PROFILE CET A touch of
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GLASS
Glass is a relatively heavy yet fragile load which demands careful handling. CET employs third-party hauliers for some long-distance deliveries but maintains its own fleet too, which has to be carefully specified to suit specialist loading equipment.
.4 ven the most hard-bitten truck drivers with diesel running in their veins tend
to turn pale when they're asked to to turn pale when they're asked to take responsibility for a trailer load of glass, says Phil Gibson, transport manager at CET—particularly if the job entails handbal ling loads. Maybe they're worried about personal injury or being held responsible for breakages. But Gibson can't understand why they're so worried. The toughened glass CET makes at its plant on Northampton's Lodge Farm industrial Estate doesn't shatter that easily, he says. And even if a pane is broken, it disintegrates into a shower of tiny and relatively harmless pieces.
As part of aradon Doors & Windows, CF.:T supplies glass to double-glazing firms, including its stablemate Everest, using its own fleet of trucks. Deliveries are also made direct to contract glaziers on construction sites from Southampton in the South to York in the North. Third-party hauliers are used to transport consignments to the far north of England and Scotland.
A lot of CET glass is produced as sealed double-glazing units but there are plenty of "stock sheets" too, measuring up to 3x2m in a range of thicknesses which are cut to the required shape by customers.
Not surprisingly, third-party distribution companies have tried to persuade CET to contract out its entire transport operation, but Gibson reports that these hauliers have found the job rather less appealing than they expected. "It's because we work on very short lead times," he explains. "We make glass to order. If we receive an order today, the glass will be produced today and delivered tomorrow."
Gibson explains that the glass travels on Aframes called barrows "although they don't have wheels" and these have to go back to the factory once the glass has been delivered. Barrows weigh up to 200kg apiece so there's little scope for backloads. "We also get big fluctuations in demand during the course of the year," he adds.
Linde counterbalance forklifts are generally used to load the trucks at Northampton.
About 18 months ago the company started to re-equip its fleet, replacing some of its vehicles with Renault Premiums. Why Renaults? Local dealer Harborne was helpful as the business agonised over which method of acquisition it should opt for, and eventually put together a com petitive contract-hire package, says Gibson. "It's a five-year agreement and each truck should cover 110,00km annually," he explains.
CETs line-up now includes a pair of 250hp Premium 4x2 day-cab drawbar rigids fitted with Adcliffe Drawdeal curtainsider bodies. Sliding roofs are fitted so heavy stock sheets can be loaded and unloaded by overhead crane; they run solo at 17 tonnes.
One of the rigids is generally toting a Moffett Mounty forklift; the other runs at 32 tonnes hauling a refurbished centre-axle drawbar trailer with a 12-tonne payload. "The forklift mounting arrangement means that they can't carry a Mounty and pull a trailer as well," says Gibson.
The Mounty is invaluable because a number of CET customers don't have their own forklifts. "The alternative can be to unload the glass one piece at a time," says Gibson, "and if that happens we have to hope the customer has enough people standing by to help."
CET also runs two 340hp Premium 4x2 sleeper-cab tractors married to step-frame triaxle semis. Like the rigids these air-suspended currainsiders, supplied by Hill Hire, have sliding roofs. They're backed up by a 210hp, 17tonne Premium flatbed with a day cab which is also capable of carrying a Moffett Mounty, and a Midliner 7.5-tonner fitted with an Adcliffe curtainsider body Gibson explains: "We need the flatbed because we've got customers who unload by crane but have low doors to their premises which means we can't get a curtainsider in." Shorn of the protection afforded by a curtained body, the glass is wrapped in clingfilm, and specially made covers are fitted over the carrying racks. "We need the Midliner because we've got quite a few small accounts and access to their premises isn't always that good."
The rest of the fleet, owned outright by CET, comprises two G-reg ERF tractors with TIP stepframe curtainsider trailers; a Mercedes 1726 which used to run as a drawbar but now operates as a solo 17-tonner; and an MAN 7.5-tonner.
Running as a drawbar the 250hp Premium returns 12-14mpg; the Mounty has more of an impact on fuel economy than the trailer. The flatbed Premium returns 13-14mpg with the artics averaging 9mpg. "We run them at 28 tonnes which saves us a bit on Vehicle Excise Duty," says Gibson.
CET used to have its own bulk fuel tanks, "but these days we draw our diesel from British Fuels, which is just across the road," says Gibson. "It's rare for drivers to have to buy fuel at filling stations when they're out delivering."
When the acquisition of Renaults was originally mooted the drivers weren't keen, Gibson recalls. But by the time Premium was launched they'd had the chance to sample the older Manager and quite liked it. An open day at the Millbrook test track in Bedfordshire helped convince them that maybe French trucks weren't so bad after all.
Gibson is pleased with his Renaults, which are maintained by Harbornethere have been no reliability problems. Exel looks after the rest of CET's fleet.
The agreement with Harborne leaves CET responsible for repairing any damage to the Renaults, and for their tyres. "We fit Dunlops supplied through Motorway Tyres," says Gibson.
Motorway carries out a fleet inspection once a month and Dunlop makes its own quarterly inspections. "It also gives us a discount independently from the dealer," he smiles.
The smile stays on Gibson's face as he mentions that CET seems immune from the HGV driver shortage. "We've got a very settled workforce," he reflects. "The last time we had to go out and recruit a driver was seven years ago." The fleet has seven of its own drivers with three more supplied through agencies.
"In addition," he says, "one of the loaders has got an HGV and we've got guys in the factory who can go out in the 7.5-tonners."
Congestion is as much of a problem to CET as it is to any other operator, but there's little scope to make deliveries overnight: "We've looked at running overnight to Everest's plant at Sittingbourne in Kent," says Gibson, "but most of our customers don't open before 8am to 8.30am and they close between 4pm and 4.30pm. If we turned up out of hours at 99% of the places we go to, we wouldn't be able to get in!"
by Steve Banner
CET
Northampton. Caradon Doors & Windows.
Cth Phil Gibson, transport
manager. Two drawbars, four
tractors, Iwo 17-tonners and two 7.5tanners. Most recent acquisitions: Three Renault Premium rigids, two Renault Premium tractors and a Renault Midliner.
'ONi ACT: Delivering glass.