What is more, a formal agreement has been reached between
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the Port Authority and the Transport and General Workers Union covering the import and export of vehicles at any time of the day. Vehicles will still be handled into or out of Abbey Hill's compound during any industrial dispute involving registered dock workers.
The berth is surrounded by undeveloped land; there are no defunct cranes or redundant rail tracks, but virgin land is available for immediate development.
The facilities will be available to all manufacturers, who will be offered a complete package from shipping agents to vehicle deliverers. While Royal Portbury is furthest inland of all UK ports, it still has a shorter sailing time.
From Santander, Bilbao and Pasajes, in Northern Spain, for example, shipping takes 45 hours — up to 10 less than to Southampton, Newhaven, Dover or Folkestone, and as many as 20 hours fewer than to Sheerness, Liverpool or Ellesmere Port.
The port is the only one in the UK with its own direct connections to the M4 and M5. Transporter driving time to Birmingham is two hours, it is claimed, London two and a quarter, Manchester is three and a quarter and Glasgow is around six and a half hours. The dock is already linked to British Rail's main line.
The first stage of this development will be completed by the spring (some ships have already unloaded there). This comprises laying a road connecting portside, dock and main road; erecting security fences and installing lights; tar spraying the first service area of 20 acres; concreting the transporter loading area and providing office and fuelling services. Further development will establish a PDI centre; in a 20,000sqft workshop, cars will be rustproofed, have radios fitted and, where necessary, will go through rectification using a high/low bake oven. At the completion of this stage, Abbey Hill will offer a customising campaign service for limited editions — in the same way that this is done at Yeovil. The marshalling area will have the capacity to handle 40 loads simultaneously, with space for 20 transporters to park. "This multi-million pound investment," says the group, "is designed to cater for the needs of the motor industry into the Nineties."
All this is a big task for the Abbey Hill management team, and for the finance director — and Keith is managing director of a subsidiary, Abbey Computing, too, "The major issue in the computer world today," he says, "is flexibility; we are a computer firm with a commercial base, and a wide experience which means we think both practically and commercially.
"We see ourselves as a bridge between the commercial world and the computer world."
His approach to operators, as I understand it, is this: Why be afraid of computers and computer language? We can show you how to pinpoint facts about your business that will improve your profitability. You don't even need to own computer equipment. Abbey Computing offers bureau services — providing a service that many have found satisfactory.
In any event, why pay a large amount of money for a computer? Abbey Computing has a way of linking microcomputers so that they do the same job as larger machines, but at much less cost. This makes the expansion of existing systems much easier than it has ever been before.
The Abbey programs are modular (this only means that they are designed to fit like building blocks), simple and easy to construct.
This company can also offer: tachograph analysis iproviding the basis for managing a fleet of transport vehicles); alternative terminal equipment; facilities management; and custom-built software.
Tachograph analysis can, alternatively, be carried out by customers using Abbey Computing equipment.
Fleet management aid can go into more depth, and includ( tracking systems, efficienc) records and overall costing. Is particular premium truck, for in stance, worth the cost? Overal costing analysis can includ( both individual or groups o vehicles.
Two of the categories of in formation available are these:
Vehicle information: tote mileage; fuel used; analysis a loaded/empty hours/mileag( fuel cost/mileage; maintenanci cost mileage; maintenance am cost/unit carried; and advano warning of: expiry of coal licence, vehicle insurance, am DTp road worthiness certificate. Driver information: journe times; units carried; number drops; number of overnigh stops; advance warning of hg, licence expiry.
What sums things up is thil Abbey claim: "You can find ou how well your drivers an vehicles are being employe( during their day."
All such information, Keith as sures me, is confidential. No even the Abbey Group md coul( obtain access to it.
Besides knowing as much a: anybody about running a trans porter fleet, Abbey does, inci dentally, have experience of MI day to day work involved in gen eral haulage. Since 1979 it ha: been running another company Arrival Freight, with around 21 artics carrying general haulag( between the UK, Spain arm Portugal.