Roy Taylor
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Household removals have tended to be tailored down to a price instead of up to a standard but this is changing and a more professional approach is being adopted throughout the industry, according to Roy Taylor, this year's president of the British Association of Removers.
Mr Taylor was largely instrumental in bringing about the amalgamation of the National Association of Furniture Warehousemen and Removers and the British Association of Overseas Furniture Removers which go to make up the present Association. He is also the md of Smith and Herbert Ltd and sees the future of the removals industry contained in the removal of offices, industrial premises and those household removals involved in the relocation of commercial and industrial companies.
In his opinion, the growth of the doit-yourself removal at the lower end of the market is a fact of life and something which will not be cured by complaining. The industry must, therefore, adopt a more competitive approach which will entail removal companies in seeking work rather than waiting for it to come to them. The growing business between Common Market countries is one area in which Roy Taylor sees opportunities.
The Association is playing a major part in informing and educating its membership and entry to the Association has become easier for many small men in the past few months. However, he feels that there is still a lot of room for improvement in business methods in the industry, especially on the costing side. Many removers, he says, are totally unaware of their true costs and could even be working for nothing.
With Beck and Politzer before the war and then joining Alltransport Ltd afterwards, his wry comment is that he has been around the transport scene perhaps for too long. He is married with two grown-up girls one of whom shares his interest in archaeology. After relaxing at a "dig':, he says, he never ceases to be amazed at how little the human race has progressed over the centuries. He also collects coins and china. J.J.