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ON THE TRAIL OF SUCCESS

6th September 1986
Page 63
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Page 63, 6th September 1986 — ON THE TRAIL OF SUCCESS
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

There have been some radical changes to the British trailer industry of late. Craven Tasker is planning to boost production — and its market share; CM interviews managing director Norman Mellors to find out how

• In the long history of British trailer manufacturing many names have come and gone, hut never has there been a period quite like the past couple of years, when so many companies have changed ownership.

Since 1984 all of the UK's three biggest trailer builders, Crane Fruehauf, Craven Tasker and York — which between them regularly account for at least half the semi-trailers sold here — have changed hands.

First, in 1984, York was bought by United Parcels, which itself subsequently became part of the Bunzl group. Shortly afterwards the ailing John Brown engineering group let it be known that Craven Tasker, which had been one of its subsidiaries for over 50 years, was no longer considered part of its "core business' and was up for sale.

The lengthy period of uncertainty that followed finally ended earlier this year when the Trafalgar House group, with major interests in construction and hotels, gained control of the whole of John Brown.

Now it is Crane Fruehauf's turn to find itself with new owners, following a $1.2 billion (V00 million) management buy-out of the American Fruehauf corporation (CM August 30), of which Crane Fruehauf has been a wholly owned subsidiary since 1978.

As managing director of Craven Tasker for the past six years, Norman Menors is in a better position Wan most to assess the major effects of these sweeping changes on the British trailer market.

Not surprisingly, he is relieved that the uncertainty over his own company's immediate future has ended, but although he evidently is not vindictive by nature, he cannot disguise a certain amount of satisfaction in seeing some of his competitors experiencing traumas similar to the ones he has been through. Recalling some recent occasions when he is sure sales were lost simply through doubts over Craven Tasker's long-term future, Mellors says sardonically, "We knew we were in trouble, because our competitors told us so."

The major effect of the Trafalgar takeover is, in Mellors' words, ''to provide us with a secure base. Now we are part of one of the most successful groups in Britain. Customers feel much more comfortable knowing that if they choose to place an order for 100 trailers it certainly will be completed," Craven Tasker remains part of John Brown which has become a sub sidiary of Trafalgar House Construction Holdings. By any standards this company is big, with an annual turnover of around 1.6 billion. By comparison Craven Taster itself is small, with a turnover since the sale of Boalloy to its management in 1983, of £23 to £24 million — a figure which Mellors says "has deliberately been held static."

Currently there are four discrete operational companies in the Craven Tasker group and five factories (at Sheffield, Garstang, Woodville, Cumbernauld and Lochgelly) each specialising in one type of semi-trailer but with the ability to switch to other types if required. Meliors says the change of company ownership will have "no immediate effect on this group structure, but it is under continual review."

On the question of a possible change of name Craven Tasker's managing director is less equivocal. "There will be no name change. We have had to deal in the past with a whole host of names before settling on the Task' product name. It is good and simple. Four letters fit nicely on a mudflap."

Could the Trafalgar take-over lead to more diversification for Craven Tasker, perhaps into areas like rigid chassis and drawbar conversions, where York, Crane Fruehauf and others have already found additional business? "We have no plans to move into chassis conversions," replies Mellors. "It could be argued that we are already into too many things," and he admits that be is even "unconvinced that it is right for us to be making three different types of tipping semi-trailer." Uniquely, Craven Tasker offers straight, tapered and step-frame tippers.

There can be little doubt, therefore, that the likelihood of Craven Tasker emulating York's move into rigid tipper bodybuilding with its recent acquisition of Neville Charrold is remote in the extreme.

Bodybuilding currently accounts for about million of the annual turnover and Mellors does not expect that figure to change. Nonetheless, he is keen to avoid any impression of his company being in any way immobile. "In this industry if you don't innovate and keep moving forward you simply die," he says. Mellors has no death wish.

For examples of Craven Tasker innovation he points to some of its current projects, including a computer-aided design study into stresses in tippers, semi-trailer stability trials and a research project on refrigeration units.

He is also proud of the IBCAM Gold Medal award that the Craven Tasker thinwall reefer won at the 1984 NEC Motor Show. "This illustrates our commitment to quality and innovation," he says.

Craven Tasker will be winning no award at this year's NEC show — for the first time since 1935 the company will not be exhibiting at a British Motor Show. Mellors says that he simply cannot justify the cost. He is surprised, and more than a little bitter, over the SMMT's apparent lack of concern over Craven Tasker's decision. "I have not had so much as a phone call from them," says Mellors.

Another subject about which he has some strong views is the share of the British semi-trailer market being taken by imported trailers.

"We (British trailer manufacturers) ought to do more to resist the tide of imports. Four-and-a-half years ago about 450 trailers sold here were imported. That figure has doubled each year since then, although in the first half of this year only 300 were imported simply", he believes, "as a result of less favourable exchange rates. In 1985 about 2,200 semi-trailers were imported. Possibly as few as 300 trailers in total were exported from this country last year," says Mellors.

He puts the current total British market for semi-trailers at about 10,200, of which he reckons rental companies take about 20%. "1 do not believe the market will ever exceed 12,000," says Craven Tasker's MD.

With a market share of 20% he reckons Craven Tasker is second only to Crane Fruehauf, which he estimates has about a 32% market share. Mellors' strategy for holding and improving his company's share may be summed up as building better trailers, more efficiently. Over the past few years Craven Tasker's workforce has been trimmed from 600 to 500. The drive for improved productivity is currently concentrated on the Sheffield factory where dry freight, refrigerated vans and low loaders are built. The production lines are being reorganised and new machines installed. Craven Tasker aims to boost production by 28% over the next 12 months without increasing the number of employees.

0 By Tim Blakemore


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