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After three decades at NFC, Phil Biddlecombe is now his own boss of everything he surveys having bought a truck dealership from his former employer backed by a five-year commiftment to buy vehicles.
phi' Biddlecombe nursed a private ambition for 30 years, As he rose through the ranks at NFC to become engineering and purchasing director at BRS, he always knew that he wanted to run his own company.
It's not easy to break away from the warm, comforting embrace of a major corporation, but changes within the NFC suddenly made it a much simpler decision for him to take: "There was yet another reorganisation, and I found I no longer had a senior position," he recalls.
His varied responsibilities had included running the company's truck dealerships, which were viewed as non-core activities. He put together a business plan, raised the necessary finance, and made a bid for Peterborough-based NFC subsidiary Fengate Commercial Services, just 10 miles from his home.
He knew how Fengate was progressing, and believed he could improve its performance if he owned it. He also knew that time was passing—he's 51 now—and it was now or never.
The bid was successful, and he was handed the keys to the Mercedes-Benz truck dealership on 24 May 1993.
"By that stage, 1 felt the recession was bottoming out, and things could only get better," he says. "Interest rates were low, and the banks were queueing up to lend us money."
One reason for their enthusiasm was the fact that Biddlecombe had been awarded a five-year agreement to supply BRS with vehicles.
Some 150 of the 250 trucks he aims to sell this year will be delivered to his old employer. The agreement covers maintenance too.
The four-acre site is on a five-year lease from NFC, and he is hoping to acquire greater security of tenure long-term. It forms part of a six-acre plot, partially occupied by BRS's Peterborough depot, on an industrial estate a few minutes drive from the city centre.
Biddlecombe won't disclose how much he paid for the dealership, but stresses: "I didn't get a special deal," he says. "I paid the going rate, and quite rightly so—NFC has its shareholders to look after."
The opportunity to sell Mercedes-Benz products played a major part in his thinking, and the German manufacturer has gone along with the change of ownership. "They make a quality vehicle, and I've always had an excellent relationship with them," he says.
But how did the existing Fengate staff react to the change? Some of them were concerned, and probably wondered whether Biddlecombe could really make a go of it. "But I gave them a commitment that they would be no worse off in terms of their salary and conditions of service, and everybody transferred to the new company," he says. As things have turned out, we've traded on budget, and I've been able to pay a small bonus."
Sprawling
Working for a sprawling organisation such as NFC for umpteen years isn't the best training for becoming your own boss. "But I always tried to run every department I was in charge of as though it were my own business, even though I was spending somebody else's money," says Biddlecombe.
His operator background means he is well aware of what a customer wants from a truck dealership. "It's a great advantage having sat on the other side of the desk, a great benefit," he says. "I'm aware of the buying approaches that fleets need to develop—long-term supply agreements, preferred supplier arrangements, and so on. They want to build partnerships with dealers and manufacturers."
Biddlecombe expected a high standard of aftermarket support from dealers in his previous role, so good quality aftermarket back-up is at the top of Fengate's agenda.
The workshop is open round-the-clock from 00.06hrs on a Monday to 16:00hrs on a Saturday, and an energetic approach to marketing what it has to offer means that it is invariably full.
Facilities include eight hays, four inspection pits, 8 and 14-tonne hoists, and a brake tester. "All the standard equipment you'd expect us to have. "says Biddlecombe.
"I have a lot of experience when it comes to organising servicing," he points out. "I put in the NFC's first fixed-cost maintenance programme."
He is convinced that operators who run their own workshops will gradually switch to contract maintenance. They will have no choice, he predicts, because the diagnostic equipment increasingly required to service hi-tech trucks is expensive, and you need factory-trained technicians to get the best out of it.
"We're looking at a new payment package which rewards both effort and the achievement of qualifications," Biddlecombe explains. "The idea is to improve the differential between the grades. "There has to be an incentive for a skilled fitter to become a technician, and a technician to become a team leader technician. There has to be an incentive for a young employee to go back to college and become qualified."
He's broadening the base of the company by developing the paint and body repair side of activities. He has also acquired a local accident repair business, and a workshop across the yard from the main dealership complex is being refurbished to accommodate it. Fengate already operates a heavy-duty wrecker which is on call 24 hours a day.
"We recover vehicles from the Al, and the M25 come to that," he says. "We're not on the police list, but we have applied."
How about the sales side? "There were a number of companies—rental and contract hire companies who may have found it a bit difficult to deal with Fengate in the past because it was owned by BRS," Biddlecombe reflects. "They viewed BRS as a major competitor, and didn't really want to buy from them.
"So we've made a point of explaining to them that we are now a stand-alone firm, privately owned, and that's made it easier for them to use us," Bithllecombe is pursuing a policy of what he terms 'package selling', attempting to sell customers finance and a contract maintenance agreement with every truck they buy. That's vital given that profits on straightforward truck sales remain waferthin in an intensely competitive market.
He has recruited two young salesmen and installed a Mercedes computer system which will work out vehicle specifications for every application you can think of. His team of three salespeople covers the whole of Cambridgeshire, the dealership's franchised territory, with the backing of a sales and marketing manager and two support staff.
"Before, Fengate predominantly looked after NFC. That link is still important to us, of course, but we have to attract business from other sources," he says.
Succeeding
Fengate seems to be succeeding in its endeavours. Orders over the past few months have included one for 23 Mercedes 1831 tractors going into service at Parcelforce's Peterborough depot, and one for seventeen 1833 tractors from British Sugar.
He's attacking the used market too. He aims to sell 100 secondhand vehicles this year, almost all buy-backs and trade-ins, and has just exported six to Uganda. The approach from the Ugandan Transport Company came out of the blue, and has prompted him to consider other overseas opportunities. "I'm looking at exporting used trucks to Cyprus too."
"And parts sales are going extremely well. We've got a delivery van that travels all over our franchised area, and we reckon we'll turn over our stock five and a half times a year." The site holds at least 1250,000 worth of spares.
He's politely sceptical of the proposition that franchised truck dealerships are bound to disappear, leaving operators to deal direct with the manufacturers. Even if fleet owners deal direct, small to medium firms will still want to buy from dealerships owned by local businessmen who appreciate their concerns, he reckons. "We don't underestimate the challenge that faces us over the next few years," says Biddlecombe. "But given the dedication of Fengate's 48 staff, I don't believe we can fail." Li by Steve Banner