Manned vehicles
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throughout BY S BUCKLEY
How successful entry into Continental operation is based on personal control from collection to delivery
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• WHENEVER I see rows of semi-trailers awaiting collection at ferry terminals, often for a day or more, I have doubts as to the true efficiency of employing articulations to the full for Continental operations." This comment came from Mr. Fred Houk, the young managing director of Hoults Ltd., when I interviewed him at the company's headquarters at Newcastle upon Tyne.
Undoubtedly the principle of articulation has now been successfully employed for many years on the several rollon/roll-off ferries operating from the UK to the Continent. The growing use of containers supplements this concept. But while there is a real saving in shipping space by not sending over the motive unit as well, the loss through lack of personal control throughout also can be real if not so obvious.
This account of a relative newcomer's entry into Continental operations does give cause to reassess whether sufficient recognition is being given to an appreciable proportion of traffic bound to and from the Continent which does not readily lend itself to movement by different drivers on both sides of the Channel or North Sea. Moreover, as Continental operation expands, as it undoubtedly will—with or without us entering the Common Market—the established method of sending the semi-trailer only on the sea crossing will tend to become lax through sheer repetition with possible increasing delays unless positive methods are devised to anticipate this threat.
A newcomer's background
As a background to its venture into Continental operations less than a year ago Mr. Hoult told me that this year is the firm's silver jubilee. His grandfather started up in business in Newcastle with a horse and cart and now the firm has about 70 vehicles, mainly five tanners but also seven artics with van bodies having capacity ranging from 850 Cu. ft. to 2,500 Cu. ft. Now in addition to headquarters in Newcastle it had depots in both North and South West London and Carlisle.
In reply to my first question as to how the firm first became interested in Continental operation, Mr. Hoult said the first inquiry came from a UK customer in difficulty with his then present method of delivering his products to the Continent.
Elaborating on this Mr. Hoult said that in addition to the type of traffic common to many contractors such as household and office 'removals, new furniture and transport to and from warehouses, its expertise in packing and warehousing was valuable to antique dealers who needed a reliable contractor to move valuable small lots of antiques or high class furniture from auctions or the dealers' premises to and from customers. When such furniture was being moved it was essential that not only were the men concerned in the move experienced in that type of work but that they should travel with their load from collection to delivery. In October 1966 a piano maker who had done business with Hoults for many years was having difficulty with deliveries to Paris because of damage en route by rail. Mr. Hoult said that he therefore undertook to effect delivery throughout by road on his own five tonner and to make the proposition worth while 30 pianos were conveyed to six addresses in Paris.
As new boys in Continental operation it was only to be expected that there were teething troubles to be overcome, though not sufficient to deter successive ventures. But to make Continental trips a more economic proposition an articulated vehicle was next employed. This consisted of a Bedford tractive unit, with Eaton two-speed axle coupled to a York Freightmaster TIR van with a capacity of 2,500 cu. ft. A second trip was soon made to Paris and in November Hoults ventured afield to Vienna and Switzerland. Since then trips have been made to Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Italy and Sweden. Last month six vehicles were going over in one week.
Room for artics and rigids
Questioned as to the switch to articulated vehicles, Mr. Hoult agreed that while these might be more economic on a longer run where sufficient traffic was available, he nevertheless felt that there was always room for both rigids and artics for Continental operations. Apart from the operational aspects there could be occasions where there were restrictions on the movement of unattended vehicles, including semi-trailers. As an alternative he had used containers but complaints had been received from customers because of damage to the load.
Despite the emphasis being placed on containerization, Mr. Hoult insisted that there were flows of traffic which could not be conveniently handled by container, including part loads. These had always existed and it seemed unlikely that the demand from customers for this type of movement would be curtailed just because of the advent of containerization. But the economic movement of part lots meant a composite load with several deliveries to be made. This in turn required personal control throughout by at least one driver, and possibly a mate was essential.
In reply to my question as to how these additional costs—as compared with the semi-trailer only being conveyed on sea crossing—could be met, Mr. Hoult said that careful analysis had to be made. But if this were done and the facts presented to a customer who had valuable part lots to be moved to the Continent, he was then in a position to judge the cost as against the higher standard of service thereby provided.
While admitting that Hoults would thereby retain personal control while employing their own men throughout the Continental delivery, I next asked him whether there were not serious difficulties confronting an operator, such as himself, in having available or alternatively recruiting drivers with skill in loading and unloading valuable furniture and also having some grasp of Continental languages, customs and geography.
Undoubtedly there were difficulties, Mr. Hoult agreed, but they were surmountable. And with each additional trip greater experience was gained. Also, provided the Continental agents were carefully selected, their services could prove invaluable to the drivers once they were on the Continent.
