1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192 
BOLTING FOR SUCCESS
Page 130
Page 131
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Boalloy has revamped its biggest product for the first time since 1969. The Cheshire bodybuilder is flexing its muscles in the 3.5-tonne market and abroad, too — Spain is the target for a new factory.
• Boalloy launches its first new Tautliner for 20 years this month and says its allbolted design will benefit international operators by making it more flexible and easier to repair abroad.
Its unveiling comes as the Cheshire bodybuilder expands its European network with an acquisition in Spain. It is drawing up plans to standardise many of its products, including its recently launched 3.5-tonne truck range.
According to managing director Gerald Broadbent, who has stayed at the
helm through three changes of owner in the past 11 years, Boalloy aims to become -part of the production line" of manufacturers like Mercedes and Leyland Daf, fitting standard bodies and supplying dealers, rather than the other way round.
Its new Tautliner, the Progressive, has moved from an all-welded build. "With 1992 coming. the haulier going to Turin or wherever will need a body that can be repaired locally with parts flown over and bolted with local labour," says Broadbent. Although the old Tautliner will still be available, he plans to standardise on the Progressive.
Boalloy has acquired a new dynamism since being taken over by strap manufacturer Marling last September. "We've gone up three gears," says Broadbent. It is investing £1 million this year. for the second year running, in finishing equipment at its Congleton factory and is working on a new form of curtain manufacture involving computers. Its Spanish acquisition is likely to go through this month.
Until last year's £6.8 million Marling takeover Boalloy had been owned by a four-man team, including Broadbent and fellow managing director Geoff Browning. They had bought the compan: from John Brown's Tasker group for £1..i million. Brown in turn had acquired the firm in 1978 from the Abrams brothers for £2.3 million.
FALTERING
The bodybuilder was formed in 1946 by Harold Lea of Jennings of Sandbach and had a faltering first two decades until the Abrams brothers, local Bedford dealers, rescued it from liquidation in the 1960s. The Tautliner curtainsider, Boalloy's best-known and biggest-selling product, was patented in 1969. Broadbent was heavily involved in its design.
"There were other curtainsiders on tilt market, but they were mainly for keepim the weather out," he says. "The industry wanted a product which would make handling easier. The Tautliner roof had a continuous track, and the front and rear bulkheads had tensionable locations for the curtain. The curtain became integral with the body structure."
He says the Tautliner also put the emphasis on safety. -We used vertical straps to secure the curtain. Before, curtainsiders had used a horizontal rope which zig-zagged— if it came out it was dangerous." The first Tautliner to be solc has just finished service with Glass Glover, and is now in a transport museum in Wroughton near Swindon.
The Tautliner gave 50mm more width than a standard trailer, says Broadbent. It allowed loading from the side and the back, and proved popular with the rental industry. Boalloy today sells between 45 and 55 Tautliner trailers and between 20 and 30 rigids a week: they make up 60% of its output. Its concertina-sided Localiner forms 20%, and its Insuliner insulated curtainsider and Linkliner sliding-door van 10% each. All the models are available in rigid, trailer and drawbar form.
ALUMINIUM
The Tautliner Progressive will be built with three alternative bulkheads: mild steel, which is light and fairly cheap; aluminium, even lighter; and stainless steel, which is heavy and expensive. The bulkhead can be changed if it is damaged or if the customer changes operations.
Until the John Brown takeover Boalloy was heavily trailer-based. Now rigids form 40% of its production. It concentrated at first on 7.5-tonners to get into the market, says Broadbent, but now makes 17-tonners too. Its customers include many of the big rental companies, including Dawsonrentals, Rider Truck, Salford Van Hire and Transfleet: "I realised in the early 1980s that we needed to broaden our customer base. We had no penetration of dealerships," he says.
Boalloy sees itself as being well-ready for 1992. It already has manufacturing plants in France and Holland, together with marketing operations in France and Spain. The Dutch company, Alphan of Rijn, was begun from scratch in 1987. It is now building 10 Tautliners a week and is preparing a new factory.
The French operation, TSF, is making about 35 Tautliners and 10 demounts a week. It has been in operation for 11 years. Boalloy has also just snapped up a "major" stake in another French bodybuilder, BEHM of Thionville, which has been manufacturing under licence for Boalloy since 1981. Broadbent plans to expand its operation by 50%.
The Dutch and French operations give Boalloy access to the big German market. It hopes to gain entry to Portugal with its Spanish acquisition, which is situated north-west of Madrid. It already uses five bodybuilders in Spain (of "varying qualities", Broadbent admits) who build kits under licence, and supplies kits to Danish body manufacturer Vecta. Its expansion plans are helped by the fact that parent company Marling has several European subsidiaries, including a Barcelona firm, Murtra, which claims to be the biggest seatbelt manufacturer in Europe. "This gives us tremendous marketing influence in Spain," says Broadbent.
Boalloy's other main venture was into the 3.5-tonne market in March last year. It says that so far it has only touched the market with an output of about two vehicles a week. Its first 3.5-tonne body was a VW LT35 and it followed that with conversions on Mercedes 307Ds, Freight Rover She rpas and Renault Trafics. Its bodies are all side-access and are made of aluminium. Broadbent says that due to Boalloy's purchasing power, it can price them competitively.
MECHANICAL
The company is investing heavily in its factory. It has installed a shot blasting plant and a paint spray booth and is also fitting mechanical handling equipment and making increasing use of computeraided design. Its workforce stands at 350; over 400 if the European operations are included.
Broadbent plans a "concerted attack on dealerships" by getting closer to manufacturers and persuading them to fit Boalloy bodies as standard. Already Leyland Daf, Volvo, Mercedes, Iveco Ford and MAN have fitted Tautliners to demonstration models, he says. Mercedes and Leyland Daf are Boalloy's biggest customers for direct-fitting bodies — Mercedes trucks are shipped from Germany and held in stock in Congleton.
Fitting standard bodies cuts costs and makes the spares service more efficient, says Boradbent, but often dealers and customers are unwilling to choose a body in which they have had little or no say. "The end-user still calls the tune," Broadbent. "We are concerned abi weaknesses of some dealers, thoug feel that with 43 years' experience game, with the last 20 concentratec distribution and safety, we know m than the dealer salesman who is tilt between the bodybuilder and custo
Broadbent says he hopes to inert his involvement with AWD. -We a developing well with Steyr and did their 15 demonstration imports. W doing well with ERF on its new E-s
Rental companies remain huge customers: they have ordered 30017 for this year. Despite the amalgam; of Central Trailers and Rentco, anc Tiphook and CSL, orders have gro• says Broadbent.
One of Boalloy's best innovation been the Insuliner, launched in 197 when insulated curtains were fitted Tautliner. Then, in 1980 to 1981 NO market was low, and, according to Broadbent, nothing was happening Boalloy fitted a fridge to the model -Everybody said we were crazy; it I never been done," he says.
Cowls were then developed to sti running down the side of the curtail which caused them to flap and altos to escape. They are more efficient 'k have more room than a sliding-side reefer, he says, and have the added advantage that they can be unloade quicker because of the curtain.