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WHALLEY ROAD SERVICES
Page 44
Page 45
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INhalley Road Services hauls among the lightest and heaviest loads you can imagine: tea and steel. But the firm tailors its fleet exactly to customer demand. It runs 13 tractors, all Dafs, with 13 curtainsiders and five flatbeds.
The firm's business is locally sourced: much of Whalley Road Services' turnover is generated from Birkenhead Docks, close to the firms Wallasey depot.
The steel, either tubed or flat, is brought into the docks from Spain and Italy. It is then placed on the flats and delivered across the UK.
Such loads are heavy, so is Whalley Road Services running at 44 tonnes? "No, at the moment there's no need," says transport manager Peter Hellon. "We carry more tea and toilet rolls than steel and these loads are about bulk, not weight."
Household tissue
The household tissue is picked up from factories in northern England and the Midlands for delivery to supermarkets and RDCs. Steel, tissue and general haulage account for 5o% of turnover. In addition to these staples the firm transports engineering and plant goods.
Tea accounts for the remaining 50% of the business, which is palletised. The tea is picked up from Moreton, on the Wirral, then taken to Morrisons, Asda, Kwiksave and Somerfield supermarkets and RDCs nationwide.
There is a lot of to-ing and froing. Hellon says the firm has good drivers, but he warns that the industry as a whole is struggling to attract new drivers who are up to the job. "It is easy to get people with Class 1 licences," he says, "but getting good drivers is a different matter."
Transport managers such as Hellon are reluctant to let a rookie take the wheel of one of their I IGVs. "Experience is preferred," he says. The average age of his drivers is late 405. That poses no obstacles now, but what will happen when these drivers retire? "There will be a problem in the future," he says (look out for our forthcoming feature on the driver recruitment crisis, CM 28 March-3 April).
Servicing and maintenance is handled by the company's own staff. There are three full-time fitters; one of them is Chris Kidd, who is managing director Gwen Whalley's grandson. Hellon cites three compelling reasons why he thinks in-house
is best: cost, convenience and peace of mind. "If we didn't do the maintenance ourselves we'd be paying about L6o an hour.
"Because we do the job here it is more cost-effective," he says. "Plus, it means that we car flexible." The third advantat even more compelling: "I km that the servicing and mai 'lance on the trucks and trai is as good as it can be."
s transport manager. Hellon ws that poorly maintained 'ks can result in the withval of the haulier's ticket to . Ultimately, the in-house fitare guarantors of the firm's iliond:They are our quality trol which helps to maintain 0-licence," he says.
wry routes
, toilet tissue and steel are stamough business but Hellon is zing to expand into other areas. 're is a flurry of activity at renhead Docks at the moment he wants to be part of it. Two y routes—to Dublin and East—are set to start sailing n Birkenhead Docks in May. lellon does not know what sort of consignments the RO-RO ships will bring but he will be taking advantage of Ids depot's location to ensure his trucks compete for a slice of any new trade.
Other plans are further off. "Warehousing is on our wish list," he says. "1 think warehousing offers a greater level of service to customers."
Real difficulty
A two to three acre site near Birkenhead Docks would fit the bill, Hellon says: "Planning permission is riot a problem. The real difficulty is getting hold of the land in the first place because availability is limited."
Large fleet operators often have ample warehousing at their disposal, and Hellon believes that operators of his size are increasingly set to enter the haulage/warehousing sector. "It has to be the way to go," he says.