Thompson to head restructured NFC
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A RADICAL restructuring of the National Freight Consortium will result in deputy chairman and chief executive Peter Thompson becoming chairman in October, and the business being regrouped along product lines.
The NFC board has approved the restructuring, which combines the posts of chairman and chief executive from October 1, and Mr Thompson, the driving force behind the Consortium's acquisition of the National Freight Company from the Government, will succeed Sir Robert Lawrence, who has been chairman since 1979.
Sir Robert will remain on the board, as a non-executive director.
There are several surprises in the restructuring, but probably none greater than the exchange of managing directorships between British Road Services group chief David White and his Pickfords Group opposite number, Geoff Pygall.
Mr White's empire will, however, be greater than Mr Pygall's, as the greatest part of the Special Traffics Group is being added to the existing Pickfords Removals and Pickfords Travel Service activities.
The expanded group will take in Pickfords Industrial, Cartransport, Tank-freight, Waste Management, Freight Computer Services, and a freight forwarding division comprising Cotrali-Pickfords, Containerway and Roadferry, Lawther and Harvey, and Stratford LIFT, the London International Freight Terminal operation run by National Carriers.
A new parcels group, cornprising Roadline, National Carriers' parcels business, and International Carriers will be run by Roadline group managing director Steve Abel, who will also become an executive board member of NFC. But the existing companies will retain their separate trading names.
National Carriers group managing director Brian Hayward will become managing director of a new National Services Group, comprising National Carriers' expanding contract services, Fleetcare, warehousing and transport, and Fashionflow activities and the hitherto separate Tempco International business.
Special Traffic Group managing director Jack Mather, a Road Haulage Association national vice-chairman on the first rung of the ladder to becoming national chairman, is moving to take charge of a new property group. This will manage all property and non-operational activities of NFC, and will be responsible for developing sites either within NFC or with third parties.
A new regional group is to be formed to take in the Scottish Freight Company (trading as Scottish Parcels and Scottish Road Services) and Northern Ireland Carriers which, at present, is part of special Traffics. SFC managing director John Copland will head this group, with managing directors Len Small (SRS), Bill Glenroy (Scottish Parcels), and George Owens (NIC) reporting to him.
Peter Thompson is being joined on the board by executive directors Steve Abel, Brian Hayward, Jack Mather, Philip Mayo, Geoff Pygall, James Watson, and David White.
There will be two non-executive vice-chairmen, Frank Law and Victor Paige.