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Archie Struthers
Since March when he took over the division, Mr Struthers has completely streamlined operations. He is completely involved at all levels although he has five line managers and he is on first-name terms with all the staff. Recently he introduced a measured day-work scheme which put his drivers into the 2000 a year category.
He works an 11-hour day five days a week; he also attends his office for several hours on a Saturday and invariably calls in on Sundays to see that everything is running smoothly.
Mr Struthers is a member of the Institute of Marketing and an associate of the Industrial Transport Association. He joined the Oliver Rix group from the British Fuel Company where he was transport co-ordinator for the East Midland region. G.C. • Glasgow-born Archie M. Struthers is one of the most refreshing personalities in transport today and a fine example of the type of young men in the industry who combine transport, distribution and marketing techniques to make a formidable business combination.
To hold the position of managing director of two of the most important subsidiaries of the giant Cambridge-based Oliver Rix group with its nation-wide interests in transport, insurance, farm machinery and motoring services at the age of 35, is no mean achievement. Mr Struthers is in charge of the group's transport division which comprises J. H. Hadfield and Sons Ltd, of Ashtonunder-Lyne, Lancashire, and Deamer Brothers Ltd, of Hitchin, who employ between them some 170 people and operate a fleet of 80 vehicles.
One of Mr Struther's interests in life in a business sense is antique pottery for it is in carrying highly valuable products which are easily damaged in transit that Hadfield is now largely specializing.
This traffic also includes such examples of our modern affluent society as deep freezers, gas and electric cookers, washing machines, bicycles and other consumer durables.
Not that these are the only goods the division's vehicles carry. Both Mr Struthers companies are to some extent involved in house and factory removals, but predominantly it is the large-scale distribution activities which require professional marketing and planning techniques, which figure mostly in their operations.
Most of his vehicles are on Bedford chassis and are Marsden-built to special interior design to enable the valuable cargoes to travel without the slightest damage. In fact, a fleet of pantechnicons specially designed has been built to carry in the most economic manner loads of deep freezers. This fleet will move about 30,000 cabinets each year all over Britain.