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Stuart Nicol's business relies heavily on express groupage freight, has one of central Scotland's busiest overnight trunking fleets, and yet isn't a member of any pallet network T. runninghaM
Peer out from the top floor window of Stuart Nicol's boardroom and you could be forgiven for thinking Shotts is the extreme outskirts of 'destination nowhere: Look at a map, however, and all becomes clear. Glasgow lies 22 miles to the west, Edinburgh 31 miles to the east, the M74 junction is only 12 miles away, and Bellshill's sprawling industrial estates, where the lion's share of truck dealerships, parcel hubs and the likes are located, is about the same again. Scotland's central belt is the epicentre of the nation's wealth, and Stuart Nicol Transport (SNT) is bang in the middle of it.
It's a Friday afternoon when we meet Nicol. There's no crisply ironed cuff-linked shirt, over-shined shoes or tie with a large knot. Instead, Nicol is mucking in with the drivers and generally overseeing departure for the firm's annual pilgrimage to Truckfest Scotland. The Ingliston Showground bash tends to draw more than its fair share of high-rolling operators. "Of course we compete head on with these guys every day of the week, but when it comes to show time, everyone's nice and friendly. At the end of the day we all talk to each other; that's the way it should be," he says. Starting as one of the central belt's minnows, SNT has
developed into quite a force within its own sphere.
Although Nicol's business interests officially began in 1996 with the purchase of a used Scania 113-380, the seeds for it were sown much earlier.
At 14, Nicol persuaded his father to invest in an ailing Captain Cargo franchise, where the Hamilton and East Kilbride postcodes were up for grabs. The family business owned by his father, Nicol Boilers, used the service to deliver parts. "I did have a spell working for the family firm but it got to the stage where I looked forward to the ride out in the van more than anything else; my future never lay in fixing broken boilers," he says.
SNT has grown steadily over the past 17 years to a fleet of 40 trucks (37 artics and three rigids), backed up by four Mercedes-Benz Sprinters for hot-shot work. There are some 60 trailers, mostly curtainsiders, but also eight reefers and a step-frame for recovering stricken trucks. No suspension-testing pot holes to be found here; it's an impressive facility with a small amount of storage and a large workshop that three full-time mechanics call home. Almost from the outset Nicol recognised that the foundation for any successful transport business lay in the ability to keep the wheels of a permanently loaded truck turning. He saw little point in keeping any truck standing. "If you could perform this one simple task with the right rates in place, right truck and right second driver, the
start-up company would make money," he says.
"I really cottoned on to the fact that run properly, a genuine 24/7 operation would be the way to make a living."
Almost from the off his first 3-series Scania was pulling a bulk animal feed tipping trailer during the day, then making a night trunk in the evening.
Today, Nicol's business works on the same ethos, if a slightly more elaborate one. Other industries such as food, healthcare and retailing are all used to operating to a rostering system for their workforce. "Having sat down and worked it out properly, a four-on, four-off shift seemed like the most logical way for us to operate," says Nicol. "Drivers are grouped together in pairs, so one truck can operate seven days a week with four drivers. For example, you might have one two-man crew starting on a Tuesday and finishing on a Saturday, while the second would work Sunday through to Thursday. As the whole thing marches forward, everyone ends up with a long weekend or time to do other things during the week. The staff know exactly what they're doing [far in advance] and so does the company."
The office lights burn around the clock too, another reason Nicol thinks the company has benefitted from a non-stop service. The office opens its doors at 7am on Monday and doesn't close until 7pm on a Friday.
"A surprising amount of our customers actually operate their own rigids and in some cases, artics too. They're very good with local and regional pallets, distribution, etc, but it's often another thing to send a truck south at night. Being phoned in bed at 3am because the vehicle's got a puncture or the motorway's been closed due to an accident isn't what a lot of people have in mind. What we do is take the headache out of running 200-plus miles south every working night," says Nicol.
With permutations of delays from accidents, roadworks or weather, committing as many as 18 trucks to the Midlands hubs every working evening isn't without its headaches, but on the plus side, empty running across the fleet is practically zero. "Having nightshift office staff is invaluable, if only to update the clients when they arrive for work the following morning," he adds. Such an intensive operation must rack up the miles. Nicol reckons the annual average is about 260,000km to
300,000km, putting the company well ahead of almost everyone else. Looking around the yard there's a mix of three makes, Daf, Scania and Volvo, with the latter being the current favourite. "Without sounding like a salesman for the company, high mileage is the main reason we have so many Volvos here," he says. "When you're doing those sorts of mileages, you need to be dealing with a strong brand with an even stronger backup. In fact, the new Volvo FH 500 Globetrotter you've photographed today will be double shifted."
Given the way the company is structured, and the fact it's set up better than almost any pallet network member we've met, it does seem odd SNT's not a member of a network. "We have been approached to take various pallet network franchises in the past, but so far, we've taken the view it isn't for us — that's not to say we wouldn't consider it sometime in the future. For now, it suits SNT to stick to what we know best," says Nicol. In less than 20 years, he has built up a nice business on the back of dogged determination and a willingness to work unsociable hours. "It still amuses me. I never thought we'd have as many as five people working here, now we've got 75!" he says. •