WALDINGS TRANSPORT
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• Four months ago the cab of a Waldings Transport truck exploded while it was parked up in Portugal. The driver was blown out of the window and spent a month in hospital. "He was a very lucky man," says Mick Walding, codirector of the Rugby-based firm. The driver had turned the gas cooker on, forgotten about it, then lit up, Walding explains. "But we have a very good safety record," he stresses.
That incident, although dramatic, is just one notable story in the company's remarkable 27-year life. Those years have been characterised by moving from one depot to another—sometimes in the most unconventional spots.
Mick Walding, who shares the title of codirector with his wife, Jackie, says: "I started as an owner-driver, carrying loads for the con struction industry. Rugby Council wanted a flatbed lorry to move paving slabs, so I bought one, and another one soon after." Walding had the business nous to see an opportunity and he also had the ability to rough it, putting up with hardship to get the fledgling haulage firm off the ground.
He recalls: We started in a pub car park, in a village near Rugby—I knew the landlord, We did jobs on our vehicles such as spraying and welding until a neighbour complained. Then we rented a yard in Rugby town centre."
At that time, in the early 19705, Rugby was developing, with a host of new shops being built. Undeterred, Walding got on with his haulage work, despite the hubbub of building. Shops now stand on the site of the former depot. Meanwhile, "we just added to the corn
pany gradually, carrying out work around Coventry and Rugby," says Walding.
Today the 14-vehicle fleet operates from Dunchurch Industrial Estate, a stone's throw from Rugby. The firm transports a wide variety of goods. Walding says: "We carry everything from injection moulding machines to car tyres or timber; but we don't carry chemicals. We have a spread of vehicles including flatbeds and curtainsiders."
CM takes a look round the depot. After all the company's moves, there seems to be a permanent atmosphere here. As we walk through the bitter February air Walding explains the philosophy behind the business: "We have expanded as much as we want to. It is a family business and we have a good relationship with our customers."
The firm employs a freelance mechanic to work on the trucks, and Walding pulls no punches when he talks of the benefits afforded by this "flexible" approach to vehicle maintenance. He says it enables the company to budget more accurately, getting the mechanic in only when needed. And if a vehicle does go wrong after the mechanic has worked on it, his payment can always be stopped.
Like many hauliers, Walding cites exorbitant fuel prices as a major threat to his business. Still, a serious expression transforms into one approaching contentment when CM asks if Walding is happy in haulage: "We are supposed to be on a level playing field in this business but we aren't,' he says. "But this is what I do, and this is what I will do until I retire."