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II 0 rent Plastics is now into its fifth decade
Page 48
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in the world of laminates. These days laminates are everywhere: they are the sheets which coat desktops, kitchen work surfaces, laboratory benches and cupboards. The
company's main customers are shop fitters and exhibitions businesses; much the same as they were when Brent Plastics was founded in 1966.
The company was bought in 1981 by its current owner and managing director, Peter Young. It has 19 employees, runs five vehicles and moved to its compact premises just off Willesden High Road in north-west London 111 1986.
Two warehouses on the site house thousands oflines of laminates for a customer base of 300-400. As well as a daily multi-drop London run, the firm's vehicles make a Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire run which takes in a lot of farm buildings which have been converted to light industrial units. It also has a regular drop in Scotland.
For the shorter routes, vehicles leave around o8:3ohrs and are generally back by 17:oohrs, according to deputy manager Carol Stratton. "We don't charge for deliveries." she says. Although this policy is not under review, transport is an obvious cost which needs recouping somewhere along the line.
"You could sell zo sheets and that would cover you," Stratton adds. "The next day you could sell one sheet to the same person. There is no charging for account customers. We're finding it expensive, but at the moment we are not looking at changing."
Affairs outside of Brent Plastics' control could well have a bearing on this in the future: London mayor Ken Livingstone's proposed congestion charge for vehicles going into the centre of the capital will add a financial burden to the logistical difficulties of transporting goods in urban areas.
It is a worry, Stratton agrees: "We do 17 or 18 multi-drops round London and you could go in and out of the centre two or three times."
With the exception of Formica, which is manufactured in Tyne & Wear, most laminate products come from the Continent. Like so much of the business world, August is the quietest time of year, largely due to factories in Italy and Germany closing for several weeks. The product comes in thin, brittle she and for this reason Brent Plastics tends store and transport them flat. A couple oft bodies of its vehicles are custom-built witl false floor under which small numbers sheets can be slid and carried safely. "We Ii pallets but we are equally happy to do or and twos," Stratton reports.
In the main the firm is delivering produ, to shops. "We don't do building site Stratton says firmly. "They're a nightmare. you go to a shop being refurbished just the• ters tend to be there. At a site there is the s agent. security, health and safety, so you ne a hard hat, and you can never find who meant to take the delivery. If you lose an ho on the London run it can be a write-off" The relatively small size of Brent Plasti reflects two things: first, that the cost of prc erty means distribution companies in Lend must pay through the nose to expand; at second, the firm has resisted the temptati, to get swallowed by one of the laminate inch try's big players. such as Internatior Decorative Surfaces or BCL. "You can offe: more personal service," Stratton explains.
The fleet, all bought outright, compris 6.5-tonne Ivecos from Alperton Trucks whi were chosen because "they are narrow, light but with a much greater carrying capacit■ says Stratton. The Mercedes, from Mercedt Benz Edgware Road, are "reliable, not chea but smart vehicles".
"The Atego is three years old and has 11 been without its problems," she adds. "I do: like the electronics, it's probably a advanced. The last Mercedes we replaced w 13 years old. In later life we reduced its woi load, of course. It was pre-electronics but went on and on. We were sad to see it go— did an awful lot of miles for us, served us wc I can't see any other truck that will go on long, or do as well."