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STRATEG C LIFT 1
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As Tim Maughan discovers, upgrades like mounted
cranes and fork-lifts can make an attractive truck positively irresistible to customers — and generate more money.
0 ur rendezvous with Robert Ellison, partner at Sedgefield-based RE Transport. takes place on a roundabout that connects the A38 to the Ml. His red 44-tonne Scania comes to a halt. An HIVIF 1250 truckmounted crane stands atop Ellison's 40ft trailer, as does a full load of concrete blocks.
We climb up into the cab, and Ellison heads north up the motorway. Much of his work is taken up subcontracting for two concrete product companies.
"Typically, I'll get loaded up the night before, and then in the morning I will deliver concrete blocks across North Yorkshire and the North-East."
He is loaded up at concrete block plants (the customer always does this) and, at the delivery point — builders merchants and con struction sites — he jumps out of the cab, dons hi-visibility gear and safety helmet, and mans the HMF."I have been flat out recently," Ellison reports. "The vehicles have never stopped."
He also operates a Scania 113,a Foden wagon and drag, a Daf 85CF and an 18-tonne concrete mixer.Apart from the obvious exclusion of the concrete mixer, all the trucks are equipped with cranes: Ellison fields three HMFs and one Atlas.
As you'd expect, his trucks run empty en route to pick up the building blocks. When the fleet is mobilised for delivery, though,vehicle accountability is assured."'This Scania will have a 25-tonne full load,99 "Yo of the time," he tells us.
This is an enviable figure, and one which underlines the vital role performed by a truck/ crane combination.
Crane at work
Ellison's Scania is now cruising along the A194. A short while later, we are rolling through the streets of South Shields. He stops his truck outside a residential building site a stone's throw from the Tyne.
He reverses the HGV, ensures that the stabi lizers are fully extended, and the HMF begins its work.At pickup, it takes the customer 20 minutes to load the Scania.
Ellison's crane is equipped with a grab.
His practised, methodical approach means that in 15 minutes, 25 tonnes of 100mm wide blocks have been made available to a gang of Geordie builders. significantly higher than in general haulage, he reports.At this firm, the truck-mounted cranes' strength lies in securing work, and they allow him to schedule truck movements. In the eyes of Ellison's customers, the lifting gear is not merely attractive — it is vital.
"I have bought two HMF 1250s, and they definitely look the business," he enthuses. "70% of business is direct work for four main brick and block firms, and the other 30% is for large fleet operators. The cranes are an essential part of the job, and the customers would not consider giving me work without them."
Like RE Transport, Croydon-based F Dickson Transport also reaps the benefits of such equipment.
The firm runs 34 trucks:22 rigids and 12 artics.There are three Hiabs, each mounted on a rigid.This is very much a general haulage operation, says Ray Dickson, managing director. Dickson first invested in truck-mounted cranes 20 years ago.
He says: "I realised that if you are offering a service to a customer you must provide everything that he wants. Customers like cranes because they do not always have the facilities to load and unload themselves."
Dickson also points out that they are far cheaper to operate than stationary, on-site cranes..111vIFs,Hiabs and other cranes offer considerable rewards to the haulier although, warns Dickson, they can have negative points.
"Customers can expect too much," says Dickson. "We have had situations where one of our drivers arrived at a customer's yard, only to find that all the staff have gone home."
In situations like these, a truck/crane combination can be taken for granted. Plus, there are tight Health and Safety regulations to deal with, as well as service schedules to be met.
The benefits, though, outweigh such concerns. With tender love and care, a truckmounted crane can last decades,"If they are properly maintained they can last for 20 years," reports Dickson. "And I think that the Hiabs are the most sturdy and reliable of the cranes," he adds.
His most recent crane was a £28,000 Hiab 280, which is mounted on a Daf 360 with an extendable flatbed.
He says:"It was a lot of money, but I felt that customer demand made it worthwhile. We lift a lot of mobile work units with this crane, and containers to the Lakeside shopping centre in Essex, which is currently being refurbished."
The 280 is capable of lifting six tonnes, and is equipped with a computer which overrides the system if the crane is overloaded. Dickson says that if he had not invested in such gear, he could never have secured the Lakeside work.
Profit generators
F Dickson Transport bought its first truck-mounted crane 20 years ago — and an increase in company profits followed.
