PROFILE
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GERRY JONES TRANSPORT
Dedication has kept the business going strong
A family
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Welsh operator Gerry Jones started his business in 1982 and has built it up to an international haulage business with 91 employees and 70 trucks
Words: Roger Brown / Images: Nigel Spreadbury
You know you are in the heart of south Wales when you visit the headquarters of family-owned haulier Gerry Jones Transport. Nestled in a valley with a methodist chapel on one side and a rugby pitch on the other, the walls of the ofices at the depot in Cwmcarn, Gwent, are adorned with framed shirts and memorabilia from the oval-ball game. All that’s missing, it seems, is an on-site male voice choir to greet visitors.
Gerry Jones, the eponymous MD, started the rags-toriches business 30 years ago with two phones “one for incoming, another for outgoing calls” and a Magirus Deutz 310D to carry loads of timber and pulp. “In 1982, I was out of a job following a change of direction at the company I was working for as depot manager,” he explains to CM.
“The problem was I had just signed for a mortgage on a new house, and had a second child on the way.
“I’d always thought about setting up on my own, and fortunately the bank manager at Barclays backed my plan – I’m not sure nowadays it would be possible to start out like I did then.”
Dealing with every challenge
In the 12 months to March 2011, pre-tax proit at the Palletforce member went up 185% . Turnover rose by 25% to £7.7m, up from £6.1m.
Jones says: “I would say the past two years have been the toughest ever.
“We recently had to ask drivers to use up their holidays on certain days because of the lack of work on that particular week.
“However, we continue to monitor costs and feel the company has a strong customer base, ensuring it is well placed to prosper when the economic environment improves.” The company employs 91 people, including 73 drivers. Blue-chip clients include Klockner Pentaplas, Schulman Plastics and Corus Colorsteels. Jones says: “Many of our customers have factories nearby and we are strategically placed here to transport items like plastics, coil and food.
“The construction industry used to be a massive source of backloads, but now 90% of backloads are to the Asda and Wilkinson RDCs in south Wales and the Amazon warehouse at Swansea.” Recently, the company invested £1m in its overseas operations. It has appointed a transport manager for Europe, and added six additional services each week to Belgium, France, Germany and Holland. “We have increased our European work via Dover to between 15 and 20 loads per week, and have 18 drivers that can do it,” Jones explains.
Cheaper fuel abroad
“Because fuel can be 86p per litre in Luxembourg we often try to divert our trucks there. Belgium can also be 10p or 12p cheaper than the UK. We top-up on the way back and use the fuel back over here.”
The company has its own 55,000-litre fuel tank on site, ▲ The company with supplies delivered in bulk by Oil for Wales. Gerry employs 91 people, Jones Transport drivers are also issued with Shell and including 73 drivers
EDC fuel cards.
However, Jones believes the rising price of diesel is still the biggest issue the road transport industry faces and says an essential user rebate needs to be introduced to help UK operators.
“Haulage is paramount for the country, but fuel is still the biggest bone of contention,” he continues.
“The government should consider making it a different colour such as blue to differentiate it from other fuel.” Jones is also outspoken about the proposed 90p rise in the Severn Bridge HGV toll charges in the new year from £17.20 to £18.10. He says: “It’s a scandal – we’re being punished for where we live. It costs £3,000 a month or so for us, but we have no choice in the matter.” The Gerry Jones Transport leet consists of 70 trucks and 120 trailers. In its early days, the company ran a mix of Seddon Atkinson, Daf, Scania, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz models, as well as the Magirus Deutz.
However, it decided to go 100% MAN after being impressed with the F90. It has remained loyal to the Munich marque for more than 25 years, and runs a mix of TGA and TGS rigids, as well as TGX tractor units, all purchased from the WG Davies dealership in Cardiff.
Jones says: “We’ve enjoyed excellent productivity from all our MANs, and have had great feedback from our drivers. Our nine-year-old vehicles are still operating trouble-free.
“The policy is to keep trucks for as long as they don’t lose us money, this can be seven or eight years. It’s hard to put an exact date on it though.” A total of 75% of the trucks are itted with digital tachographs, and all are linked with telephone and GPS tracking software, allowing customers full transparency of loads.
“The Supertrack vehicle tracking system we have is the best management tool we have ever purchased,” Jones says.
Choosing the right one
Although the company used to buy from a mix of trailer suppliers, it now purchases only from SDC. Some of the trailers come itted with a sliding roof, so coil products can be dropped in from above.
With regards to tyres, the irm adopted an all-new Michelin policy a few years ago. Jones adds: “Over the years, we have looked at so-called budget tyres that claim to save you money, but they never deliver long-term savings. The Michelins deliver good performance and economy over long mileages and we also ind them more resilient to damage.”
Gerry Jones Transport is very much a family affair, with three of Jones’s brothers, various in-laws and his son and daughter all employed across the business. His brother Mark – operations director at the irm – is a keen rally driver and races a MK1 Ford Escort Mexico in local events. Jones tells us that, as it approaches its 30th birthday, he is “extremely proud” of what the company has achieved. “Our expansion over the years has all been down to organic growth, and we have always managed to expand through recessions while others have fallen by the wayside. Service is paramount, and our customers know that by coming to us they will receive the best job and the best possible service. If we continue with that formula then Gerry Jones Transport should continue to be a success for many years to come,” he says. n
MAINTAINING THE FLEET
The firm’s 6.5-acre headquarters, which used to be a Carcraft car supermarket, includes 41,000ft2 of warehousing space. It has loading covers, meaning all loading in and out of the facility is completely protected from the elements. Visitors to the workshop – run by Jones’s son Nathan – are greeted enthusiastically by the firm’s white alsatian dog, the appropriately named Diesel. The fully equipped facility consists of five pits and a brake tester for trucks and trailers.
Vehicles are inspected at four-weekly intervals to ensure any problems are instantly identified and then fixed in-house. After thorough pre-MoT inspections, the company takes them to the VOSA test centre in Pontypool.
Jones says: “We have a total of six mechanics who know the MANs inside out, in fact better than the local dealership.
“It is highly technical work, but we can do our own diagnostics and have our own Mancat system for this.” The company has kept its old base two miles away as a trailer storage yard.
MAD ABOUT RUGBY
Being a proud Welshman, Jones will happily talk for hours about his beloved rugby union. He says: “Having built this company up to what it is today, I am understandably very passionate about it. However, a man must have more than his work and my other great loves in life are my family, the local community and, being Welsh, rugby.” Jones has been associated with both Newport Gwent Dragons and Newport Rugby Club for years, and was a board member for a time. “I even decorated one of my fleet’s trailers with curtains that show some of their stars in action, and used to sponsor the back of the players’ shirts at Newport Gwent Dragons,” he adds. “The sponsorship deal raised the profile of the company as our name was on television twice a week.”
SHARED PARKING
Gerry Jones Transport has been a member of the Transport Association (TA) since 1998. According to Jones, being a member of the organisation is “like having 65 depots of your own”.
He says: “We were delighted to be asked to join. It’s a fantastic self-help organisation with a great list of high-quality members, such as Fagan and Whalley, Jack Richards & Son, Alan Firmin and QTR Transport.” Jones says one of the benefits of the TA is that drivers can park in the depots of other member firms, which provides better security than a layby.
“The association is great in that we can share parking, a situation that is getting worse in this country.
“We have showers for drivers here on site and we can direct them to the pub across the road for refreshments.
“The organisation is also excellent in that members can share fuel facilities.”