Specialized Ha Successful Tr: ge as Basis of port Business
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APERIOD of 13 years is not a long time in which to build up a specialized haulage business, but such is the achievement of Mr. J. Bell, the sole proprietor of Bell's Transport Services; Water Lane, Thornton Road, Bradford. As in the case of so many haulage businesses, Mr. Bell started in a modest way, employing at the outset a Chevrolet 30-cwt. lorry. This vehicle gave excellent service during the 12 months it was operated, but as something bigger was needed he later acquired a Bedford 2-tonner, with a 14-ft. platform body.
, Since the early days, Mr. Bell has owned no fewer than 44 vehicles, comprising 15 Bedfords, 12 Commers, three
• each of Ford, Morris and Albion makes, two Leyland Cubs, two E.R.F.s and -hvo.Atkinsons, and One each of Thornycroft and Austin manufacture.
To,-day, Mr. Bell's fleet consists of 18 vehicles, made up of two Atkinsons—one an 11-tanner--two E.R.P.s, five Commers, one Thornycroa, one Austin, five Bedfords—two of which are 5/-tonners—and two Morris-Commercials. A Gardner 5. LW oil engine_Jorms the power unit !II the Atkinson 11-tonner and Mr. Bell favours the Perkips P6 and Gardner 4 LK units in his 5i-tonners. • All the smaller machines are provided with petrol engines.
The chief business of this firm and a form, oftransport in which they had specialized, is long-distance hauls of wools and textiles, in connection with which services have been established to the West of England, including Devon and Cornwall. The main traffic is wool, not the knported variety, but the English product. So extensivrdid the business become that Mr. Bell has had to make considerable use of hired vehicles, which, over a period of years. have operated exclusively for the firm. As pioneers in this class of transport, Mr. Bell claims that his firm hold a premier place in this particular sphere. Of the raw wool which goes to Witney for the making of the world-famous blankets of thaf name, Bell's Transport Services carry 90 per cent.
Some idea of the extent of the business, as a whole, may be gauged from the fact that, frequently, 35 to 40 vehicles are working regularly on long and short-distance work for weeks on end. An average of 100 tons of goods, or material, is handled every day for seven days a week.
In view of the class of goods carried and the long experience of the firm in this form of haulage, remarks relative to the class of vehicle and bodies employed are of particular interest. Mr. Bell says that the type which has been found most suitable for the work is the 3-tonner, with. a carrying capacity up to 54-6 tons. As the accompanying illustrations show, the platform bodies are of unusual length, being actually 16 ft. to 17 ft. long. It will be noticed, too, that all machines have overtype cabs, which, as will be appreciated, form an essential requirement when dealing with bulky loads of low specific weight. In view of the considerableextent of the long-distance work which this firm perform, the extra permissible speed of the 3-tonner is invaluable.
Each vehicle is provided with special rope-tightening equipment at the rear, and another feature is that largecapacity fuel tanks provide for a machine covering a round trip of 800 miles without the need for refuelling. Mr. Bell points out that, whereas the 5i-6-thriller can always be loaded to capacity, it -would not be possible to take full advantage of the rated capacity of the 8-tonner, as the platform length is not increased in like ratio. In explanation of the rather varied nature of his fleet, Mr. Bell says that this has come about as the result of the rapid expansion of the business and the need for acquiring vehicles available at the time. Nevertheless, although the vehicle types vary, the bodies are more or less standardized as to length and other features, as governed by the specialized nature of the work in which they are engaged.
When a lorry is fully loaded, drivers have to remember that low bridges and even trolleybus wires may have to be avoided. At times it is necessary to carry the loads by night in order that the driver may be able to make the utmost use of the crown of the road. Mr. Bell mentions that a load of wool has a habit of moving and to drive too near the side of a highly cambered road is the best way to help it to shift on the body.
This leads up to the fact that, whilst the transport of a few bales of wool • over short distances may be anybody's business, the safe conveyance of a high load for a few hundred miles is quite a different story. Expert loaders and drivers with extensive experience of the job in hand are absolutely essential if one is to build up and maintain a reputation for efficiency and dependability. This is what Bell's Transport Services have dame and their success, in the main, has been due to a desire to give customer-satisfaction, irrespective of the cost to the firm.
As a result -of the service which they have provided, it has been possible to improve the relationship between the carpet, blanket and textile trades of Kidderminster Witnev. Devon and Cornwall, and the textile .industry of Bradford. Mr. Bell is largely responsible for this, in that he himself has been through every phase of the business which he conducts, and thus he knows just what can, and cannot, be achieved.
Vehicles engaged on long-distance hauls average about 4,00a miles per month per vehicle, whilst those handling local work average about 800 miles per month per vehicle. Au aggregate figure for 12 months' operation is, thus, roughly 500,000 miles.
The firm have no branch depots, the centre of the business being at Bradford. Here there is ample accommodation for the vehicles, together with warehousing facilities, but as most of the traffic is on the move, it becomes more a matter of bringing in and sorting, trans-shipping, and the making of a good load from all kinds and types of package. In the loading bays, which are under cover, the work of loading and unloading is facilitated by the use of an electrically operated crane.
All maintenance and overhaul work is carried out by the firm's own mechanics, the vehicles being taken off the road at regular intervals for complete stripping and rebuilding with new parts as may be found desirable. Not only is the mechanical work carried out on the premises, hut also body and cab repairs and painting. The vehicles engaged on the long-distance work are checked over after every journey and a log is kept of every vehicle in respect of any repair, replacement, or adjustment which may he found necessary from time to time. Crankcase oil is drained off and changed at intervals of 2,000 miles, which is an excellent policy when an oil-reclamation plant is installed, as is the case in the present instance.
Mr. Bell rightly believes that the smartness of a vehicle
goes a long way to enhance an operator's prestige, and hence the drivers are encouraged to keep their machines clean, for which purpose a high-pressure washing plant is installed. In addition, air-pressure lines run through the yard and garage so that, for tyre-testing or the spraying of paraffin for cleaning purposes, there is always a supply of compressed air on hand.
Although, in this particularly active business, Mr. Bell is ably assisted by a trustworthy staff, he takes upon himself the lion's share, no matter What its nature. As he says, it has been no easy matter to build up such a connection as he has enjoyed for some considerable time, and only sheer hard work has made it possible.
Here, indeed, is an outstanding example of individual effort and private enterprise working together to give a form of personal service for the advancement and prosperity of the customers served. Such a combination of service is distinctly the prerogative of all phases of goods transport by road.