These are expensive pieces of machinery, and so Dickson points out that an operator may have to exercise patience; it can take some time for that HMF,Atlas,Hiab or Palfinger to generate cash.
"There is a culture in this country where people want to see instant results.The Germans, on the other hand, will invest and not expect to see profit increases for 10 years."
Freightmaster, located in Rainham, Essex, has had a lifting capability for years.The firm has a straddle carrier, which can lift 50-tonne loads.This January, the company added another string to its bow: a batch of four Manitou truck-mounted fork-lifts. Each one cost £22,000, including the cost of installation. Unlike the cranes, these little vehicles can spin around a customer's yard and deposit goods in just about any spot.There are many niches in haulage, but Freightmaster surely involves itself in one of the more unusual.
"Motorbikes," says managing director Anne Templeton. "We have 30,000 motorbikes in storage, which we transport to dealerships across the country."
Other hauliers bring the Yamaha and Piaggio motorcycles and scooters to Rainham, which have been picked up from various ports around the UK.
The company runs 12 artics,12 rigids,14 7.5tormers and vans.The bikes are delivered across Britain, and many are trunlced up to Freightmaster's Wigan depot for carriage across northern England and Scotland.
This is a big operation. "In a quiet week ,we will move 700 motorcycles and scooters, but when we're busy we will haul 2,000 a week," states Templeton.
So why Manitous? "They give us flexibility, especially if a customer is on a red route; they can unload more quickly than cranes."
Given the substantial cost involved in buying these truck-mounted fork-lifts, it's important that they get round-the-year use. Traditionally, spring and summer are the boom times, with winter being closed season for bike sales.
With road congestion compelling many to switch to two wheels, and improvements in protective clothing, scooter and motorcycle sales are spread across the year. "The market is much busier in spring, but it is definitely a lot less seasonal than it used to be. Many scooters are sold as Christmas presents, but the bigger bikes are sold throughout the year."
The company has gained no new business since acquiring the Manitous, but with good reason.Templeton is not looking to diversify. Rather, her firm is seeking to consolidate the ground it has already won.
She says that originally the Manitous were met with some trepidation. "Motorcycle sales can be a cottage industry; the people who sell the bikes tend to be enthusiasts themselves, and they can be reluctant to see changes."
Jim Templeton, chairman and Anne's husband, chips in."Yes, but at the end of the day a dealer will prefer the Manitou because it can be placed nearer to where he wants it."
The Manitou's forks slide into attachments fitted to the rear of Freightmaster's trailers and are suspended above the ground for transit. "The Manitous mean that we can use a 40-footer to deliver bikes to customers who do not have fork-lifts —most dealers do not have lift-off gear," says Anne.
Truck-mounted fork-lifts and cranes, then, offer a complete transport and lift capability. Hauliers will want to reap the financial benefits after investing in such gear. "They must be patient... but the rewards are there," insists Ray Dickson.
A key factor, though, is training. It is illegal to operate truck-mounted cranes and fork-lifts without the necessary certification —if used incorrectly such equipment can maim, or kill.
Suffolk-based Associated Trainers instructs firms how to avoid such calamities. Managing director Chris I lysett says:-This is a tightly run company and we do everything by the book. But there must be a lot of haulage firms that are unaware that they must have the right training."
After an accident with such machinery, Health and Safety Executive officers will demand to see documentation. Even if an employee sustains a minor injury, hauliers who have neglected to tram their staff correctly are likely to be heavily pe nalised.There is an unlimited fine for failing to provide professional tuition.
Hysett employs 30 trainers across the country."Training is so important. Fork-lifts look similar, but they have so many different payloads. If a load is too heavy, the back of the fork-lift will lift up, which is an indication that you don't want to continue!"
Disaster dossier
He has a dossier, complete with photographs, showing fork-lifts that have been used incorrectly: a scene with a fork-lift lifting another fork-lift, with eight men clambering on the machines; a fork-lift having dropped an RAF bomb, or perhaps an underwing fuel tank; a man's leg pierced by a fork-lift's fork.
Firms like Associated Trainers must be accredited by one of five regulatory bodies, which includes the Association of Industrial Truck Trainers and the Road Transport Industry Training Board.
At Associated Trainers, a five-day fork-lift training course for three people costs £800. while two days of crane tuition for three students is £400.
And as a final warning note, office manager Steve Morgan points out that truck-mounted cranes can be lethal if used without care.