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JOHN MITCHELL TRANSPORT
Page 43
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John, Eva and Richard Mitchell are in the process of settling into a new base near the small town of He!star'. The new headquarters purpose is two-fold: its an operating centre for their six-strong truck fleet, and also the accommodation for M&M Commercials, their new bodybuilding project. John Mitchell is managing director. Eva, his wife, looks after the wages, and Richard, their 28-year-old son, drives one of the firm's tippers.
John Mitchell Transport was started in 1986 when Mitchell bought a Bedford KM from an owner-driver. Now, this family concern fields six trucks: three artics and three rigids.
July is potato season, points out Mitchell. At this time of year, his trucks haul six loads of spuds a week. Cornwall is also rich in aggregates, and the Mitchell clan has been quick to capitalise on this asset.
The artics deliver stone around the country. Nine times out of ten, they bring back coal or lime," John reports.
Cornish Cornish granite is a common consignment. Mitchell's three units are running at 44 tonnes—such a vehicle can haul 28.5 tonnes of this hardy product. Occasionally, his artics backload pebble-dashing into the county.
The three rigids—two tippers and a bulker—operate on a local basis. Aggregates are these vehicles' bread and butter.
One thing that you can't help noticing in Cornwall is large military helicopters: they seem to be hovering everywhere over the county. On cue, an olive-drab Merlin thunders across the land a few yards from the Mitchell depot.
Royal Navy Air Station Culdrose, Europe's largest helicopter base, stands just a few fields away from here. Its six squadrons of heavy helicopters guarantee a year-round airshow. ''We saw the helicopters fly in from HMS Ark Royal when it returned from the Gulf," comments Richard.
Cornwall seems a world away from the hubbub of much of the rest of the UK. That's fine if you're a tourist, but the relative lack of industry can put pressure on operators in this neck of the woods.
"I enjoy living here, but haulage can be hard," says John. If you head out west from the John Mitchell depot, there are just 20 miles of land remaining before the county drops into the Atlantic Ocean.
A haulier can't go far north or south, either, John complains. "There are a lot of people chasing a small amount of work; we can only go east, which makes life difficult."
Eva adds that, in the past, it has been tough to secure work out of the county. For this reason, the Mitchell family have had to think strategically. Each Sunday, the three artics embark on a longdistance trip.
John has established a network of contacts in various locations across the country. This means that the artics are busy picking up and dropping loads the entire week. Then they return. backloaded. to Cornwall.
As if to emphasise how the firm's influence spreads so far and wide, John says that one of the trucks recently delivered a £30,000 model aeroplane from Bedford. Now, it stands on display in a Cornish theme park.
The ability to keep the three artics busy over long distances is impressive, but one of the annual jobs is awesome. "Every autumn two of our drivers and artics stay away for two months. They pick up potatoes from Norfolk and deliver them to crisp factories."
These drivers sleep in the cabs. and also spend nights in B&Bs. Actually, this sounds the closest to a domestic flagging-out operation you could get!
Given that there are so many weeks with expensive machinery so far distant, do the Mitchells worry about the state of the trucks, drivers or loads? "No. These two drivers have been with us for 12 years and 10 years respectively, and they treat the job like it was their own business."
Profit margins in haulage are notoriously low, but they fare better in bodybuilding. "We started on the fabrication side two months ago," reports Mitchell. He employs two full-time bodybuilders—Andrew Hearne and David Moreland. Each man is armed with 15 years' experience in this craft.
Mitchell continues: "We saw a gap in the local market. Our new operating centre has more space than we need, so we thought we would set up M&M Commercials.
''We went to the Royal Cornwall Show last year and Frank Tucker Commercials, the MAN dealership, allowed us to advertise M&M at their stand free of charge."
Mitchell's partner in the bodybuilding side of the bush-less is David Martin. Raw materials for M&M are delivered to the site by other hauliers. Encouragingly, orders are already coming in.
"it the moment, we are pricing up an 18-foot long tipper," he explains. It takes around a month to fashion a product like this, hleanwhile. the six NM of John Mitchell Transport trundle onwards. "If we can carry a load, then we will do so." confirms Eva.