Priceless Loads in International Removals Service
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Established. 40 Years Ago, Evan Codk's Depositories, Ltd., Specializes in Valuable and Difficult Removals. Storage and Packing is Another Branch of the Concern's Activities
A SPECIALIST in dealing with valuable and difficult loads for export, Evan Cook's Depositories, Ltd., 134, Queen's Road, Peckham, London, S.E.15, has, in its 40 years' history, carried out a large number of jobs of particular interest. Amongst these play be mentioned the dismantling, Packing and transport to the docks of the famous Bennett's clock in Cheapside, which incorporated the figures of Gog and Magog. This clock was purchased by Mr. -Henry Ford and has been reassembled at Dearborn, U.S.A. Another special jab was the removal . of the old Warwick Priory from Warwick to Richmond, Virginia, and this entailed careful packing and recording, to assist in the rebuilding operations in the United States.
Other more recent efforts include the packing and transport of a number of valuable ceiling mouldings, bound for an Indian palace, and the collection from various galleries and museums and delivery to the docks of numerous pictures which were required for an international art exhibition on the Continent, A final item, illustrative of the varied work the concern undertakes was the removal of a cypress tree, presented to a park in Palestine by the late King George V.
Work of this nature forms, however, but one branch of the activities of Evan Cook's Depositories, Ltd., and the concern has gained anenviable reputation for trade work. Mr. J. E. Evan Cook, a director, told a representative of this journal that roughly two-thirds of the turnover is removals and _one-third, storage and packing. The rolling stock comprises a fleet of :25 vehicles of:Cori-Mier,. Dennis, Ford, Leyland and MultiWifeele'r makes; in additian.a. number of Fordson tractors is operated.' •-About -two-thirds of the fleet comprises Vifis of 7.00,800 rcuhic -ft. capacity, the remaining machines being tractors and 3-4-ton 'lorries capable of hauling trailers for lift-van
or container work. , For some years a special department has been engaged upon the design and construction of lift vans and containers for the trade, and many of these are sold to other concerns which carry out their own transport work.
Storage space is provided for some 400 lift vans and the manner in which this problem of storage has been met at the headquarters at Peckham is of special interest. The garage,which, incidentally, is large enough to house the yriihole fleet, has been provided with
a strong, flat roof, upon which is mounted a 5-ton crane. As the vehicles drive into, or away from, the garage, it is, therefore, a simple matter to load or unload the lift vans which are stored on the roof.
Nearly 100 lift vans are used for work in the Irish Free State, and 40 vans are stored for one Berlin concern.
A number of vehicles is engaged on contract work for local firms, and several large city concerns take full advantage of the facilities offered by Evan Cook's Depositories, Ltd.
Although the vehicles do not cover a great mileage each year, the work is of an arduous character, and much stress is laid upon careful maintenance. A well-equipped maintenance shop is provided at headquarters, and each machine is greased and inspected weekly. A monthly check on all corn
ponents is carefully carried out, and the system adopted is that compiled by Tecalemit, Ltd.
The present costing system for the fleet is based largely on The Commercial Motor Tables of Operating Costs, and Mr. J. Evan Cook told us that these had proved invaluable in checking the costs per vehicle over various periods.
Owing to the rapid growth of the business in the past year or two, the costing system at present in use has not, perhaps, kept pace with the concern's transport development. A new costing scheme is, therefore, being organized which will show at a glance the cost per hour and per mile of each vehicle.
An inspection of the concern's premises at Peckham showed that these are splendidly equipped for pack
ing and storage work. The various departments comprise showrooms, offices, two large depositories, overseas packing department, sawmill, packing and frame-case works and timber store.
In the overseas packing department we were interested to see vast quantities of Hillman Minx body parts being sorted and re-packed for export. There are 1,120 parts in each body, and these are delivered to Peckham on 6-ton lorries. On arrival they have to be sorted into sets of six, all the parts for six bodies being packed in two cases.
A day and a half elapses between the arrival of the parts and their delivery to the docks and, since parts for 24 bodies arrive on each occasion, this entails the sorting and packing of no fewer than 26,880 separate items.