1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182 
PELICAN ENGINEERING
Page 54
Page 55
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
With most companies you can take a fair stab at guessing how they got their name but Pelican Engineering? First World War dispatch rider Ernest Crump left the army in 1919 with his entire worldly goods in a suitcase, but happy to be alive. Looking for a name for his newly launched business, he figured that the good luck brought by his old regimental mascot, a pelican, might be useful in civilian life.
His army demob pay served as the deposit on a shed in Dewsbury where he began converting military vehicles for civilian use. By 1920 he was employing four men; in 1928 he had to move to larger premises in Hunslet, Leeds; and in 1931 he was appointed an agent for Gardner. A major source of business throughout the 1930s involved replacing petrol engines in trucks and buses with Gardner's popular diesels. And getting back to its military routes, Pelican spent the Second World War preparing trucks for the Ministry of Defence.
'Devastating blow'
Fast-forward to the 21st century and the Pelican group is the top-selling dealer of both Fodens and Seddon Atkinsons. Ernest's grandson Richard Crump has been managing director since 1996. He was the final chairman of the Foden dealer association, and was as surprised as anyone by the sudden closure of Foden in 2005an event he describes as a devastating blow that humiliated and embarrassed the firm in front of its customers.
In fairness, he also points out that Paccar treated the victimsits dealers and staff as honourably as possible once the decision was made. When lveco did the same thing to the Seddon-Atkinson brand less than a year later it came as a further blow but was not quite as unexpected. Ironically, Crump describes Foden support today, within the Oaf network, as better than ever.
Pelican is a leading Daf parts and service main dealer, having acquired Linpac Oaf in 2003. That operation is based at the group's HQ in Wakefield Europort, Castleford. This is also home to Pelican Generators, which manufactures a wide range of dieselengined generators up to 2,500kVa.
The Seddon Atkinson business was acquired in 1991 in the form of Knottingley Trucks, which moved to Castleford in 2002. Today this remains an lveco service operation but, in common with many former Seddon dealerships, has taken on the BMC municipal vehicle franchise. But the branch of the business that excites Richard Crump most is the Hino franchise, which is based just down the road in Morley.
Pelican sees the Toyota-backed Japanese brand as the ideal successor to Foden. The timing was right to fill the large hole Foden left in the construction market and the brand is selling well. At the end of August it had sold 79 Hinosin its best year with Foden, sales hit 61. Only one established Foden operator is .'eported to have rejected the Hino option; evidently the challenge with new buyers is getting them to try Nino in the first place.
The Japanese truck is winnng friends by voiding what many operators see as unnecessary technology; it also offers carllike levels of cab specification. With most makers quoting year-plus delivery times Hino is still able to supply within days, and the mainstream chassis shortages mean bodybuilders have spare capacity to get vehicles on the road very quickly (Thompson is the favoured brand).
The current expansion of the Hino range including the tractor unit and the smaller models; can only help the brand's
penetration, and its residual values are holding up better than average. A new 24-hour parts operation in Liverpool will enhance its reputation further.
A sideline at Morley that harks back to the firm's roots is the engine-rebuilding operation, which specialises in Deutz and Kubota plant engines, but also handles a steady stream of Gardner refurbishments formerly undertaken by Paul Gardner.
Afar more lucrative diversification is into property. Group subsidiary Eamstone Developments owns the Wakefield Europort site, which is located just one roundabout away from M62/J31, next to the Europort rail terminal. The park already houses a variety of businesses, including the local Volvo truck dealer, and it is growing rapidly.
The group's philosophy is two-fold: give customers what they want, and keep staff motivated. Touches such as the provision of a fleet of Ford Ka loan vehicles instead of dirty old vans help keep customers satisfied; the workforce must be happy too, judging by the number of employees with over 30 years' service-some of whom have never worked anywhere else.
Of the three businesses looked at, Pelican is the feast likely to pass to another generation, with Richard's daughter not showing much interest in going into the family business but who knows?