THE FLEET
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The G&P Batteries fleet consists of 21 vehicles, which is broken down into two 44-tonne trucks. eight 26-tonners, five 18-tonners, and six 3.5-tonne vans. The vehicles travel the length and breadth of the UK, says business unit manager John Kerr, and there is one vehicle also located in Scotland.
"We use outside hauliers for inter-depot trunking and to Ireland, and despatching stuff to the smelters. The challenge is to maximise the fleet with minimal cost, as well as meet the customer's service requirements.
"Vehicles leave empty and return loaded, drivers go where needed, there are no set routes. You can't foresee any tonnage collection prior to collecting it. You can go to Devon and Cornwall one week and the vehicle might collect 14 tonnes, it could go another week and it might be 44 tonnes," he says.
The curtainsider vehicles have truck-mounted forklifts and on-board scales, with the majority of loads collected in G&P plastic bins. The drivers have ADR certificates and forklift licenses, in-house training for manual handling, spillages, and additional environmental awareness training.
"We have 26 drivers, and have a very low turnover of staff. We don't use employment agency drivers, we have staff who can cover," he says.
With the potential for more collections, the way the fleet is run and organised is changing. Michael Green explains: When we replace a vehicle we assess whether the outgoing vehicle is still the best for the business, there will always be a core fleet of vehicles to collect [large tonnage] but growth will be at the smaller end for smaller collections."