After year-on-year growth for more than hi( )sl of us
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could care to remember, the construction sector hit the wall in spectacular fashion in 2008, when toxic assets in the US led worldwide banks to scramble for emergency help. In the UK. the situation looked equally bleak, with massive building projects mothballed. "We were lucky in some respects, as the downturn came at a point when we'd already commenced work on a massive two-year project to replace a huge section of the M 's Armco barrier with a longer-lasting concrete system, in conjunction with carriageway widening and upgrading," says Chris Balls, who with brother Kevin, runs the privately-owned family firm ,IC Balls St. Sons.
The Ambergate. Derbyshire-based earthworks and plant contractor employs around 80 staff, with a strong emphasis (about 75%) on local and national contract-based projects. The bulk of the company's revenue comes from what is, for all intents and purposes, muck-shifting and aggregate deliveries, where annual volumes exceed the 500,000-tonne mark. It also recycles construction waste at its Cotes Park Recycling Facility, where screens and crushers transform waste hardcore material into certified Type I sub-base.
Housing stump
So, what of cancelled building works and general doom and gloom? "As a major projects contractor, we've been largely unaffected by the housing slump, but no-one's building big sheds anymore either," says C'hris.
However, since June this year. the company has seen things starting to pick up. although the brothers do concede that any slack was created from lack of plant demand, not a slowdown in truck movements.
Last November they took the tough decision to mal three staff redundant, although a reversal of fortunes means they've just hired another four, one of whom w returning employee from the 2009 redundancies. -We were in the situation where plant operators were beim paid the basic 39 hours to sit at home and watch the T But to us, they are valued men, and as such we explon every single possible avenue to keep them on the boo — even to the point where it was costing us considerab amounts to do so," Chris explains.
No problem The company is famous throughout the East Midlands its "no problem" message, a company motto that grace! each of its vehicles and items of plant. "I think the phra harks hack to people in the office here being so used tc hearing us saying it on the phone. I went away on holid and came back to find the words emblazoned across th arm of a new digger!" Chris recalls.
The brothers claim the phones are genuinely answer 24/7.365 days a year, and this approach paid dividends when Derbyshire County Council called the day after Boxing Day in urgent need of tippers. "The country vi gripped in the midst of a true Siberian winter, with widespread road, airport and school closures looming says Chris. With reports that council salt supplies up a down the land were reaching dangerously low levels. authorities needed to act quickly.
"We immediately mobilised a number of trucks to on the job of fetching salt down from the Cheshire m to storage and distribution facilities close to the East Midland's major trunk roads," says Kevin. Answering phone that day proved to he a wise move, as number
the JC Balls fleet were still carrying salt back to Derbyshire well into April.
"We tend to work no further than an hour in any direction from Ambergate. where most of the Midland's major trunk road network is situated," says Kevin. As another example of their flexibility, the brothers point to a job earlier in the year that saw tippers and plant working on the northern stretch of the M6 at Penrith. "It was the first time in the company's 47-year history that we had plant operators and truck drivers based away from home."
Financial sense
JC Balls' history (arid core interests) are in earthworks and plant hire. "We operate 27 trucks of our own, with a long-established association with like-minded subcontractors such as Bowring Transport." says Kevin. He believes it makes much more financial sense to keep the sixand eight-wheeler fleet at a manageable size (currently 26). leaving subbies to handle any additional capacity."We have a really strong, long-standing relationship with people like Dave Bowring -he's not just a partner we give work to, but a long-standing family friend too."
The tipper fleet is split between DAP and Renault, with Scania, Nino (volumetric concrete mixers). Iveco (rah
loader) and Mercedes-Benz (low-loader) featuring in solitary numbers "One thing the recession did bring us v, keen pricing," says Kevin. With dealers an manufacturers stuck with eight-wheel cha the brothers grasped the opportunity to rt some of the older trucks with cancelled oi or otherwise difficult-to-shift stock chassis
This year they've added a new plant-bo MAN rear-steeringTGM 6x2 and three n Renault Kerax 370.32 eight-wheel tippers fitted with Boweld Mucklite bodies. -All t came with manual boxes We realise auto' is the way forward, and despite some rese. tions about traction, the next batch won't I A Chris Batts (right) and a clutch pedal." says Kevin.This is despite off-road tes Kevin Baits )(eft) (with a subcontractor's similarly-specced truck), in wh
their manual beat the auto hands down.
'Fite new Renault trio replaced four older Kerax ui
from 1998,1999 and 2002, the oldest being JC Balls' I brand-new truck. "In service they've been remarkabl machines." Chris reckons, calling the workshop foren through to confirm mileages. "There you go: the '981, with 600.000 miles on the clock and the '99 had 400.1 The '98 went away with one original kingpin. comple front suspension, original engine, gearbox and cliffs. I"
had considering it had done over half-a-million miles of muck-shifting!" he enthuses. The other star of the fleet has been the 2003 Mercedes-Benz Actros 2648, which
pulls the firm's King low-loader. "That really has been a remarkable vehicle, although we've just placed an order for its replacement with MAN dealer 1-1RVS -which will be a new 6x4TCiX 26.540."
Kevin reports problems with the DAF CR, particularly electrical, which have dogged an otherwise decent vehicle. -The central wiring loom is made from a porous material. which we believe allows the cables to breath. The downside is chronic water ingress problems.
"We feel Renault currently has the edge over DAF, both in terms of product and hack-up. The service we get from RH Commercials is right at the top of the tree 110% better than any of the other truck manufacturers and miles ahead of anything we experience on the plant side."
JC Balls has a heap of people with 20-plus years service, some even touching 30 years "Some do leave, but they always end up coming back! It's a family business, and we genuinely like to think each and every employee is part of our extended family," says Chris. •