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Essex
Graeme Howard, MD of the Pryor Group, tells CM how his firm’s location is one of the key reasons why the haulier has become so successful Words: Roger Brown
THE PRYOR GROUP has come a long way since it was founded by Cecil Pryor in 1947 as a tree felling and timber haulier. Over the years, the irm has widened its operations, and now carries out transport, as well as civil engineering work, for many of the world’s leading aggregate, extraction and quarrying companies.
Graeme Howard, MD, oversees the business, which employs 140 people at its two yards in Harlow and Rainham, Essex. “We are striving to provide a complete transport service here, catering for smaller customers as well as the large ones,” says Howard.
“Whether it’s a one-tonne or 100,000tonne load, we can do the lot.
“Every customer is just as important – we’ll deliver one bulk bag of rock salt if we can justify the cost.” One of the irm’s irst jobs was a contract to clear 250 acres for the then new Esso Oil reinery at Fawley, Southampton. During the mid-1950s the company expanded into civil engineering, which saw it involved in sea defence work and road construction, namely the M1.
Keep expanding
By the early 60s, Pryor Group had expanded into aggregates removals, and constructed its irst reservoir.
Howard says: “Even now, we are heavily involved in the construction, as well as repair and maintenance, of 30 milliongallon agricultural reservoirs, used by farmers for crop irrigation schemes, often potatoes.
“This involves carrying out a balanced earthworks operation – no materials going off site – at farms usually in the Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk areas.
“It’s still a key area of business for the company and we have had about six to eight of these jobs this year.” Other projects have included water treatment and landill site work, demolition, recycling and drainage jobs, as well as golf course and sports ield construction schemes. In 1996 the irm helped construct the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent.
“Historically, we have worked on road building projects in the local area such as improvements to the M11 and A120 around Stansted Airport,” Howard says. “We have also been involved in building work at the airport as well. The core of our work is south of Birmingham, but we do carry out jobs elsewhere as well.We work for some of the big companies like Lafarge, Tarmac, Cemex and Veolia.” Pryor Group is proud of the fact it owns all its own trucks. Its 26 vehicles include 22 tippers, a handful of artics and a 551hp Mercedes-Benz Actros, capable of transporting 13-tonne to 85-tonne excavators on a Nooteboom trailer. All 26 drivers are directly employed by the business.
Howard adds: “The business has a long history in haulage, and we can offer a broad range of services to meet all our customers’ requirements.
“We can supply and transport various types of material, including topsoil, aggregates and recycled building materials. Materials can be removed for disposal to licensed landill facilities.” Since April this year, the company has spent about £1.5m on 14 new Scania 8x4 tippers, mainly for use on its Crossrail project work in the Stepney Green area of East London.
About 90% of the Pryor Group drivers are Crossrail inducted and trained, and the company is a member of Transport for London’s FORS scheme. Howard adds: “The irst phase of the Crossrail project for us was mainly nonhazardous work, with some asbestos and knotweed removal as well. “It’s our biggest lorry contract at the moment, and our Essex location is ideal for it.” Approximately 80% of the company’s current work is now within the M25, including a contract removing weeds for Thames Water.
Pryor Group has also transported subsoil to the new athletes village at the 2012 Olympic Park in Stratford.
“We did this for more than two years, carrying ive to six loads each day, oneway only,” Howard explains.
“Again, our location close to East London has been a real advantage.
“As well as this, we did muckaway out of the new Westield shopping centre site, also at the park.”
Eastern promises
So what does the future hold for the company? Howard says the irm has set up a quarrying operation at a limestone quarry in Latvia on a 15-year contract.
Pryor Group has sent out four excavators, with 20 Latvian workers, supervised by two managers from the LTK.
“We have legal people giving us help, and good advice from the LTK government,” he says.
“There could be similar opportunities in Lithuania, Estonia, Germany and Poland in the future.” According to Howard, Pryor Group aims to double its leet to more than 40 trucks over the next ive years.
He adds: “The company employs a hard-working group of people, and we believe we can do it.
“We pride ourselves on being able to provide practical solutions as well as a high-quality, reliable service.
“If we say to the customer that we can do 20 loads, then we will do 20 loads.” n