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 
Insurance blamed for closure
Page 8
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• A Staffordshire haulter whose entire fleet was auctioned yesterday (11 December) cites the rocketing cost of insurance as one of the main reasons for closing down, Alan Sturge of JK Sturge & Co in Newcastle-under-Lyme says premiums for public and employer insurance jumped from £17,000 to £42,000 last year, even though the size of his fleet was cut from 12 to 10 vehicles. 'We had two accidents four years ago," he adds. 'One lad broke a leg and one lad broke an ankle. Because of that, they said we're a bad risk."
The company was established in 1947 by Alan Sturge's father; Sturge ran it for nearly 25 years and his brothers John, Malcolm and Gary also worked there.
Less than three years ago, when Sturge was moving waste from the Shelton steelworks in Stoke-on-Trent, it had 20 tractive units and 52 trailers. When the plant closed, the company slimmed down and concentrated on moving plant and machinery.
Sturge concludes that margins have been tight and recruiting experienced drivers has been difficult "There is insufficient revenue to be made. We're all in the same frame of mind we've had enough of the troubles transport brings. It's not something we take lightly."