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How would you react if a complete stranger without an

22nd April 1999, Page 32
22nd April 1999
Page 32
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Page 32, 22nd April 1999 — How would you react if a complete stranger without an
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

LCif licence climbed behind the wheel of your wagon and attempted to drive it away? As Steve Banner reports, it happens to Barren and Andrew Thompson all the time...

he Thompson brothers, Darren and Andrew, run Manor Haulage, a twotruck operation based not far from Market Bosworth in Leicestershire. One of their more interesting customers is Everyman Driving Centre, which runs corporate hospitality days at the Mallory Park motor racing circuit Days are also held at Prestwold Hall, a country pursuits centre near Loughborough, and it's the Big Toys event that requires the direct involvement of the Thompsons. Billed as "a driving course with a difference", it gives people the chance to take control of everything from a JCB excavator to a fire engine off the public highway: and that includes a frill-sized attic.

The brothers provide the trucks, and the tuition, and they're agreed that women are the best learners. "A lot of the men are speed freaks," says Andrew. "They think they're in Convoy!"

Both men agree that the exercise helps car drivers understand the difficulties truckers face. "They appreciate just how much space an attic needs," Darren says. "Big Toys is mainly once a month, but the

Andrew Thompson: "A lot of men are speed freaks."

frequency increases between April and September." When they're not acting as teachers, they're hauling around Everyman's remarkable selection of tackle on their flatbed trailers. The line-up includes Alvis Stalwarts and Abbott tanks, both used on the organisation's Trial Tank Commando and Super Tank Commando courses.

As well as being deployed in Leicestershire, many of these vehicles turn up at events countrywide. "We take Land Rovers to all sorts of off-road courses, and we took a tank up to Middlesbrough the other week for the National Lottery show," says Darren. "There's a three-day corporate event due to take place in Newbury soon for a motor manufaciurcr, and well be there."

Conventional work

The Thompsons happily drive tanks, JCBs, and everything else they're presented with. They have to to be able to load and unload them from the flat beds. It all adds variety to their more conventional work, which indudes hauling bricks and blocks—Andrew's speciality—and roof trusses for the building industry. "The trusses go mainly to places in the South and the Midlands, but sometimes we go down to the West Country, and occasionally we go to Scotland," Darren says. "We deliver new skips too."

Shifting heavy machinery is another source of income, and Manor has just started to transport fishing and catering scales. Marble for swimming pools installed in private houses is a regular cargo, and they haul for one of the big supermarkets in the run-up to Christmas. Some of the work they do is arranged directly, but on other jobs they work as subcontractors to local transport companies. Bricks and blocks make up a lot of their backloads, and they'll only accept return loads arranged through people they know. "The timber yard I deliver roof trusses for pays me to come back anyway because it's always wanting me to go back out and do something else," says Darren.

Most customers pay within 30 days, they find. "One or two are on 6o days, but they'll always pay on time," he says. "It's rare that we have to chase people."

Darren went into haulage on his own in 1994 as a tipper operator after four years with wellknown Leicester transport fleet Widdowson. He worked for Crowfoot before that, and won the Midland heat of the Lorry Driver of the Year competition when he was just 78 in a 7.5-tonner.

While Darren was busy in his Caterpillar-engined alloybodied Foden eight-wheeler, Andrew was just as busy with his own plant hire business. He decided to go in with his brother after Darren had been trading for a year or so, and soon both the Thom psons were tippermen.

However, quarry work became increasingly unattractive, so they decided to diversify. Today Andrew drives a 36 ohp Volvo F12, usually coupled to a flatbed equipped with an Atlas crane, while Darren drives a 36ohp Scania 113.

The building industry is keeping them busy at present. "Usually we're out five days a week, with Saturday morning as a bonus if you can get it," Andrew says.

Andrew, Darren, and Darren's wife Wendy—who looks after all the paperwork—were under

standably unimpressed with the Budget. "I won't repeat the language that was used," Wendy says.

"I was so depressed for the rest of that week," says Andrew. "I was really gutted. We'd just finished paying off a small loan, which meant we were suddenly i600 a month better off. But then the fuel tax increase came along, and that's costing us 155o a month!" That's a lot to a small business that needs to conserve its cash to meet unexpected repair bills. The J-reg Era returns 7.5mpg, while the H-reg Scania averages 8mpg.

The Thompsons have no plans to run at 40 or 41 tonnes. "Another three tonnes doesn't sound much, but at 36 ohp it puts a lot of extra stress and strain on both the trailer and the unit," says Andrew. "And nobody is going to pay you any extra for it.

"I think a lot of people will go back to 4X2S and run at 38 tonnes on five axles," Darren predicts. "You've got two fewer tyres to pay for, one mpg extra because you're not dragging around an extra axle, and you can get an extra tonne on board because the additional axle isn't there."

Powerful engine

Next time around the brothers will go for a more powerful engine for brick and block work. The F12 has to work hard going up motorway banks, says Andrew. "But a lot of it is down to the gearbox. The Volvo has an eight-speed gearbox, while the Scania has a to-speed, and Darren's truck will leave mine for dead going up a hill."

However, the Volvo won't be pensioned off yet—it's just had an engine rebuild—and the Scania should last for quite some time, Darren believes. "The work it does isn't too hard on it because roof trusses don't weigh that much," he explains. "It'll need a paint job soon, though."

Darren and Andrew do some of the maintenance themselves, but much of it is carried out by P&M Ruck Transport at Ellistown. "We do a bit of haulage work for them too," Andrew says.

Ask Andrew what his biggest problems are, and access to builders' merchants premises would figure high on the list. Nor do construction site operators always show much understanding of where on a site a truck can reasonably be expected to go.

Although undercutting is rife in the haulage industry, Manor Haulage hasn't been too badly affected, and most of its work is at sensible rates. "We don't rip people,off," says Darren. "We do jobs at what we think is a fair price."

The other hauliers do the same for them. Dedication to service has ensured that Manor has hung on to most of its customers, with Darren arguing that an owner-driver will always try that bit harder than an employed driver, no matter how good the employee is. "Our customers know they can leave us to do a job, and it will get done," he says. "And that's the way we like it."


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