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Making a difference
Page 24
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Causing havoc is the best way to get results, believes Chris Kelly. Emma Penny reports.
Havoc isn't a word you'd normally associate with Chris Kelly, chairman of two Scania dealerships and a member of many straight-laced, conservative West Midlands business organisations. But he believes a mild shot of chaos is often the only way to get things done — and he says he has the results to prove it, not least when it comes to one of the subjects closest to his heart; truck crime, of which more later.
Immersed as he is in the truck business, it is little surprise to find that Kelly has always been involved in the motor trade. On leaving school, he started a five-year apprenticeship as a panel beater.Towards the end of serving his time, the firm's receptionist went on holiday; he stood in, and, as he says "overalls never quite had the same appeal again".
Working up
He became office dogsbody and then a member of the sales team at Ryeland Vehicle Group, which was a big player in the truck world at the time and was agent for Bedford, Seddon, Atkinson and Volvo. as well as buying every other type of truck. It was, he says, "a really excellent grounding" in the business he was to make his career in.
But the urge tube his own boss eventually took hold, and Kelly started his own business in 1975 —the foundations of what today is Keltruck.
"I started as a second-hand truck dealer in an old council car park at the back of where we are today. It was all we could afford, but it had the cheapest overheads we have ever had!"
Within a year, Kelly had bought his own yard — in the salubrious surroundings of Wolverhampton's red light district — where he carried on building the used truck business. But he also started a truck rental business with a difference: "We had a distinctive livery and offered very highly specced Scanias and Dafs when rental trucks were normally a Fiat or something lower down the Richter scale —it was rare to have a lot of extras."
When the rental business started to buy new Scanias. the manufacturer became interested in what Kelly was doing. "We put in an order for the new 2-Series trucks, and then Scania came to see what we were doing. It asked if we'd like to be dealers— it all took off from there."
Twenty years on, Keltruck sold 385 new trucks and 327 used trucks last year. It now has seven depots throughout the West Midlands. Kelly is also chairman of East Midlands Commercials, a Scania dealership he has been involved in since 1992. With a head office in Nottingham, it now has six depots throughout the East Midlands.
With capable managing directors now running both businesses, Kelly has had much more time to pursue subjects he's passionate about; "That's the reason I am able to pester the life out of other people now," he jokes.
Even if you only read CM occasionally, chances are you'll know about Kelly's views. He's outspoken about the areas he's involved in and believes that's the only way to help the truck industry, even if it involves upsetting people along the way.
While truck crime is the area in which he's probably best known for causing fuss. he's beginning to concentrate more on local transport and roads, and he wants some action — specifically to tackle "do-gooders who are only interested in buses and bicycles".
"I seriously object those who know nothing about our industry having such an influence on it. I will fight tooth and nail against them and help those that do know the industry. I try to cause as much havoc as possible for the former, and help the latter."
That approach has worked for truck crime. Building relationships with newspapers has meant he's been able to highlight the appalling
now... t ey ave t eir own agen as. Business is
truck crime figures in the West Midlands — of which Keltruck has frequently fallen victim. The resulting publicity led to a meeting with home secretary David Blunkett and Operation Coppergold was set up to tackle truck crime in the West Midlands as a result. It was later wound down; a victim of its own success, according to the West Midlands police. But it wasn't long before truck crime was back in the headlines, with record levels of thefts taking the front page of the Birmingham Post — a testament to Kelly's PR.The consequence — or strange coincidence, he suggests — has been Operation Indicate, which succeeded in arrest ing six people within days of being set up.
"The only way to get the police to sit up and take notice is to get some bad PR," he explains. He has asked for Operation Indicate to be a permanent, dedicated truck crime team, but acknowledges that the police are grossly under-resourced: the West Midlands force alone has seen 120m cuts in its budget year-on-year. "The government is very strong on rhetoric, but not on action," he adds.
That is clearly a frustration for a man who is quite the opposite —"I like to get things done, not talk about it" — and that's certainly what's driving his increasing involvement in the roads lobby. Fed up with what he sees as the local council's mania with public transport, he's become more involved in trying to get a balanced approach when it comes to road planning, taking business into account.
"In the West Midlands, the vast majority of people on the roads section are all seriously biased towards public transport or against the motorist — and that includes HG Vs."
Local transport plans, he believes, are a "cocktail, which has dire consequences". Narrowing roads, putting traffic lights where there's no need, making dual carriageways into single lane roads, installing bus and cycle lanes — all are had news for business, says Kelly."Council lors used to be business people, but now lots are there for the money. They are unaccountable and have their own personal agendas.The business side is not well represented."
But, in typical Kelly style, he is doing something about it, and has become involved in the West Midlands Freight Quality Partnership, as well as being involved in setting up the West Midlands Business Transport Group. This organisation has representatives from the CBI. Institute of Directors, Road Haulage Association, Freight Transport Association and the Chamber of Commerce, and aims to specifically tackle the roads issue and lobby local councils to ensure the voice of business is heard.
Action first
He hopes these groups will drive the roads issue forwards — and get things done. "If you have a preponderance of local authority and corporate types they will produce a splendid set of minutes, but very little in the way of output."
That's why he's keen for more business people to become involved in what's going on locally. "We need more people to get off their bums and do things," he stresses." I would hope that the larger companies such as TNT and Wincanton, for instance, would find someone within their businesses to professionally spend time finding out what's going on in their local transport plan, and to get involved with Freight Quality Partnerships."
When he announced recently that he was stepping down from the Joint Action Group on Lorry Theft (JAGOLT), he did get some emails thanking him for his efforts, which he says surprised him. "1 don't want any thanks from anyone. I have a genuine love for the industry,If enough people have a little go, they could make a lot of difference." in