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Bulk operator Walter Carefoot & Sons (Transport) got a lucky
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break six years ago—but it has taken canny homework over decades to develop the core of the business. Steve McQueen reports.
111111G UP
1 t's not often that a customer comes
knocking on the door in search of a fleet to move its goods, but that's exactly what happened at the Walter Carefoot & Sons (Transport) depot at Longridge, near Preston, about six years ago. "In his words, he'd seen the vehicles around quite a lot, they always looked very clean and tidy and the product to be carried had to be moved in spotless vehicles because it had to be kept free from any contaminants," explains managing director Colin Carefoot.
"He wanted to move silica sand for use in glass manufac turing. He was looking for a well turned out fleet and asked us if we'd be interested in mov ing it from the London area into Warrington."
'Three years down the line, the company now moves between 30-35 loads of silica sand a week.
A lucky break, maybe, but while a lot of transport operators have developed and expanded their businesses as a result of being in the right place at the right time, the Carefoot experience provides real evidence that the more planning and practice you put into something, the luckier you are likely to be. Carefoot's transport roots are in construction and date back to 5929, when the family building business needed vehicles to move ladders and other building materials from site to site. By 1966, the transport side had established itself in its own right and the two activities continue to operate in their separate fields under the Carefoot name.
The first third-party work carried by the now independent bulk transport operators was rock salt, collected from the mines in Cheshire and
D delivered to various local county council depots. That's an association that still continues today, although the delivery area is somewhat greater—from South Wales up into the north of Scotland.
Acquisitive nature
As might be expected from a national bulk transport specialist with two depots and a combined turnover of over km, the variety of loads carried these days is also somewhat greater.
And this has happened by design, as Colin Carefoot explains:
"When we felt the need to get more into the glass business, we bought over HF Gornall, of Bilsborrow [near Garstang] in 1998. About 18 months later we acquired fames Dixon Transport, based in Carlisle, because we wanted to work more closely with grain merchants and increase our share of the bulk grain-moving business around the UK," he says.
In addition to these types of loads, the 38 drivers can expect to deliver a wide variety of consignments. For example, they might be required to pick up ash from a Liverpool power station or to collect gypsum from a mine near Uttoxeter for delivery to a cement works on behalf of Castle Cement. Meanwhile, there are large quantities of broken glass to be collected from waste transfer stations, bound for glass recycling plants. The company also delivers large amounts of raw materials for the construction industry down into the London area in the form of aggregates and clinker. That's a particularly handy trip to have to make when there are large quantities of silica sand from the Surrey quarries that must be brought back north.
A steady increase in work means that Carefoot also employs subcontractors on a regular basis.
"Some of them are dedicated, but none of their trucks are in our colours because it can be a disadvantage. You don't have full control over the vehicles and we are very image conscious. I pay my guys ,t20 a week to wash the vehicles and keep them clean and tidy, inside and out. I expect, but I can't guarantee, that the subcontractors will turn up at the customer's premises in an equivalent condition. That can be very important."
Hanson Aggregates, for one, can bear witness to that. Drivers will be expected to deliver to premises where driving skill and customer relations are required in almost equal quantities. The vehicle access is not always good. The manoeuvring area available is often very tight. It's a lucky operator that can find good drivers who can do all that and keep the vehicles in good condition at the same time, and Carefoot has worked hard to be one of them.
On average, the drivers say the rate is as good, if not better, than most other employers in the area. They also qualify for an additional 2.5% of their annual earnings if the vehicles remain accident-free.
This combined package has been in operation for over Jo years and proof that the policy has been successful is the high proportion of drivers who have been with the company for 15 years or more.
One of the things they like about working here is the chance to drive a well-cared for fleet with a frequent replacement policy.
The current fleet contains 15 Iveco EuroTechs, and nine Renault Premiums, but it has recently entered a new phase through the addition of r4. MAN TG-A 4105.
"We always buy the vehicles outright, have them serviced at the dealership and replace them every three years on a guaranteed buyback. You try to keep your people happy and the drivers certainly seem to like them, but the lvecos were becoming less reliable and the MAN price was very competitive, which was a big factor in the switch," says Carefoot.
Investors in People
All of the vehicles in the fleet are 6x2s, plated to carry 44 tonnes: "Everything we do is paid on a per-tonne-carried basis, so it makes sense to be as efficient as we can."
In a further move towards workforce harmony, the company is also aiming for accreditation to the Investors in People scheme.
"We think it's important that everybody, including the drivers, should have a chance to air their views. We chose the Investors in People route because it improves communication and enables the employees to learn more about the company."
The firm is devising some new plans and these are likely to include a move into storage and distribution. Colin Carefoot is interested in such a move for a number of reasons, but says they're all about building profit.
"If you invest hi property, you acquire an asset that is likely to increase in value. You not only control access, you control goods inward and outward movements, but one of the main advantages is that as it fills up, you are also generating new business and hopefully, adding new customers, too." It sounds like they are preparing the ground for another lucky break.