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their bumper as 0 police to d t th MacialSooDO 300,10-113 Om 0 I could and not to stop. Racing through
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Edinburgh was brilliant—we had outriders 30000 0 o 300:0 0 0 x ce? running ahead and blodcing the traffic. When ?Goon. D0000D 11:1C0 0 0 0 .. we got to the City Arts Centre it was zam and 3-0GoOLI i e nightclub next door was emptying out. t 0 0 o 0 0 0 EIThey were all asking, `What's going on? Who's )00000:00:„.0 the t 0 0 r g been murdered?'. And this wee Egyptian guy 0 , E was going ballistic because Tutankhamen's D '
P face mask is in the back of the van!"
T&S Transport was started in 1947 by George Telfer, Mark's grandfather, with a single Bedford van. Mark's father, Norman, is now senior partner while Mark's sister, Kern, deals with the accounts. His brothers Euan and Ryan are also on the team: Euan in charge of the warehouse and Ryan as distribution manager.
The company has become only the fourth removals company in Scotland to achieve the quality assured standard BSEN 12522. Attention to detail and quality of service keeps T&S Transport ahead of the game, says Mark: "The public, especially in domestic removals, are looking for professionalism now. Long gone are the days of a job sheet on the back of a cigarette packet and lobbing the driver L20 in his top pocket. We don't employ any agency drivers or casual staff"
All T&S drivers wear uniforms bearing the company's logo and each member of staff has a teeshirt with his name on it so when he goes into a customer's house he is readily identifiable. That is crucial," says Telfer. "If you've got someone jumping out of a cab wearing Everton or Rangers or whoever's strip and he's in jeans and trainers it doesn't look very professional. If he looks the part it relaxes the customer straight away."
Apart from domestic and commercial removals T&S Transport has built up a regular client base in furniture distribution, not least by taking advantage of its location at the gateway to Scotland. "A lot of the companies that do their own transport will hit the Edinburgh and Glasgow area but when you start going to Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness it means another day there and a day back," says Telfer.
The company specialises in furniture distribution and is not tempted to move into other sectors. You can't mix the furniture with general haulage. We've been asked to do general haulage work but how do they make it pay?" asks Teller.
Downtime
By using the Ray Smith demountable system T&S keeps downtime to a minimum. "We have 20 drop bodies," Teller explains. "For a lot of the contracts we have we leave the bodies based around the country, customers fill them and we go in, leave an empty one, pick up the full one and away we go. It saves on warehouse time and speeds up the delivery
process. There's not as much lost time hanging around emptying and trans-shipping."
About 40% of the company's business is on domestic and commercial removals with the rest on the furniture distribution and storage contracts. The opportunity for growth on the distribution side is always there but Teller is not tempted. "We are trying to cap the growth," he says. "We're frequently asked by manufacturers of uphol stery and cabinet furniture if we can take them on but we are at the stage now where we are comfortable with what we've got as a customer base. We could have another depot and another so vehicles easy but then it becomes an even bigger headache. It's at a manageable size."
However, one aspect of the business which Telfer is keen to expand is the exhibition and art sector. For these jobs he runs a Volvo FHT2 Globetrotter 17-tonne rigid with a 340hp engine and air suspension: "If you bought it today, it would cost in excess of Lwo,000," he says. "It's mind-blowing! It's got full leather spec, an 8ft cantilever tail-lift and is fully insulated with humidifier
and temperature control. If you've got a f5m painting in the back of your vehicle you can't be letting the frost at it. We're tying to tap that market through the National Gallery and the National Museum of Scotland."
The company's Bonnington Road depot is protected by a 9ft perimeter fence and includes a secure 2,600m2 warehouse, part of which is rented to local firms of solicitors for archive storage. And the company's solid reputation came into play when it was asked by the American consulate in Edinburgh to store the effects from the
Lockerbie air disaster at one of its previous depots. Mark Telfer was 18 at the time and just starting his career in the family business.
"Our premises had to be empty with none of our staff around and an escorted police van came in and emptied it all out," he recalls. "All the effects had been dry cleaned and sealed in polythene bags. There were ripped shirts, kids dolls and I especially remember the Captain's hat." Over a two-year period the consulate contacted the relatives and T&S had the job of sending the effects back to the families. "One day we maybe would only pack an envelope with a wallet and the next day pack five or six cartons to be shipped out," says Teller.
To be trusted with such a sensitive task is an indication of the respect earned for the company by its founder, George Telfer, who died last year. He was Scottish Area chairman of the British Association of Removers as well as chairman of the RHA's Scottish Area and its Highways and Traffic Committee.
Teller concludes: "We wouldn't all be here if it wasn't for him. He left behind a very sound foundation. I've got a family now and it could go on to a fourth generation. It's a legacy going on and on."