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Moving a eague
Page 28
Page 29
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Andy Salter talks to James Dennison about his company's expansion plans, new models
— and the continuing shortage , •
of axles.
As anyone who has ever met him will testify, James Dennison wears his heart on his sleeve. If he's happy, you know it; and if he's angry then it is quickly and abundantly clear.
When we caught up with him at the end of May he had plenty of reasons to be cheerful: a new 2,300m2 factory has recently opened next door to the Lancashire plant and appears to be running well; Manchester United, his favoured football team, was about to contest the FA Cup final against Chelsea (and he had a ticket );while MorecambeTown,the football team Dennison Trailers sponsors, had reached the play-off finals. United lost hut Morecambe won, elevating the Lancashire seaside town into the foot ball league for the first time in the club's 87-year history —happy days.
Yet for all this positive karma, we sense all is not well. Scratch a little deeper and it becomes clear what's bugging him: "I cannot make trailers without axles,he tells us. "We are now at a critical point on axles, which is restricting my business. We have a huge order book through to the end of the year, but we can't produce them."
This problem is not exclusive to Dennison; every trailer builder we talk to reports a critical shortage of axles. As with new trucks, it seems the booming European market has caught component suppliers on the back foot and lead times are disappearing over the horizon. By common consent BPW and SAF are quoting delivery times well into 2008. DaimlerChrysler can supply in a shorter time, hut its product is disc-only and there remains a huge demand for drum brakes, particularly from the rental sector.
Reaching crisis point Of the remainderArvin Men i tor appears to be suffering sustained 'teething' problems, to put it kindly, following its move from North Wales to South Wales and the adoption of a new logistics system.
Whatever the reasons, the shortage is at a critical point — we know of one trailer manufacturer that is buying up second-hand trailer stock and reconditioning the axles in order to fulfil demand. Things aren't quite so desperate at Dennison Trailers, but during our visit we noticed plenty of built-up trailer chassis awaiting axles. It's a frustrating state of affairs for Dennison, who is constantly having to deal with customers who are waiting anxiously for their much needed new trailers. "I'm fed up apologising for other people's issues," he says.
Although the axle shortage is challenging, the company remains committed to its growth plans. The new Lancaster factory will allow Dennison to push harder into the high-volume UK dry-freight sector, while the wider European market continues to present opportunities. Dennison takes up the story: "We are predominantly known as a skeletal and chassis producer; to grow our UK business we have to expand into the dry-freight sector. We estimate the UK trailer market is worth about 18,000 units a year — 12,000 of those are dry freight curtainsiders or boxes.
The initial plan is for Dennison to enter the UK curtainsider market, with a target of 500 units a year. It has been a major provider of curtainsiders in Ireland for a number of years, now it aims to bring that expertise to the UK: "To build a curtainsider you need a lot of space to do it. We acquired additional space beside our current factory, which we've purpose-built for curtainsider production.
"We've also based our FastParts parts business on the new site.We'll expand the body range next year with double-deck trailers, a pillarless curtainsider design and a dry box GRP trailer."
On the Continental front,Dennison is excited about the potential for a gooseneck sliding skeletal trailer it has developed: "This will carry every combination of container on the European market and you don't need an engineering degree to understand the sliding mechanism. It's a very user-friendly product. It's lower and lighter than a standard skelly, offering better safety thanks to a lower centre of gravity and the potential for better fuel efficiency."
The biggest restriction selling trailers throughout Europe, Dennison explains, is getting the approval to sell in the different countries, so he welcomes the pan-European type approval for trailers that is scheduled for 2012: "The European standard should open up the market for us and ensure a level playing field for all manufacturers." He clearly relishes the challenge of offering products that are attractive across a number of markets.
Honest and passionate
Dennison Trailers has a strong reputation for engineering excellence — a reputation which is bound to help its expansion into other sectors of the trailer market. The big challenge for the company is to communicate its strengths through effective sales and marketing, and that's one of James Dennison's prime responsibilities. In an industry too shrouded in smoke and mirrors, it's refreshing to spend an hour or so in the company of someone who is so obviously honest and passionate about the business —virtues that should stand the company in good stead as it expands into new markets.
Meanwhile, if anyone can lay their hands on some top-quality drum-braked axles... •