delighted to learn, still keeps his hand-in when required behind the wheel of the fleet of concrete mixers. Evans Transport isn’t the transport industry’s only family concern, but, it’s an excellent example of where good old-fashioned customer service acts as an effective business model that stands the test of time.