Regarding ferries services, Mr. Hoult said he found the majority satisfactory. Any improvements called for were as regards frequency (which should be self-correcting as the amount of traffic built up) and also as regards to access in some cases. He would, however, give full marks to the accommodation provided for drivers on the sea crossing. And a good rest meant they were safer drivers once back on the road.
For a new boy in international operation I next asked Mr. Hoult how he coped with documentation. Here again, it was a problem to be resolved as things went along. This had been done by a combination of methods and advice. In addition to that given by trade associations, the Handbook of International Road Transport issued by IRU has proved particularly valuable and there has been a feedback of information both from the Continental agents and, of course, the experience gained by their own drivers with each successive trip. Allied to documentation these had been the need to bring up to TIR specification the vehicles used on Continental trips.
Mr. Hoult then revealed that they now have a full-time member of the staff working on the costing of Continental operations. Variation's in the price of fuel and the level of taxation in the European countries through which chey travelled could have a marked effect on the profitability of each journey. If inadequate or inaccurate estimates were made or undue allowance given for these variations it was only too easy to lose out on a job.
Having determined that personal control from the point of collection until ultimate delivery was a worthwhile proposition both for the operator and the customer, I then asked Mr. Hoult how he went about selecting drivers for Continental trips. He agreed that they constituted a vital link in the exercise and he considered an ideal age group was around 30 to 40, although there would always be exceptions ta rules of this kind. However, a Continental trip invariably meant that a driver was away from home for a week or more. Despite the advantages of specialization such trips were usually interspersed with UK operations so as to give a reasonable balance of home life for the driver.
Maintenance and tyre service facilities
Regarding comparison of UK and Continental operation in such matters as maintenance and tyre service facilities, Mr. Hoult said they had found few problems here and similar credit schemes, such as applied to tyre replacements, were also available. Even so, according to the length of the journey a Continental driver has to have an adequate reserve of cash with him in addition to any further arrangements which various agents might make should the need arise, as.for example, in the case of a breakdown or accident.
Just as they had learnt as they have gone along with their outward deliveries to the Continent. Mr. Hoult said that the very real problem of return loads from the Continent was being tackled as experience grew. There was no easy solution but as the range of contacts increased in the firm's particular flow of outward traffic the opportunity for backloads increased. This was in addition to household removals which, in any case, always constituted a two-way flow.
Over all Mr. Hoult considered that although he had had less than a year's experience in Continental operations compared with 50 years' operation in the UK the venture had been worthwhile and he saw no reason why it should not continue to flourish. Compared with recent reports of 700 containers or more being carried on a single ship Hoult's contribution to Continental ferry traffic might seem relatively small. But there were certain types of traffic which would always need personal control throughout and warrant the additional cost thereby involved.
In establishing the Continental service he has put a premium on flexibility and control. Household removals and to a similar degree the movement of antiques and high class furniture were very personal exercises. It did not become any less personal— rather the reverse—when the same movement was undertaken to or from the Continent.
Earlier, Mr. Hoult had mentioned the advantage of large vehicles such as the Bedford/York articulated outfit when longer runs could be usefully organized on the basis of a composite load. But as this invariably meant deliveries to two or more countries increasing delay through Customs examinations arose. To meet this difficulty and in pursuance of the policy to provide a part-lot service to the Continent, Hoults last month put a new vehicle into service specially to reduce the time spent in Customs examinations. Basically this is again a Bedford /York combination but the York Freightmaster van is of special design consisting of a Model 1D2 /P Drop deck Type TIR with a length of 33ft. and an interior height of 8ft. There is a 48in. drop down tailgate/ loading ramp.
The special feature is a TIR approved intermediate partition fitted approx. A from the front. In addition to the seal for the van as a whole there is also a seal for the inner doors. This consists of a wire going round the inner doors with the two ends going through the van wall on the near side to a small recess so that the Customs officer can examine the seal from the outside without having to offload the rear section of the van. This provides obvious advantages when part-lot is unloaded and examined by Customs officers for differing countries without having to examine the entire load on each occasion. However, should there be occasion to use the same vehicle for one country only this inner partition can be folded flush against the Sides of the van and so give an uninterrupted 33ft. of loading space. According to individual requirements the extra cost for this inner partition is approximately £145.
Because of its convenient geographical location in relation to ferry terminals control of HouIts' Continental movement is made from the North London depot at Southgate N14. At a subsequent discussion its manager, Mr. Ken Barnes, filled in one or two further points on the operation. Thus although Tilbury was a shorter distance than Felixstowe it was often more convenient to use the latter terminal because of their late reception time of lOpm for the Rotterdam ferry compared with 4pm for the corresponding Tilbury / Antwerp service. There was also a saving of around £15 per vehicle in favour of the Felixstowe run.
