Replacement vehicles
Page 53
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Since then, Wheeler has developed a fresh allegiance: "Any new replacement vehicles will be Fodens. They are light and cheap to run. They seem to run on fresh air, never break down and the replacement bits are so low priced." In a straight contest with the established Leyland Daf 85, the Foden performs handsomely in the tonnage stakes, too. "Both have the same specification in terms of body and tipping gear, but I'm carrying a tonne and a half more in the Foden. At £15 a tonne, that comes to a lot at the end of the year."
While the addition of two new contracts is evidence of AR Wheeler's developing turnover, Andrew Wheeler indicates that it might be time to introduce a fresh period of caution. "The haulage side almost runs itself and I don't want to be sitting by the telephone all day sorting loads out, so perhaps we are almost as big as we need to be at the moment."
Adding the latest vehicle he has uncovered the drawback to operating in such a strategically sound operating area for distribution companies. "We have a good, reliable crew here, but we recently lost one driver on maternity leave and finding the right driver for the new vehicle has proved a bit of a nightmare. There is a real shortage of good drivers around here."
-1 by Steve McQueen