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questioL survi

1st January 1998, Page 28
1st January 1998
Page 28
Page 29
Page 28, 1st January 1998 — questioL survi
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

When Lyn Flegg was unexpectedly left single-handed to run a transport company which was in debt she turned to her staff. With their help she has steered the company around back into profitability.

iraculous isn't the word to describe our survival," says Lyn Flegg of plant and machinery haulage specialist Flegg Transport, of Aston Clinton. "My boys"—the staff—"have given 150%: they put their heart and soul into it."

The business had been a fairly conventional one, run by husband and wife in partnership. It had limped through the recession, partly by diversifying into continental work. But its working capital had been drained by a number of customers going bankrupt while owing the company money Suddenly, in June 1996, Mike Flegg left and Lyn discovered she had been left with the company. But it was in dire straits and unlikely to survive. At crack of dawn next day, she held an "extraordinary" meeting and explained the position to the staff. "Are we going to go for it?" she asked. "I totally depend on you." She explained that she would quite understand if anyone—particularly those with young children and big mortgages—wanted to leave. Nobody did. Instead they grabbed paintbrushes and changed the name on the vehicles.

Lyn also outlined how she intended the business to pay all its debts, in time. This was not to be a company with a new name that would walk away from its creditors to start afresh.

Disappointments

One of the first disappointments was the bank, of which she had been a customer for more than 15 years. After verbally agreeing to support, it effectively bailed out. "I had so much grief from it," she says In the end she was incredibly lucky in finding another, this time sympathetic, bank manager at NatWest at Aylesbury "I was totally honest with him and he in turn 'was fantastic'." She produced a business plan to close the partnership, transfer the assets to the new company, then sell some of them to get working capital, and replace vehicles. NatWest saw the books "and had the guts and faith to back us." Lyn also divorced her husband.

One thing she had spotted was the high cost of maintenance of the older vehicles in the fleet: hence the need to try and replace them quickly. Lyn's son Jayson proved to be one of the hidden assets of the business. In the old partnership he had worked alongside the other drivers for some years and had gained a considerable knowledge of handling machinery. Fortunately the fleet engineer was a CPC holder, so he was able to satisfy the legal requirement while Jayson took a crash course and successfully gained (at first attempt) national and international CFCs.

An early step was to smarten up the business—on a shoestring. There had been "phones everywhere" in offices and the warehouse, many little used, but they still cost line rental fees, and were removed. The remaining continental work was dropped, since close scrutiny of the accounts showed the company was lucky to make £50 profit on a trip. It decided to concentrate on machinery moving, particularly that for the printing industry. It bought new red overalls for the staff. Finally, it sold off three of the fleet—one 7.5 tonner, one six-wheeler, and one attic.

The proceeds raised enough money to pay the deposits on three new trucks, one on a lease/purchase and two on financial leases. The third truck, a six-wheeler, is only now going on the road. But the other two, the overalls, a general change in attitude and improvements in the profitability of industry generally have brought more business—good quality business. Jayson reckons that 70% of present customers have gone elsewhere because it was cheaper, found the snags and come back. One paid 100 to have a guillotine moved, against Flegg Transport's quote of 1240, but was unhappy with the result. "We make no bones about it," says Jayson: "We're not the cheapest but we have the proper cranes, forklifts, jacks and skates, and do the job properly with adequate insurance cover."

Customer care is particularly good, he claims, and the company uses qualified personnel, not one man and a boy. One recent job involved off-loading (over a period) 40 artics, placing the machinery on a warehouse floor, and—at the end—giving the customer a floor plan showing where it had all been placed.

New image

The new image is opening doors previously closed. The company had tried unsuccessfully for six years to win work from one firm. Now it works not only solely for that company, but has been asked also to undertake assembly and installation work.

Smallest of the new vehicles is a 7.5 tonne Leyland Daf. It has the larger 180 engine to allow operation with a drawbar trailer. Normally it has a 14ft 6in (4.42m) body with a 3.5-tonne lifting crane at the back. But the crane is twist-lock mounted and can be demounted and replaced by an extra floor section to provide a total 17ft (5.18m) body length.

Both the six-wheeler and the artic are Leyland Daf 95s, rather than the cheaper 85 series. "People like an impressive motor," says Jayson. The attic hauls a triple axle Overlander step-frame trailer with a Bontiglioli P40000TL crane mounted at the rear. The semi-trailers have a clear 34ft (10.3m) loadspace, and the crane can lift 20 tonnes at two metres. The crane cost £23,000.

But pride of the fleet is the six-wheeler 95):F sleeper cab with 430hp engine and 22ft (6.7m) body. This carries at the rear a Fassi F380 crane which has a lifting capacity of 12 tonnes at three metres reach. The first of a brand new model from the maker, it is so new that the sales brochure for it has only a computer simulation picture. This Fassi cost £30,000 but "with its triple knuckles it is the only crane for machinery," says Jayson. It was chosen partly because of the reliability and performance of a previous Fassi, and also for its high lifting capacity without huge unladen weight.

The Leyland Daf was chosen for its twin tyres on both rear axles and also because it was possible to specify a particular bogie spread to cope with the crane's weight. The chassis is also fitted with stabilisers at the front. The body has been built in-house by Flegg Transport's engineer, helped by some of the drivers. It can also haul a 22ft (6.7m) drawbar trailer.

The economics of acquiring the new Fassi were that refurbishing the older Fassi in the fleet would have cost £7,000, but would have reduced the secondhand value of the vehicle on which it was mounted by L11:1,000. Against these figures the brand new, higher capacity crane cost only another £13,000.

Not only has the company gained these three new vehicles, it has now paid off all the creditors. It has also raised the drivers' wages (from a "poor level") by £1.30 an hour. "We didn't need or ask for capital, we just wanted support from people and time," says Lyn. The suppliers were marvellous, she adds. Now there's "a fantastic atmosphere" in the place. Jayson adds that "the boys all feel that this is their company."

There are plans are to replace another vehicle, to bring the fleet up to six and buy "better kit." But there are no thoughts of large-scale expansion. There are 10 people in the company, and they would like to keep the happy family atmosphere. An accolade of success is that Leyland Daf and Fassi have asked to borrow a vehicle for display at this year's TruckFest.

D by John Aldridge

College Road, Aston Clinton, Aylesbury, Bucks HP22 5EZ, tel; 01296 630234.

Five trucks and eight trailers, plus two fork-lifts and 12,000sq ft warehouse. June 1996.

Lyn Flegg, Jayson Flegg. Transport and moving of machinery, cu ar printing works equipment; machinery storage.


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