REDEI ll fleet. The company is turning to the Continent
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for its next move. 150-strong vehicle ROVERS Hammond Transport has a network of UK depots and a
• "If we had stayed as we were in 1987, we'd be dead by now," says John Davies, managing director of Hammond Transport, Happily, his company hit the acquisition trail, buying two operations to give it a network of UK depots. It now has 150 vehicles, 125 trailers and 190 staff.
The Redhill, Surrey-based haulier is currently looking to the Continent for its next move. It wants to link with a French partner to share groupage work in continental Europe and the UK. Davies also believes he needs to strengthen his UK operation further in Scotland, the South-West and the South. He aims to do this through joint ventures, rather than further acquisitions.
The South is particularly important: "If you are strong in the South, you hold the key to your northern operations, because everybody finishes in London looking for backloads," says Davies.
Hammond's is also pitching for a major car parts distribution contract similar to its flagship Toyota contract which is based in Lutterworth, Leicestershire. Only dedicated vehicles are used on the contract. It also recently began a five-year distribution contract for office furniture manufacturer Samas Vickers using nine dedicated vehicles with drawbars and demountable bodies.
The Samas Vickers deal, together with a contract for a paper manufacturer, added £1.2m at the turn of the year to a projected full-year turnover of £10m.
The company's roots go back to 1959, when Davies began as an owner-driver running out of Harley with one truck.
He had a £200 loan from his grandfather, CJ Hammond, having renewed his grandfather's lapsed A-licence. His first truck, a Ford Trader 7.5-tonner, carried roofing tiles for Redlands.
Before this Davies played professional football for Portsmouth. The club's chairman Jack Sparshatt owned MercedesBenz dealer Spartruks and believed in teaching young players a trade in case their sports career failed to blossom. Davies studied truck mechanics and traded his soccer boots for life on the road.
He remained an owner-driver until 1964, when a limited B-licence enabled him to put extra vehicles on the road. From there the firm grew steadily until 1987 when it bought Global Services, its first acquisition. "It was a lot of hard work which took a lot of steam out of me," says Davies. Global had lost £250,000 over 14 months on a £2m turnover, so Hammond's was able to buy it cheaply.
At the time Hammond's had one depot — at Redhill. "We were making about £400,000 profit on a £2.5m turnover and were quite happy with life," says Davies, "but we could see the dangers of being a one-depot, regional carrier, so we advertised to acquire another company."
Loss-making Global had depots in Hemel Hempstead, Birmingham, Leeds and Gravesend at the time of purchase. Hammond's closed Gravesend and offered those customers a service through Redhill.
"It was the best thing we ever did because it gave us a national operation," says Davies. "We merged Global's 20-lorry fleet into ours and we achieved a £5m turnover with profits of £600,000 after two years." Davies attributes much of Hammonds' success to the appointment of his friend Don Meare as financial director at the beginning of the eighties: "It was a turning point for the company," he says.
The initial boost Global gave to Hammond's faded by 1990 — all the savings that could be made had been made: "You could only do that once," says Davies. Meanwhile, he saw business in the South-East "move away in droves" to the North where factories and warehouses were much cheaper: It became obvious the South-East could not maintain its industrial base," says Davies.
Hammond's began its search for a northern base in Yorkshire. Then, out of the blue, the opportunity arose to acquire Norseman Freight of Birkenhead,,. Merseyside.
Norseman was owned by the well-established Robert Smith Group which had decided to sell its subsidiary, describing it as a "non-core business". But for Hammond's it was a perfect opportunity to expand in the North-West and help with backloads.
Norseman, with a measure of continental work, has also helped Hammond's develop its European aspirations which it wants to consolidate by finding a French partner. With a Birmingham hub it believes it is well placed to distribute continental groupage loads in the UK.
Hammond's has worked for Toyota for some years, but last March it clinched the dedicated contract which Davies says makes him extremely proud. It involves delivering stock order parts to more than 200 dealers weekly throughout the UK and delivering vehicle off road (VOR) orders to the same dealers five nights a week. Emergency parts ordered by 16:00hrs will arrive at most dealers by 08:00hrs the next day.
Hammond's bought Toyota's liveried fleet of eight rigids and 17 vans for £600,000. Davies' pride in the contract, which he is constantly refining, is born Out of business realism — car part sales have held up well during the recession.
Davies' approach remains conservative. Hammond's has no capital tied up in property — all the depots are rented: "We are not out to expand further for expansion's sake — it's got to be profitable," maintains Davies.
However, if the right opportunity came 1.
along Hammond's could be tempted:
"There are some good regional carriers ?.t around who are vulnerable at this time," g Davies admits.
El by Patric Cunnane • I passed my HGV 1 test last October and I was still finding it very difficult to find work without any experience, so I put an advertisement in the Manchester Evening News and a reply came from an owner-driver for a run to Seville, Spain.
I jumped at the chance to get the experience and was given £100 expenses and a DKV fuel card. I was promised £200 for the trip when I returned.
The truck I was given had indicators that didn't flash, a (completely) bald
tyre on the tractor and wipers that worked three times and fell off. On top of that the cab stunk and I had to spend £5 on washing the quilt and pillows, £10 for a bulb in France and I couldn't use the "peage" (toll motorway) as I would not have had enough money to feed myself.
When I delivered in Seville, I was told to go to Murcia, 800km away, even though I wasn't told about a return load.
When I had loaded with a full cargo of lemons the unit would only do 30triph (50km/h) maximum.
When it started raining I had to stop at night but risked it in the day without wipers.
I went without breaks on my tacho as I was so cheesed off — I just wanted to get back and was scared of getting pulled up by the police as fines abroad are really heavy.
I delivered the lemons on Sunday but I could not be tipped until Monday or Tuesday so I phoned to say I was leaving the trailer.
I drove back to Manchester to the owner-driver. He gave me £150 and said the other £50 was being deducted because I hadn't waited to be tipped. He also said I should not have paid £.10 for a bulb.
How do these people sleep at night? My experience of continental driving has put me off for life.
Antony Jackson Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside.
Flattery will get you everywhere
• Having only recently started to subscribe to Commercial Motor, I was thrilled to win a radio/cassette in your Truckin' Tunes competition.
And I also received a reply to my inquiry regarding the operation of a Dutch trailer. As an owner-driver I have never, ever had a reply to the numerous letters I have written to other magazines and transport publications.
Congratulations and many thanks.
DJ Moody Taurus Trucking, Woodstock, Oxon.
fl Aw, shucks — Ed.
More work on the Voith Midintat
• Following your article on the Voith Midimat in the Dennis Dart (CM 27 Feb-4 March), Dennis Specialist Vehicles confirms that as part of an ongoing development programme the company has agreed with London Bus that it will fit three Midimat transmissions which have been bought by London Bus. This agreement follows the installation and basic test programme having been completed by Dennis in one of its development vehicles.
Dennis states that with any development programme it is very important to include in-service evaluation trials and therefore this agreement moves the test programme into its next phase. Until such time as these trials have been completed to the full satisfaction of Dennis Specialist Vehicles, and commercial arrangements completed with Voith, Dennis will not offer the Midimat as an option in its Dart chassis range.
Roger Heard Bus sales director, Dennis Specialist Vehicles, Guildford, Surrey.
When cowboys were really cowboys
• Your article on animal rights (CM 6-12 Feb) was very interesting — particularly the comment made by Ben Maguire, head of the RHA's livestock group, concerning the "licensing system for livestock hauliers to keep the cowboys out". Years ago movement of livestock was a job entrusted to the cowboys. How times change.
Chris Richards Elswick, Lanes.
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