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in Nes T
Page 41
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village of Letterston in Pembrokeshire is said ie the best fish and chip restaurant in Wales. It home to a man who must surety be one of the t hauliers in the UK, Rudi van lies, who stands in his socks. As you might guess from the name es traces his roots to the Netherlands, so it's no ise that both his tractors bear the Oaf badge. It s that, as well as the efficiency of Its hauliers, etherlands is renowned for the height of its itants. Van Nes's brother is 6ft tlin; his Cousin is tonishing fft 4in.
meets him on a sunny Saturday morning. All van Nos drives one of his trucks the length and th of the land; weekends are a chance to catch it paperwork and maybe even put hls feet up. Ile is native Holland in 1978, moving to Sussex with wefts: "I lived there for 15 years doing lowr. work, then I started on livestock driving " He became an owner-driver in 1997. I did a lot of driving in Wales," he adds. "I used to stay in a bed and breakfast in Letterston, arid it was here that I met Dilys." She is now Mrs van Pies and, in the best tradition of road haulage, takes care of accounts and admin. Just a few weeks ago Van Pies Transport became a limited company, which makes him a managing director.
The two Daft, both plated at 41 tonnes, haul curtainsiders and box vans from a variety of UK ports for P&O Ferrymasters. He says: "The trucks go all around the UK and haul anything from concrete blocks to chocolate bars... Ferrymasters is good to work for. I am in regular contact with the P&O depot in Fleetwood, Lanes, and If I have a problem I can talk to people there. P&O don't treat you like a numben" He doesn't have to concern himself with securing backloads because P&O Ferrymasters pays him when he is running empty.
So how does he compare the UK and Dutch industries? "The UK haulage industry is not as competitive as it is in Holland, but I do think that Dutch operators are more loyal to each other. In the Nether lands a haulier. won't take lower 1 rates to undercut
a competftor." °PECI4Linf Traction
and
Overheads are general haulage.
higher in the UK. he adds, and 'the truckstops are very disappointing compared with the Netherlands. There is not enough security; I recently had diesel stolen from my truck and I have also had curtainsiders slashed."
Why does he choose Daf? "Because he's a Dutchman!" Dilys jokes. "Well, I like the driving position," says van Pies.
With van Pies, his wile, and one driver on the books van Pies Transport is compact, and van Pies believes that small firms like his are valued by the large fleets. The bigger operators only see the subbies' trucks, and don't tend to clap eyes on the work that goes on behind the scenes. Van Ness units duly appear at ports and, back home his wife Dilys is beavering away with the paperwork. "You can't afford to let things slide," she asserts.