AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

DIVIDE& CONQUER

13th April 2006, Page 58
13th April 2006
Page 58
Page 60
Page 61
Page 58, 13th April 2006 — DIVIDE& CONQUER
Close
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.

Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Keywords : Saunders, Daf Cf, Lamphey, D.a.f.

Family firm D&A Saunders Storage stays buoyant by casting its net wide. Tim Maughan travels to its Pembrokeshire base to see the strategy in action.

D&A Saunders Storage operates from Strawberry Hill Farm,just outside the village of Lamphey, Pembrokeshire — but agricultural as it sounds, this family firm does not work the land. It runs half a dozen trucks as well as renting out accommodation and land to an own-account operator, a local tradesman and a farmer.

"I'm a butcher by trade," says partner David Saunders. who today fields two rigids, four tractor units, and curtainsided and flatbed trailers."We carry everything: steel, potatoes, cauliflower, cabbages and bottled water."

The steel is collected from Swansea and delivered to customers throughout Britain. Square steel plates used to make food tins are a common load. The steel is carried all year round, although we may handle six loads one week and one the next." explains David.

Rural economy

Potatoes are another common load. "From May to October we carry potatoes in either 25kg bags or one-tonne boxes. Full loads are taken to wholesalers across the UK in our curtainsiders. We tip, then the empty boxes are reloaded onto the trucks and brought back."

The D&A Saunders LGVs collect the potatoes directly from the farms. 'We have a good quality of potato here in Pembrokeshire; the ground is ideal for growing them."

D&A Saunders not only transports potatoes, the family also tends to eat a lot of them. "We live on them,quips David's daughter Margaret, the firm's administrator.

A quick glance at Pembrokeshire on the map shows that Lamphey stands among a sea of green. Industry is present a few miles west at Milford Haven, but this is predominantly a rural economy.

-We handle getting on for 30,000 tonnes of fertiliser a year; it's carried in 600kg bags. We take it out of Avonmouth, Cheshire, Swansea Docks, Sharpness and Immingham, then on to wholesalers, and directly to farms in Pembrokeshire. Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire," says David.The fertiliser work is steady throughout the year. "We also do caravans, which we carry on a £25,000 specialist trailer."

ERFs since 1971

D&A Saunders started with a Bedford TK, but now runs a predominantly ERF fleet made up of rigids and artics."We've run ERFs since 1971 and never strayed from them."

A new Daf XF, equipped with a Super Spacecab, is a fleet addition that came about through Margaret Saunders. In the family kitchen,she opens up a laptop computer. On it are displayed a selection of Daf photographs. Margaret had been keen to see the firm invest in a new truck • and tried out a selection of marques before deciding on the right one. "I sat in different trucks, and got a feel for them," she says. "We also took the drivers into account; the Daf felt right." The company employs three full-time and one part-time driver, while David and his son Richard also both drive.

In the past, D&A Saunders Storage bought new and second-hand, but the £63,000 Daf— a substantial sum for a small family operator has impressed.The in-house LGV monitoring programme that Margaret put in place has fuel economy as an important facton'The Daf has been on the road for six months, and is very economical. "The fuel consumption is marvellous," she says. "We're very pleased with it and it's our plan to buy another one in the future." D&A Saunders Storage prefers to buy its hardware rather than have lease or contracthire agreements. It likes to have solid assets in its possession,explains Margaret.

Accommodation is a valuable resource, so the Saunders use it wisely. Strawberry Hill Farm serves as the fleet's operating centre, but the site also supports other businesses. One of them is Z10, a caravan retailer and transport company, founded in late 2001 by Mark Bucholtz and Ryan Ennis. Kiata Thomas is the firm's general manager. The team runs a Volvo FM9, a Daf CF75 rigid and two ERF antics. "We carry 1,300 caravans a year, both our own and those of other customers," says Thomas.

Customers include private owners and retailers. Z10 fields two caravan transporters, but, says David, it's humans who make a business, not machinery. "A company is only as good as its drivers." Thomas agrees: "They make the world go round." Caravans are lofty consignments, so drivers have to be wary of low branches, lampposts, bridges and road signs. -At this moment," says Thomas, "we have a Willerby Vogue caravan. which is 14ft wide and 4Ift long."

These light, bulky goods necessitate extra training for the drivers, who are taught how to load and unload the caravans, as well as negotiate the vehicles around roads.

Because they are completely separate businesses, Z10 and D&A Saunders Storage have their own respective 0-licences hut David is the CPC holder for both firms."I'm Kiata's adviser," he says. "She deals with the everyday issues, and I get involved with more technical issues."

Going concerns

The multi-faceted nature of the Saunders business means there is a lot of extra paperwork, allof which is dealt with by Margaret. "We have 100 acres of land, which we rent out to a local farmer who grazes his animals on it," she says. D&A Saunders Storage also has 4,000m2 of warehousing space at its disposal."Part of the warehouses are rented out the rest we have to ourselves."

There are a number of going concerns that work from the base.This is a sizeable site and the space is well used.The Saunders have erected accommodation for a stonecraft company, which makes garden ornaments and the like.

-The unit measures 80ft by 40ft and has been custom-built to meet their specific needs," says Margaret.

The local council granted planning permission for the project, and the family is investing in a second unit."They cost 140,000 to erect. Shortly we'll start building another one, then we'll see how the market goes."

Margaret believes that it is important to keep abreast of all the new legislation and to know what's happening in the world. For instance, because there is the potential for fertiliser to be used to make home-made explosives she attended a special course.

"It was a one-day anti-terrorist training course at Carmarthen Coll ege. It was optional, but we like to keep on top of things."

This way, information can be imparted to the rest of the team, which enables an operation to stay legal and profitable. "You have to move with the times and diversify: you have to have a lot of irons in different fires."

David asserts that the days of dedicated haulage firms have all but vanished. Now firms have to maintain more varied operations. "You must diversify onto other things as well as trucks,he says.

That 'divide and rule' philosophy has certainly paid off."We make a very reasonable living out of it all," says Margaret-but we pay enough tax, put it that way." mi


comments powered by Disqus