CARPETING THE COUNTRY
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Heuga UK makes, markets and distributes carpet tiles. To deliver some 200,000 tonnes of tiles in a year, it uses drawbars designed for maximum loading efficiency.
• Visitors trudging around the Motor Show in Birmingham who complain that their feet are killing them should remember that things could be worse.
Most stands enjoy the benefit of carpeted floor which cushions the tread.
Loose-lay carpet tiles have created their own quiet revolution in furnishing exhibition stands, as well as offices and other commercial premises. The revolution was led by Heuga, the Dutch company which pioneered the hairy, hardwearing carpet tile first seen in Britain about 30 years ago.
Heuga UK was set up as a whollyowned British subsidiary in 1971. The company manufactures carpet tiles at a factory in Dumfries in south-west Scotland, some of which are exported. It also markets tiles sourced from Heuga's main factory at Amerstorp in Holland and from Dumfries. They are distributed to wholesalers and carpet and furniture retail outlets all over the country from a 5,800m2 central warehouse at Aylesbury,
Buckinghamshire, which has around 4,000 pallet locations, Distribution costs are critical in Heuga's bid to remain competitive. The UK subsidiary has adhered firmly to its ownaccount policy on vehicle operations. operations manager Gary Stead says any kind of third-party contract distribution deal risks jeopardising the close control currently exercised over individual deliveries. The driver, after all, is the face of the company presented to its retailing customers. His behaviour and attitude, particularly in difficult delivery conditions, where congestion and delay are potential causes of aggravation, largely determine the company's image.
SMALL SIGNS
For his part the own-account driver is better able, says Stead, to assess customer satisfaction and detect small signs of discontent than a driver, however diligent, employed by an outside carrier, contracted or otherwise. Vehicle and driver productivity came under close scrutiny at Heuga during the recession, as a result ol which the company acquired its first draw bar trailer in June 1981.
Just 5.5m-long, it nevertheless augmented the load capacity of its 16-tonne GVW Scania 82M chassis by nearly 80%. It also proved to Heuga that drawbars were a feasible proposition even, in some cases, for making in-town deliveries. Two older Ford 16-tonners remain in service. Since that first drawbar trailer, which is still in service today, was commissioned, sales of Heuga floor tiles in Britain have more than doubled. That growth is continuing at the rate of about 10% a year. This year's sales forecast is 3.9 million square metres — almost 16 million tiles — packed in a million boxes weighing some 200,000 tonnes.
Notwithstanding gains in vehicle productivity, which have enabled distribution costs to be contained now for two years in the face of general inflation, the Heuga fleet has been expanded. Two years ago the first MAN joined the fleet. The move away from Scania was motivated largely y the financial attractions of a mainteance contract package put together by te supplying MAN dealer, Truck Serices of Bicester. The equivalent coster-kilometre rate offered by the Scania ealer, City Trucks of Milton Keynes, Tas nearly 80% more.
There are now four MAN rigid fourTheelers in service. Two are 16.192 hassis with intercooled engines, plated r drawbar operation at 32.5 tonnes. The thers are to the less powerful 16.170 pecification which run solo, making mainsmaller consigment deliveries in more ongested urban areas.
All four MANs have 7m Vaile boxvan odies, as does the newer of the M&G milers. The older 7m trailer is a curtainider, acquired when side access was een to offer loading speed advantages. An analysis of loading procedures howed that the extra security and imroved appearance of fixed-side bodywork ould be achieved without seriously !opardising loading or unloading turn3und times. Each of the MANs is fitted Tith a Joloda 1,500kg cantilever tail-lift Thich, in the drawbar application, doubles s a bridge plate between the deck of the .gid and its trailer, the latter being specied with hinged doors at the front as well s the back. The tail-lift's variable plat= angle takes care of height changes etween the two decks caused by chassis ad trailer-spring deflection. Every vehicle arries a pallet truck.
Four drivers are assigned to the drawar vehicles, one of which makes a reguaweekly return run from Aylesbury to lumfries, travelling north with a bulk load n Sunday, getting back on Tuesday after taking, typically, between eight and 12 ustomer deliveries and covering between ,600 and 1,800km.
:ULLY UTILISED
ieuga is one of the minority of existing 11( drawbar trailer operators that would Telcome an uplift in permitted gross 'eight to 38 or even 48 tonnes. The ensity of its product is just sufficient to ring the gross train weight up to 32.5 )nnes when the loadspace in both 7m odies is fully utilised. Each 16.25-tonnelated MAN can carry a 9.75-tonne ayload as a solo four-wheeler.
As transport manager John Edwards xplains, longer bodies on truck and trailr (possible within the 18m legal overall ngth limit by using a retractable coupling ,-frame and a slim cab with a top sleeper od) could increase capacity by 12% or tore. It would mean a gross train weight f 36 or 37 tonnes, taking into account the eed for a more powerful, and therefore eavier, chassis. A 6x2 able to carry round 14 tonnes running solo is implied. 1 Holland, Heuga operates 12-litre 16kW (330hp) MAN-hauled combinations. The B-registered Scania, now with over 400,000km on the clock, is due to be replaced soon.
A number of chassis with around 224kW (300hp) of power are being considered, with a future possible concession on drawbar gross weights in mind.
Each of the Aylesbury-based 16-tonners is covering about 88,0001un a year. With trailer, the 16.192 is returning about 28.2 litres/100km (10mpg) on laden-out/emptyreturn operation. Running solo, improves that figure to 24.5 litres/100km (11.5mpg) — about 8% thirstier than the lower wered 16.170.
Li By Alan Bunting