Even when carrying out a household removal within the UK, a housewife is much more assured, Mr. Barnes contended, if she knew the same personnel would be unloading at the other end. How much more so does this apply when. she is possibly going to a strange country for the first time. From the operations point of view when he has equipment costing possibly 14,000 or so in the form of an articulated vehicle on the road somewhere between the UK and its Continental destination he wants to know what is happening to it. He did not want to have to allow for the possibility that it was stuck non-productive at a ferry terminal in the way that seems to happen to many unmanned semi-trailers.
But a final comment constituted a word of warning to would-be Continental operators. Documentation must be spot-on otherwise operators were in for big trouble and long delays. Adequate preparation of documents was virtually the be-all and end-all in the solution of this problem given competent staff and road-worthy vehicles.
OPERATOR WITH FREIGHTS BASE
So much for the experience of an operator who has only recently conveyed Continental traffic. But what of the view of an established Continental operator as to current trends in this type of movement. To find out I spoke to Mr. D. Jackson, director of Cawthorn and Sinclair Ltd., of Birtley, Co. Durham. This company sent its first manned attic with a load of television tubes from the North East to Paris in May 1964. Last month it made 55 return journeys to and from the Continent.
A major change in this three years of expansion has been the establishment of Cawthorn and Sinclair (France) SA. This company is primarily concerned with Continental movement and in addition to vehicles based in France also have some located in the UK. As traffic demands these can be supplemented by vehicles operated by the UK-based company.
This institution of a French base has both facilitated the return loading of vehicles to the UK and helped towards reciprocal working arrangements on such matters as licensing.
• Now that he had established a Continental base, I questioned Mr. Jackson as to why it was still considered necessary to have vehicles manned throughout a Continental journey, all the more so as the fleet was 100 per cent articulated.
The answer was to be found in the standard of service required, he replied. Admittedly, Mr. Jackson agreed, he first had to assure customers that the extra cost of having a driver throughout would be more than matched by the higher standard of service offered.
That very first delivery of television tubes arose through the customer's previous experience in damage to his goods when con
veyed by rail and sea. That possibility still remained once vehicles or semi-trailers passed out of one's control. His company considered that the only safe way was for the driver who loaded the goods to see them through to their destination.
Undoubtedly such a policy was vitally dependent upon the calibre of driver. Here, Mr. Jackson said that fortunately there was a corps of independently minded experienced drivers well able to cope with most of the eventualities which could arise on a Continental run. Many such drivers had already obtained a smattering of a European language through Service experience. On each trip their knowledge of the language improved.
The majority of loads were for one delivery point although a groupage service was now also offered. But Mr. Jackson stressed that its French company made many inter-Continental journeys quite apart from deliveries to the UK.
Ferry services were generally satisfactory. In particular, excellent relations existed with Thoresen Car Ferries Ltd., its Southampton/Le Havre service to and from Paris being used extensively. Being based in the North East, the firm uses the service from Hull for journeys to Germany and Austria.
As to documentation it was essential that not only was it correct and complete but that the driver had all the relevant documents with him. This was because of the speed of his movement—often faster than the post.
Quoting at random an example of speed of delivery, Mr. Jackson said that on one occasion the firm loaded urgent equipment at Birtley on a Sunday morning and delivered it in Paris on Monday morning.
Coupled to such speed of movement was the need for rapid and reliable communication. Most messages were relayed by Telex which was facilitated by tape transmission. Here again there was an advantage in the driver going right through as compared with a foreign driver however experienced, being handed a bunch of documents in a foreign language at some point of changeover.
But because vehicles on Continental trips might be away from home for a week or more and travel well over 1,000 miles the two relating factors of reliability and maintenance needed special consideration. To this end a substantial proportion of the Continental operation was done with Mercedes tractive units coupled to Boden TIR semi-trailers fitted with tilts. The initial outlay could be around £6,500 to £8,000 according to the type, with the gross laden weight being around 30 tons. Although initially expensive the additional time available for service provided by their greater realibility was an especially valuable asset in Continental operations.
In reply to my question as to whether he was likely to turn to the box van semi-trailer, Mr. Jackson said the tilt trailers were used because much of the Continental traffic was the type which required crane loading, so necessitating the tilt being folded back. This was not possible with a van unless it was fitted with a complicated top opening which could be a source of trouble.
Finally I questioned Mr. Jackson as to the choice of Paris as a Continental base. Other operators had tended to have their bases further east while there had been some criticism in the past of nonco-operation towards foreign road transport operators when journeying in France. Mr. Jackson replied that even if this was so in the past it was not now. The firm received every co-operation in France. Moreover Paris, by virtue of its long established position, had excellent communications with the rest of Europe.
He saw no reason why the present rate of expansion in Continental operations should not continue and it would certainly be accelerated for the firm's type of traffic if and when the UK became a member of the Common Market. Supporting that contention Cawthorn and Sinclair was last month, granted permission to operate another 16 vehicles to Europe and to run vehicles with the Continental length of 15m.