Steady as she goes

22nd September 2005, Page 80

22nd September 2005

Page 80

Page 81

Page 80, 22nd September 2005 — Steady as she goes

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Don't overstretch yourself — and know your market. For the past 18 years these simple rules have helped SDC Northern flourish in the new and used trailer market.

you know a company means business when the first person you see when you walk through the door is the boss. At Scotch Corner, just 100 yards down the Richmond Road off the A66/A1(M) junction is Northern Trailer Sales, better known in the trade as SDC Northern.

MD Rod Pybus sits behind a desk that nearly blocks off the office where Peter Nutkins,Jon Lambert and receptionist Lisa Collinson work.

It's a simple set-up that belies the amount of business the firm does, both as an agent for SDC and as a used trailer dealer.

When figures are discussed Pybus comes out with a classic business truism:"Tbrnover for vanity — bottom line for sanity." The company is turning over some 15m a year, of which El .5m is accounted for by used trailers, equating to about 160 of the 400 trailers that roll through its books every year.

Thriving business

Volume might vary but the overall impression is clear— after 18 years the company is still here and still going strong. Pybus spent 10 years with Tinsleys and Corus Trailers before he and his wife Karen remortgaged the family home so they could set up the business.

"I was in charge of 164 people, on three shifts seven days a week," he says. !t was too much. thought there must be an easier way, sot thought I'd have a go and build it up from one trailer a week..." he tails off as it becomes clear he'd made the right decision to go it alone. "We are still here after 18 years," he adds. "You see companies arrive with big advertising for three months then bang, they're gone." Pybus, on the other hand, doesn't like to spend what he hasn't got:"We turn over stock then re-invest. We're sensible with purchasing and avoid borrowing. We have never been overdrawn or borrowed.

"Bad debt doesn't seem to frighten people these days," he adds, and admits that anyone starting up now would struggle to adopt the policy that has worked for SDC Northern.

In fact, it is a rising tide of debt that is fast affecting UK haulage and those businesses that depend on affluent logistic companies. He lays the blame for this squarely at the door of the government:"The government has got to back [UK] haulage. Confidence is taking a real battering. One pound a litre! Fuel is all tax, we are genuinely being ripped off... it's all part and parcel of rip-off Britain."

It seems hard for Pybus to comprehend politicians trying to put freight on a "Victorian" rail system or even onto the inland waterways, but there is little evidence that the government is trying to change its tune.

Confidence is low, and he sees this reflected in a trend for operators to rent trailers for higher monthly rates so that they can give them back if they go under.A growing number, it seems, are so anxious to avoid long-term commitments that they shy away from financing trailers at cheaper rates for better profitability "We have seen business drop 30 to 35%," says Pybus."We're breaking even. We've been through three full-blown recessions and this one could be the worst," he adds, reiterating the need to support the hauliers: "It's our livelihood."

Lean operation

The wider problems of the industry may appear insurmountable, but closer to home the SDC Northern site, ideally placed within earshot of Scotch Corner. has developed into a lean operation.

Much of the used stock comes in from partexchange deals that Pybus underwrites for SDC when it's securing fleet replacement deals. He steers clear of the bigger operations when buying privately, preferring ownerdrivers and smaller fleets. "They are forced to maintain their equipment, it's better quality stock," he explains.

Increasingly, however, the company is dealing with finance houses and picking up good quality late-year products for less than their true market value from snatch-backs. Pybus remarks that while it is always sad to see another company go under, it's good for his business—and the benefit of cheaper products can be passed on to the customer. While claiming that he's still getting the hang of video players. Pybus's business makes effective use of e-mails, including sending pictures of stock to prospective customers: "You used to get a call about three goodquality trailers somewhere across the country; you'd travel all the way there and your heart would sink.'Well, where are they?' you'd ask. Without that capability [e-mail and pictures] you'd employ another member of staff."

When it comes to used trailers SDC Northern sells everything bar road tankers. The biggest volume is still accounted for by curtainsiders but demand has slowed down, with enquires for flatbeds and tippers on the rise— in the case of tippers due to the grain season.

When it comes to disc brakes he will only buy the products of two manufacturers— he's not saying which —avoiding the rest like the plague. Drums brakes, on the other hand, are "belt and braces where the cost is acceptable". All trailers are HPI checked and carefully examined; anything requiring too much repair is shown the door. "We don't mass purchase, we look for quality —cherry pick if you like," he says.

If anything needs repairing once it's been sold on then SDC Northern will fix it. You can't run away, unless you only want their business once," Pybus adds, which brings us back to that office layout, designed so that Rod Pybus can meet his business face on. It's an attitude that obviously pays dividends for the company. •