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Operators' problems are basically the same
Page 97
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/T was in New York that I met the first of my operators—two presidents of big haulage companies. It would be nice to say that I spotted a common thread linking both of their personalities; but I did not. They were two totally different men. wah two totally different fleets. Initially it was a surprise to find that, whilst the technical terms they used were different, their problems were much the same as in this country. But, on reflection, I should not have been surprised. Goods transport by road is bound to have the same basic problems in a competitive economy, regardless of the country concerned.
The first man I met was Gerald W. Eskow, president of Yale Express System Inc. I will not go too deeply, at this stage, into the Yale operations because they will form the subject of a separate article some time. Now I am concerned more with the man.
It would be easy to describe Gerald Eskow as ebullient because one has the feeling, in his presence, of tremendous vitality and enthusiasm for his job. Energy and knowledge, yes. Youth and a willingness to experiment, yes. But ebullience I think not, because (to me, anyway) it implies an uncontrolled, involuntary effervescence. Nothing, I would judge, about Gerald Eskow is uncontrolled. Shortish, stocky, with a shock of black hair, he lounges behind his desk smoking a big—even by American standards—cigar, completely relaxed and with his attention devoted solely to his visitor.
But I would be surprised if many minutes in his life are frittered away. He bustled into the Yale headquarters on New York's east side during my visit there, issued a few quick orders, took a couple of telephone calls whilst I was with him, and within a minute of my leaving him was out of the building and off somewhere to sell Yale Express.
A " Nice Guy" Don't imagine him, however, as that rather fussy, overpowering, high-pressure American executive of myth. Gerald Eskow is as his compatriots say: "A real nice guy ". His father, Ben Eskow, founded Yale Express in 1938 with four rented vehicles. Gerald was then 14 years old. Now Ben is chairman, the driving force is Gerald, and the fleet now nurubers some 2,500 units, about 1,300 of which are rigids or tractive units. Yale Express works through 89 terminals and its 1963 gross revenue, as a group, was more than $90m.—a memorable silver jubilee!
Gerald Eskow, I found, was not afraid of innovation—nor afraid to admit a mistake and cut his losses. Towards the end of 1962 (The Commercial Motor, January 4, 1963) Yale Express entered into an agreement with 17 of America's
largest airlines to act as their official and exclusive collection and delivery agent in New York. At the time this was hailed as another example of Yale's dynamic, visionary business methods. A little more than a year later, I said to Gerald Eskow: "Tell rue how you managed to negotiate this plum position'.
He grinned and said: "We have asked to be released from our contract. We have stepped away ".
Quite a bombshell of a remark! My next question was obvious: "Why? ".
Gerald Eskow never minces words. He didn't now 'The airlines cheated," he said Although Yale were supposed to have all the traffic, some airlines continued negotiating with local carriers. The rates for the work were depressed. Yale was losing money. So Yale got out!
The top brass of the airlines were not communicating their ideas at the lower levels, he charged. He used a lot of much stronger words, too.
Pioneers Some of the things Mr. Eskow has pioneered: first fleet to buy diesel-engined Leylands in New York; all documentation by I.B.M. computer. with rates stored in its "memory" bank; one of the first to switch to all-diesel operation (" by evolution, not revolution ". he remarked sagely); piggyback working of semi-trailers in conjunction with the Southern Railway system, four southern and one northern road haulier (thus giving the biggest road/rail service in the eastern U.S.A.); use of closed-circuit television to control work, in the loading bays (it occurred to me—probably without any justification—that it might also be an excellent deterrent to pilferage).
Surprise, surprise. One thing he hasn't yet touched. Containers. "I believe in containerization ", he told me, "but a lot of people are getting their fingers burnt. We'll watch and see other people's mistakes."
Gerald Eskow's office is small—half a dozen people would fill it. It overlooks the Manhatten waterfront. The door is always open, and outside is the traffic office. That was my impression of the Yale Express president. Next day I met James K. Seymour, recently-appointed president of Associated Transport Inc., whose responsibility is a fleet of some 5.000 units. Small, dapper, precise, James Seymour was a complete contrast to Mr. Eskow. He operates from a large, plush office which is well insulated from the turmoil of hour-to-hour business.
No thoughts of latent explosion entered my mind when talking to A.T.'s president among the expensive skyscrapers of Madison Avenue. I certainly could not envisage a traffic clerk dashing into his office to query a hot matteryet such was the whole point of Gerald Eskow's functional office position.
Different Personality Yet I would not dream of suggesting that James Seymour was remote from his business, or that he had a less precise grasp of its finer details than his Yale counterpart. I think, probably, the difference in their personalities and approach was the difference between the family concern (Yale) and the corporate undertaking (A.T.).
My main purpose in visiting him was to discuss his extensive use of British diesel engines—which subject will form the basis of an article to be published later.
However, one of the subjects we got on to during our talk was that of containers. Like the Yale president, Mr. Seymour had reservations about them. I must say, incidentally, that North America was nothing like the container paradise I expected to find it, although a tot are used.
A wary "We haven't found the answer vet" was James Seymour's first reaction to my question about containers. He felt, broadly, that there was a more immediate chance of cost reduction in the use of pallets and in optimum use of mechanical handling devices.
"After all," he said, "When you get down to it, a van semi-trailer is just a container on wheels so why not use them —then you don't have to lift them on and off vehicles." One of the big problems with containers was the amount of empty running. What about collapsible containers? Mr. Seymour didn't like those he'd seen. He thought they were heavy and liable to break up.
What about air freight? " People who use it don't usually use trucks ", he replied cryptically. "We've considered it, but AT, trucks don't normally need that traffic."