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Top-of-the-range vehicles arc not normally associated with pallet collection and distribution, but Motward's fleet of Volvo Globetrotters decked out in the firm's distinctive red livery and customised number plates have paid handsome dividends. The move has been a success to the extent that Motward no longer advertises in Yellow Pages because it gets enough inquiries from people who have seen its lorries on the road.
However, developing the company has not always been plain sailing. Much of its capital has been tied up in a five-year legal battle with a dealer over a vehicle. The case has been settled in Motward's favour but managing director Ken Tolhurst says that the protracted legal fight was undoubtedly a drain on the company and stopped it developing as fast as it might otherwise have done. "It even meant we put our M-reg Globetrotters on a five-year deal bemuse if it all went wrong the vehicles would be returned," he says.
And now, just as Motward has put its legal problems behind it, it is being hit from another direction—namely, problems with planning permission. "We rent our existing yard but do own a 23-acre field next to it," Tolhurst explains. "We wanted to build a concrete hardstanding on the field so we could expand. Currently some of our vehicles are having to unload right across our front gate which is a hell of a risk for a £100,000 truck and trailer."
The application for the hardstanding was turned down by Mid Beds council so the firm applied to take over another nearby yard and build an access road across the field . This application has also been turned down. Motward is considering an appeal.
Not surprisingly, Tolhurst feels hard done by. "We make an important contribution to the local economy," he points out. "Some of our 17 staff could well be on the dole if they were not employed by us. But I fear that pallet yards have a bad name and this is why permission is constantly turned down. The national nature of our business means that we do not necessarily have to be situated in Sandy and, although I would be loath to leave, we might have to consider other locations unless our planning problems are sorted out." Motward has been in the pallet business since it started, but its method of operating has certainly changed over the past 20 years.
"Like everyone else we used to carry pallets on flatbacked Bedfords but a visit to the Renault wind tunnel in France convinced me that curtain sided vehicles were the way forward," says Tolhurst. "We bought two Renaults, only getting rid of the last one last year, before we decided to switch to the Globetmtters. But Jam not saying whether we will stick with Volvos, I have been very impressed with the after-sales service that Leyland Daf is offering and I feel that Volvo has declined a bit in this field in the past few years."
Motward's fleet operates all over Britain. A typical run involves going down to a regular pallet pick-up in Southampton, then on to Wales to serve the firm's Welsh customers before heading back to Bedfordshire, and then up to Manchester and Liverpool.
Delivery points include customers in the packaging business. Factories which have materials delivered by pallet but do not transport the finished goods area good source of collection.
Motward has expanded into the distribution market but, its core business is still the pallet trade. "It would be totally wrong to underestimate the effect palletisation has had," says Tolhurst. "Almost everything which is produced or eaten in this country is carried on pallets and these make transport much more efficient. In the old days bricks, for instance, used to have to be off-loaded by hand. Now they arrive at a site on a pallet and are moved with a rough-terrain forklift to where they are needed."
The industry remains very competitive. "There are a lot of cowboys out there and we are constantly being put under pressure by customers to shave a few pence off the price of a pallet," he says. "The recent Budget, where diesel prices have been increased, has not helped either. People say that we can pass the rises on to the customer but it's not as easy as that because there are always firms which will absorb the increase in order to boost orders."
The firm employs eight people restoring the pallets brought into the yard but it has a problem dealing with those which are beyond repair. "We are not allowed to burn them any more," Tolhurst explains. "We used to chop them up and sell them for kindling but we no longer have the room for that. I'm working on a revolutionary idea of what to do with waste pallets but I cannot tell you what it is yet because our competitors might find nut."
Because of the type of vehicle the finn operates it has no problem recruiting drivers and even has a waiting list of applicants. It is also possible for people to start working in the yard and graduate to a Class 1 HGV
licence—now less familiarly known as LGV At least one employee has gone down this route, with the company paying towards the test.
And, despite problems with planning permission, the future looks bright. "Since 1995 we have gnown in leaps and bounds because we offer a service, value for money and have a good name," says Tolhurst Most haulage company names have a story behind them, but the name Motward was simply that of a company bought off the shelf when the firm first started operating. "We've always meant to change it," says Tolhurst, "but I doubt whether we ever will now because of the reputation we have built up. Lots of people call me Mr Monvard--I don't mind that because it means they identify with the firm".
1-1 by Mike Sherrington.