K enny Williamson, a haulier from the small Scottish village of
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Irvington, near Lockerbie, is a dyed-in-the-wool truck enthusiast. He cherishes his fleet of 10 38-tonne Volvos which are exquisitely finished with murals and a tartan livery.
The sleeper cabs are decked out in velvet and mock leopard skin which owes more to the Arabian nights than the Scottish Highlands. Every wagon displays a unique painting of a Highland scene, and they are all named after female members of the Williamson family.
It comes as no surprise that Williamson is a past winner of the Volvo-sponsored Best Dressed Truck competition — or that he likes to buy his vehicles outright. The older models are fully owned; recently acquired additions to the fleet are being bought through a purchase plan, apart from a couple finance lease. Kenny and his wife loan are equal shareholders in the 12-year-old business, which also runs 14 semi-trailers, and they are 30th involved in its financing. "In :hese days when the banks can shut you up overnight it is important :hat the business retains its assets -or tax reasons," he says.
The Williamsons work for only )ne customer: Hayton Coulthard storage and Distribution, a food roducts distribution company in Twyholme, 50 miles from Lockerbie. They are Hayton Coulthard's biggest sub-contractor.
The company employs 12 drivers, and a quick scan of the pay roll shows it is a real family affair, including dad Jimmy Williamson and brother Cohn Williamson. Kenny also drives when he is needed, and his son Anthony, 16, plans to become a driver.
The vehicles spend most of their time trunking between Scotland and wholesalers in London, so they clock up large mileages and drivers spend long periods away from home.
The Williamsons have no depots apart from their yard in rural Irvington, which is conveniently sited close to the A74.
The purchase-plan deals take between four and five years to pay off: "The length of the debt depends on the size of the asset," says Kenny. He sees no point in reducing the pay-off time and he plans to continue a gradual fleet expansion programme.
At the end of the year his older vehicles — four 1985 F12s and one 1983 model — will be replaced on purchase plan or finance lease: "Maybe I am old-fashioned in wanting to have assets," says Kenny, "but it can be economical. If! have paid for the vehicle but it has no work to do for a week the cost of keeping it standing is almost nothing — I can even claim my road tax back.
"But if it was contract hired, for example, I would be paying a lot for that time," he explains.
He sees advantages in both purchase plan and finance lease, Unlike purchase plan, finance lease helps his tax position, but he cannot deny the attraction of buying through purchase plan: "It's psychologically nicer," he says.
The Williamsons' pride in their vehicles encourages them to handle maintenance in-house.
They also believe in preventive maintenance and will pull any of their vehicles off the road as soon as a problem is spotted.
Three part-time mechanics handle most of the work at weekends; this means that during the working week the trucks are where they belong — "rock and rolling on the road," says Kenny.