Next Week
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THE ROAD Haulage Association's annual conference is Britain's most important forum for discussing the industry, and there will be some heavyweight discussion. What does Transport Development Group chairman Sir James Duncan think about the future for haulage in Britain? What are the views of Leyland's Peter Capon on technical developments? It may be happening 1,000 miles away, but CM will be there to bring you a full report. • • Jack Semple looks at two companies in the North supplying operators in the area. Sunderland area Ford dealer Cowie's is well established but has a had a recent shot in the arm following a group link with Interleasing.
• Stanley Tippers new company, which has been set up to build tipper bodies. You may not have heard of the name, but the backers are well known in the area.
• While Northumberland is England's least populated county, its rural bus network survives and still provides a basic service to even the most isolated communities. Will it continue after deregulation or will commercial pressures leave whole areas to the sheep? Noel Millier, who has been to county hall to look into the current situation, speculates on the future.
• No one place in Britain has suffered more than Consett from the affects of the recession. One general haulage company has not only managed to survive but has seen steady growth. Elddis Transport, established only in September 1970, is a relative newcomer to the transport fraternity. However, it has family connections with road haulage which dates back over 100 years. Bryan Jarvis reports next week. • Many well known figures from both the vehicle manufacturing and operating sides of the industry met in Barcelona this week for the second annual European Transport Maintenance Conference. The subjects under discussion in the formal conference sessions included ceramics, automated mechanical transmissions and the maintenance costs of various types of vehicles, while at "fringe" meetings the manufacturers' representatives heard a lot more of the subjects currently of greatest concern to fleet managers in Europe. Tim Blakemore and Colin Sowman were among the delegates in Spain; their report is in next week's issue.