US operator comes to UK
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• US express haulage company Roberts Express plans to start UK operations early next year.
Its European division, established in 1990, is based at Maastricht airport in Holland. It is currently increasing its fleet from 17 to a planned 80 vehicles operating in and around Holland, Belgium, Germany, France and northern Italy by the end of 1992. The recruitment of British operators could begin late this year.
Roberts Express's European head, Englishman John Calif, says it is too early to say how many owner-drivers and small fleets will be recruited, or how many vehicles will be involved. The Roberts service, which relies heavily on direct office-tocab satellite communications, offers consignors a more expensive, but highly guaranteed freight service.
It uses teams of independently run trucks contracted to operate in Roberts' white livery. The European operation is being modelled on a 12-year-old expedited carrier system, which for the past three years has been controlled using Qualcomm sa tellite tracking and communication. The European operations will vary from the US model only in those areas affected by EC law and local conditions.