BacKto basics The recession forced family-owned haulier Highfield Haulage to
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buy used trucks in order to remain competitive ivoras: Steve banner Just because Gary Owen tends to buy used trucks these days doesn't mean to say that his drivers lose out. The Bilston, West Midlands-based steel haulier invariably purchases late-registered vehicles with big cabs and all the extras — even though much of the work his 13-strong line-up of tractor units tackles is local.
Owen is MD of Highfield Haulage, a family-owned business started in 1960 by his late father with an Albion six-wheeler and a Leyland Super Comet four-wheeler.
"He was a rag-and-bone man with a horse and cart," Owen recalls. The rags were sorted into 2cwt bales, hand-balled onto a lorry and delivered to a company that was able to recycle them: recycling is by no means a new phenomenon.
Today the firm's yard is dominated by Volvos — Highfield operates seven, a mixture of FH12s and FH13s — accompanied by four Renault Premiums and two Daf XF105s. Almost all of them are Euro-5.
"The last new truck I bought was back in 2008," Owen says. Since then, the recession has bitten hard: the economy remains in the doldrums and profit margins are under pressure.
"Buy a truck that's a couple of years old instead of a new one built to an equivalent specification and you can save around 35%," he points out — a saving well worth having in today's tough times.
"I think business will be slow this year," he adds. "It's going to be an uphill struggle."
Independent dealer Owen purchases used trucks from well-known independent dealer Hanbury Riverside of West Thurrock in Essex and cannot speak highly enough of director Lee Smith.
"He's as good as gold and his word is his bond," he says. "He's a fantastic guy and I've been doing business with him for years.
"I look elsewhere sometimes — I go on the internet and see what the prices are like — but I always go back to Lee because I know he'll look after me."
The two-year-old ex-fleet units Owen usually buys have generally covered anywhere between 250,000km and 300,000km."The last one we had from Lee was an XF105 Super Space Cab we acquired four or five months back," he says.
Owen likes his trucks to look good —"it keeps the drivers happy too" — and typically has them fitted with Alcoa Dura-Bright aluminium wheels and Kelsa bars with banks of spotlights.
"Our drivers won't get lost in the dark," he smiles. The units receive a high-quality paint finish too, costing him nearly £4,000.
While some of the trucks Owen runs offer over 500hp, the Dafs are rated at 460hp.
Fuel figures "The Dafs are the best on fuel, but I've got a driver on one of the Renaults who is getting mpg figures that are almost as good," he says. "The Volvos are a bit heavy on diesel, however."
While Highfield looks after much of the maintenance of its vehicles itself, some jobs are handled by local dealers: the Renault Trucks Midlands depot a few miles away, for example. "The Renaults we've got are still under warranty," he remarks.
Even where trucks are mostly serviced or repaired in-house, Highfield's fitter sometimes has to take one to the local franchised dealer if, for example, there is a fault that can't easily be resolved: a consequence of the increased use of electronics on trucks and the need for diagnostic equipment.
However, Owen says his trucks give him very little trouble. "The last major problem we had was when a Volvo we'd only had for six months broke down in Scunthorpe," he explains. "We thought it was an injector, but when the Volvo dealer took a look at it he discovered it had dropped two valves and the tops of the pistons had been damaged. The engine needed partially rebuilding."Volvo and Hanbury Riverside covered the cost between them.
And he likes to keep his trucks for a long time."Typically I hang on to them for 10 to 15 years," he says. "At around 35,000 miles a year each, they don't do a huge mileage because so much of the work they handle is local."
A typical trip might involve taking a load from nearby Dudley to Brierley Hill, a distance of no more than three miles, although a Highfield Haulage driver could be despatched to Cornwall with a cargo the following day.
Once they have reached the end of their days with Highfield, the trucks are either part-exchanged against a new one or sold for export.
One thing that is unlikely ever to be disposed of is Highfield's historical collection of horse-drawn vehicles: an interest of Owen's father. Including everything from carts to a carriage that has been used for weddings, they are displayed in a specially constructed building at the Bilston site.
These days they rarely venture out, but could be put back on the road quickly if the occasion arose. "All I'd really need to do is tighten the wheels and borrow a horse," Owen laughs. • A DIVERSE OPERATION Highfield Haulage operates 28 semitrailers, including everything from coil carriers to extendible flat-beds: drivers still sometimes have to rope and sheet loads.
Although the business has bought second-hand ones, MD Gary Owen prefers to buy new if possible because locating used examples that match the company's specifications is a major challenge.
"They're really hard to find," he observes. A Hingley Trailers, not far away in Lye, Stourbridge, has been a key supplier. "They can make whatever we want," Owen says — and the trailers are maintained by Highfield in-house. They are fitted with drum brakes rather than discs.
"We sometimes have situations where a trailer will be loaded with structural steel and will then stand for a couple of months before the load is delivered onto the site," he says. "If we had disc brakes, then by the time we were asked to make the delivery the callipers would probably have seized up."
As well as transporting steel, Highfield delivers fencing panels to stores catering for trade and retail buyers operated by a well-known household name. "To be honest, we'll move anything that will go on one of our trailers," Owen says.