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Gordons Transport has spread its wings into training and unac companied Continental runs.
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But tower cranes are its speciality. Tim
Maughan reports.
Tower cranes are a common sight on the skylines of British towns and cities; they are at the heart of every major construction site. But they don't arrive on site under their own steam — this kind of load requires heavy traction, provided by operators such as East Yorkshire-based Gordons Transport.
"Today we run 22 units, all of them 44tonners. We also run flats, extendible flats and step-frames, and top-loading curtainsiders," says MD Jonathan Atkin,son.
His chief customer is in Sheffield,40 miles away.This firm hires out its tower cranes to construction companies. "It used to be based in Castleford, but they were bought out, and relocated," Atkinson adds."We have a longstanding relationship with them."
Cranes rise and fall
Demand for cranes ebbs and flows. 'Its a bit difficult to quantify," he says."We have quiet weeks with very little, then we're flat-out carrying three cranes a day, with anything from four to 10 loads for each crane.
Cranes are transported everywhere in the country; Atkinson typically gets a week's notice before his HGVs are needed.
When the fleet is mobilised it is not just a question of collecting and depositing the cranes.This operation is closer to delivering sections for a ship: crane components have to be dropped to site in strict sequence.There's no point taking delivery of a crane operator's cab, without first having the lower parts of the structure in place.
You have got the base of the crane and the tower sections," Atkinson explains."This means you have what they call the A-frame — the bit at the top of the tower. Pius, there is the cab, and the front and back gib. All trucks must arrive at pre-dcterrnined times, and in the correct sequence, base first."
On the topic of vehicles, he favours Scan ia and Daf — and if he had to choose between them Daf would come out on top:"I like • Seanias for their fuel consumption. driver appeal and residual values. But we have tended to go for Dafs in the past three years. They also have driver appeal, and there's a local Daf dealership.They also have good fuel consumption, which plays a major part in purchasing decisions."
He reports that so far this year has been steady. The forthcoming London Olympics represent major opportunities for transport operators, and Atkinson is looking forward to the day his crane-laden HGVs rumble onto the turf of the Olympic complex.
However, construction sites arc prone to operational changes. Work programmes are subject to alteration, and high winds will effectively put an end to the erection of cranes. "It means that the delivery will be knocked on the head," Atkinson remarks— as vou might expect, he takes a special interest in weather forecasts.
Taking tower cranes home
Cranes can stay on a construction site for weeks, months or, in the case of the biggest projects. even years. When their job is complete Gordons wagons pick them up and return them to their owners.
With 50% of Cordons Transport accounted for, we delve into the remaining half of business."Wel1,20-30% is mobile work units, which we collect from York, and deliver anywhere in the UK,"Atkinson explains.
These are light loads, but range from nine to 16m in length. Atkinson hauls on behalf of one main work-unit manufacturer, as well as a variety of others. "We also work with St Gobain, the glass makers," he says." It's plate glass, which we deliver to window makers who cut it to size."
He runs specialist plate glass-carrying trailers.There is a strong demand for glass throughout the year, but this side of the business gets particularly busy towards the end of summer,when many householders install double glazing. A single truckload of glass can be worth S.:1.5.000.
Only a select handful of British operators dispatch their equipment to the Continent. But Atkinson is among them:"We have a couple of customers; one in Holland and one in France.The Dutch one is B&P Shipping. At any one time, they have six of our fiat trailers over in Rotterdam.
"Trailers are tri-stacked. from Immingham to Rotterdam.Then they're unstacked and loaded with steel, crane parts and palletised goods.The trailers are shipped back to Immingham, and then we pick them up from the ferry terminal," he says."Goods arc dropped in the UK. In turn, they are reloaded, and shipped back to Holland.
"The French business works on the same basis.Tri-stacked trailers are shipped out from Dartford to Zeebrugge, and taken to a transport depot in Dunkirk. In France they're pulled by Transports CouturierThe trailers then come back to Dartford, with steel, tiles, palletised plastic granules and bricks."
The British are notorious for being reluctant to learn foreign languages.
That said, how does a UK citizen choose exactly which foreign language to learn? The selection, after all, is mind-boggling. But when foreigners set out to learn languages many of them choose English, which certainly makes life easier for Atkinson.
"The Europeans speak good English," he comments. "We really have no communication problems with them." But obstacles do exist between UK and Continental European road transport firms. The French and Dutch work complements GordonsTransport,but like many of his compatriots,Atkinson argues that looking at the bigger picture, the Continentals, with their lower overheads, pose a serious threat to British operators. "1 think that we get leant on —taken for a ride by competitors across the water," he asserts.
No plans to expand Perhaps surprisingly, Atkinson would rather OibN thrust his company in new directions than enlarge his operation."I would diversify rather than expand," he says,"unless we had contracts which guaranteed us money. "When it goes quiet, you have a lot of investment sat around doing nothing, which is costing you money," he points out.
Gordons Transport's Driver Training Academy is an example of this diversification programme."We have three trainers,he reports. "We do HGV driver training, forklifts, truck-mounted crane training, and CPC and A DR courses — all aspects of transport and logistics. We also offer thirdparty maintenance.
Transport and HGV turns over Om, fortunately the training arm looks after itself and does not require any extra attention from an already busy Atkinson.-I have to deal with a lot of things at the same time, and juggle a lot of balls. But I have Jez Wadell, my transport manager, to assist with day-to-day operations," he says.•