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CkLLitl, (ILLA A Viti( tkci ii?LL L411. e
Page 56
Page 57
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WHEN a man with a reputation for toughness and efficiency narrows his eyes, looks you squarely in the face and declares "I'm going all out for a larger slice of the action" you get the feeling the man means what he says.
4' It's going to be sheer market penetration from here on in
And Jack McAndrew, recently appointed managing director of tipping gear and bodybuilding specialist Anthony Carrimore (Sales) Ltd, is just the man to do it.
For McAndrew the name of the game now is expansion. For many years, most of its life as a tipping gear manufacturer in fact, Carrimore has been heavily biased in favour of exports.
But with the arrival of McAndrew things are going to be very different — though not at the expense of exports, McAndrew hastens to add.
At present something like 80 per cent of Carrimore's tipper body production goes out as exports and McAndrew firmly believes the balance should be redressed.
"The potential is there both in the products we manufacture and the capacity the factory at Harelaw (Cou-nty Durham), can cope with," says McAndrew.
Those at Carrimore are of the firm opinion that Harelaw can be more fully utilised. So much so in fact that _McAndrew is aiming for around a 50 per cent increase in production within the next two years.
A phenominal growth plan by any standards.
But the confidence to carry out such a daring plan is there — right in the heart of Carrimore and McAndrew believes the time is right.
Several key factors go towards this thinking, not least the financial backing Carrimore now has as a result of being taken over by the York Trailer Company.
The takeover took place in October 1976 and from that moment on neither company has looked back.
McAndrew is the managing director of Carrimore and is pleased to stress that despite the financial backing from York, the company is autonomous to a great extent.
And as far as Carrimore is concerned the economic recession everyone had to struggle through is well and truly over. But then as the company was always more tied up with exports anyway, the recession only affected as small part of the company. The exports side continued to flourish.
McAndrew also predicts with his own brand of confidence a strong upturn in the construction industry.
-The Government obviously intends assisting the construction industry out of its very low ebb, which must mean greater demand for tippers," says McAndrew. And the crystal ball comes up with more good news. "Growth of the tipper market generally in the UK must rise by about 30 per cent in the next 12 months."
Another sign Carrimore is blossoming comes from the car transporter side. The company always used to manufacturer transporters, in fact it claims to be a pioneer in the field.
But then with the recession production was temporarily halted while greater attention was paid to boosting exports still further.
When the company was approached just before Christmas with an order for 20 transporters, after two years absence from the field, Carrimore took on the job. The feeling was there was room for this once again.
So, a domestic market sales force is being recruited now and the big push is about to begin.
One special aspect of the plan of action is the use Carrimore is going to make of York's 14 branches.
Over the Christmas period all these branches were stocked up with an extensive range of Carrimore tipping gear spare parts.
Increased demand
Now McAndrew claims: "This is the only direct factory service depot network for a tipping gear company in the UK."
"We're pinning our hopes on this one". And the order to go ahead with this particular idea was given "in anticipation of increased demand. We're getting closer to the customer."
With something like 80 per cent of all Carrimore tipper bodies being sent abroad the majority of bodies are steel.
The reason for this, according to McAndrew, is the "tremendous" problem of ferrying aluminium bodies abroad to people "who have trouble welding aluminium because they don't know the material."
But this will prove no problem when the company has to start turning out a greater number of aluminium bodies for the home market.
"We shall simply use more factory space of which there is -plenty in reserve," said McAndrew.
Carrimore reckons to have about 15 per cent of the UK
tipper body market and i! understandably reluctant tc release much in the way of pro ijected figures.
What they will say is: "It': going to be sheer market pene tration policy from here on in."
Bigger share
McAndrew admits some where in the region of 70 pE cent of the tipping gear markE is held by Edbro, and TelehoiE holds a similar figure to Cal rimore; "so we are going t1 have to fight for a bigger shan of the market." When askei whether he saw any change ii the proportion of rigids an; trailers McAndrew's claimed i boiled down to legislation.
"There's no change in th, mix — there hasn't been for th, 1st three or four years, and eery transport operator and igineer are sticking with the )inions they've got, waiting for rther information about new gislation," he said.
Legislation plays a large part the manufacture of tipper )(lies and in this field "like all gulations there are too many them — they really need codinating."
The md of Carrimore also aditted "the more regulations ere are the more expensive the )hicle becomes".
On the subject of gross ?hide weights Carrimore be lieves it will certainly be raised in the UK, and probably to 38 tons. The $64,000 question is — when?
"The whole subject of gross vehicle weights has become a little bit of a guessing game", said McAndrew.
Export spin-off "The worst complaint we get from operators on this matter is they don't know what's going on — there's a lack of information as to what might happen." But once again Carrimore is
ready to accept any change that comes involving gvw.
"We've been building tippers with heavier gvw for overseas markets for some time now, so we would be able to meet any change almost immediately."
Just one more useful spin-off from being heavily committed in the export field.
Nowadays when McAndrew speaks of the "home" market, he invariably includes in that term Europe.
Incorporated in the expansion plans therefore is mention of gaining a stronger footing in Europe.
"We've already got our displacement ram in Europe, in fact it was specifically designed for that market.
"Unfortunately, I'm sorry to
say, we are only getting feedback in a very small way on the ram. There are some in the Middle East as well because that is a growth market and because we have always been out there."
McAndrew added: "The Middle East is a hungry part of the world so far as equipment goes."
And York Trailer Company knows this too, which is one of the reasons it took over Carrimore.
A spokesman for the York group said the chief of York Trailer Company, Fred Davis had always gone for the "total package". And now that is possible. York can build from the axles up and include the body and tipping gear.
Range increased
But McAndrew makes it clear that if he can get a better deal elsewhere, say Scammell trailers (also owned by York) he is entitled to do what he sees as best for the company.
And what of the future of Carrimore? It is now geared up for expansion, including the introduction of a new company marque combining the York Trailer Co Maple leaf in the word Carrimore.
The range of tipper bodies is being increased beginning with a new heavy-duty dump body designed for export with a payload of 45,000kg to be released shortly.
More work is being carried out on the Anthony Carrimore range of tailboard loaders which will also mean a new product in this field being available soon.
And then there's the man at the helm, Jack McAndrew, who says he joined the company because of the potential he saw it had, and the challenge of utilising that potential.
The last words belong to the man about to put theory into practice — McAndrew: "We will fight for a larger slice of the action „ . we will penetrate the UK market. . we will get closer to the customer . . . we will do it."
• Charles Morrissey