•••■ After weathering the recession of the early eighties,
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a period of growth left Mainline with a solid reputation among the heavy engineering companies in the West Midlands. "In those days our fleet reflected this with low loaders, flat trailers, coil carriers and lorries with cranes on the back," says Aiken.
During the nineties Mainline expanded further, to establish satellite depots in Glasgow and Enfield, North London to facilitate what Aiken calls his shared user distribution services, "It's a polite way of saying we do groupage," he smiles, "We have a nucleus customer base and offer nationwide distribution services on a daily basis. We have a depot in Glasgow because it's impossible to do next-day distribution directly to Glasgow from the West Midlands on the same vehicle, so we trunk it up and have distribution vehicles based in Scotland. We go as far north as Aberdeen."
Aiken has a very hands-on approach to running his business which has allowed him to guide it successfully through two recessions. He cites attention to quality of service as a vital ingredient in the haulage survival stakes: "Pricewise. there is no difference between us and some of the big operators. Where there is a difference is that we can give a personal service and we have been honed into responding positively. We encourage our drivers to have a personality and talk to the customer and, generally speaking, the customers know the drivers personally."
Driving school
Aiken has found a novel way of getting round the shortage of drivers by developing a relationship with a small HGV driving school which he allows to use his depot as a base. 'We see this as part of the overall model that we have in mind," he explains. "We have no financial interest in the school but let him park his two vehicles here free of charge." Where Mainline benefits is that the company gets first pick of the top trainees.
"For instance, last week he was training a guy for the Class 1 test and as he was under instruction, he was using our tea-room and facilities, which gave us the opportunity of talking to him and weighing him up," says Aiken. "He felt very comfortable about our environment because it's a nice, tidy, well-organised place. He saw our drivers in their smart gear and smart trucks. The next thing we know, we've employed him.
Mainline is proud of its image as a smart, well-run operation and in
June last year it moved into a brand new 5.5-acre depot in Willenhall. The company has invested £1.6m in the site which provides 6,500m2 of warehousing plus workshops and offices with a further 2,800m2 of warehousing to be added in June. "It's all part of raising the profile of the company as we go into the new millennium," says Aiken.
Local station
In late January Mainline started a six-week promotion on the local station, Beacon Radio, and adopted the slogan 'Delivering Your Promise". The first thing you see as you enter the depot is a classic American Peterbilt tractive unit which Mainline uses for promotional purposes. It makes trips to schools and is regularly hired out for weddings and birthdays. "It's creating a combination of the personality factor and getting noticed," says Aiken. "That applies to everything we do, including the way the fleet looks."
All maintenance is carried out in-house and this includes a continuous refurbishment programme in the company's paint shop. In the past 12 months Mainline has invested more than £300,000 in four new Seddon Atkinson 6x2 tractive units and six new Wilson 45ft triaxle trailers. By using Cummins Mft engines in the units, Aiken has been able to take advantage of the £1,000 tax rebate. 'We've got the tax down to £280 a year on our 38-tonne outfits," he reports. "Many people don't believe that's true."
Another saving is achieved through the bulk purchase of premium tyres. A stock, ready fitted to rims, is held at the depot and Aiken says this has saved him 20% on tyre costs. "We concentrate on what we know we are good at and can do well," he explains. "We are never going to compete with the Exels and the TDGs, but there is still a huge demand for medium-sized hauliers, and we have a personality. I started with nothing 25 years ago and have turned Mainline into a highly valuable company." In an environment that seems to get tougher all the time, it seems that traditional virtues can still pay dividends.