The Personal Touch Pays in Haulage
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Starting with a Single Vehicle in 1926, a Midland Firm Make Good Headway by Providing Rapid and Reliable Transport Services, Which Manufacturers Over a Wide Area Have Been Quick to Appreciate AT the time of the . general strike some years ago two North Staffordshiremen, Mr. Jack Green and Mr. Joseph Booth, saw that they could provide a necessary servicethrough the medium of road transport. Accordingly, they started work as hauliers on June 1, 1926, their rolling stock con
sisting of a Dennis vehicle. Road materials, which they started to carry during the following year, provided the real foundation of the business in which a fleet numbering 16 vehicles is now employed. There are depots at Harriseahead (Biddulph) and Goldendale (Tunstall) in the North Potteries, and at Birmingham.
Early in the firm's career, a large plant for the manufacture of prepared road materials was set up in the neighbourhood of Messrs. Booth and Green's headquarters and as they were open to give just the type of service required — accomplishing deliveries rapidly, reliably and at short notice— their business grew as the production of the works increased. The ultimate result has been that, during recent times, in addition to full employment of the fleet, extensive hiring has been necessary.
At first the partners' work consisted mostly of carrying slack, but, in 1927, when the fleet Was increased to three vehicles, they commenced to handle more general transport, but particular17 the tarred road materials, whilst pig iron and steel tubing later comprised an important part of the tonnage. • Composition of the Fleet.
The heavy nature of much of the work demanded a robust type of vehicle, and when the first Gardnerengined E.R.F. was acquired in 1933 it was .found to satisfy many requirements. As a result, there are now seven machines of this make in use. Altogether, the fleet comprises two E.R.F. 15-ton eight-wheelers, an B.R.F. IO-ton six-wheeler, two E.R.F. 71-tormers, two E.R.F. 6-tonners, four Bedford 3-tonners, a Bedford-Perkins, a Leyland Cub six-wheeler, a Cornmer 5-tonner and two Albions.
Typical of performances on the heavy side are those of the eightwheelers, which will normally cover 3,500 miles a month.on trunk journeys, but machines allocated to local deliveries record between 200 and 900 iniles per week.
The services operated link the North Staffordshire area with other parts of the Midlands, the Manchester and Liverpool districts, and provide facilities between the most-distant points of the system. As a result of the fleet's headquarters being centrally situated, it is usual for the vehicles to be at their " home" garage every night, and there a night staff is employed to change over the loads for the purpose of local distribution. This central control_ makes it possible for the heads of the business to put their fingers on the progress of operations at any stage, and, as an example of the service given, it may be mentioned that goods which are the subject of instructions given in Stoke at 5 p.m. will be delivered in Coventry first thing the following morning.
In the case. of tarred road materials,' the vehicles are hopper-loaded, and the load is tipped at its destination, tipping gears -1?k Edwards Bros (Tippers), Ltd., being used.
At Harriseahea.d. a repair staff is employed at night to give the vehicles any required attention, and during the week-end all machines are thoroughly washed arid greased. The driving staff consists of fully experienced men, some of whom have been with the firm from the earliest days.
Costs are carefully recorded, the use of log books showing . the service received from each of the machines and detailed expenditure in respect thereof. They are also. valuable in giving information of the mileage to be expected between major overhauls of particular vehicles.
Big Mileages from Pirelli Tyres.
Tyres mainly used are of Pirelli make and distances up to 70,000 miles have been recorded from such equipment. Good performance has been noted from the lubricating oils supplied by Messrs. Morris's, of Shrewsbury, whilst, for a lengthy period, the oil-fuel contracts have been in the hands of British Viscoleum Fuels, Ltd.
Some typical examples of the performances show that the big fellows— the E.R.F. eight-wheelers---will cover 12 m.p.g., whilst from the E.R.F. 7i-ton machines 16.3 m.p.g. is obtained; the average for the BedfordPerkins is 20 m.p.g.
By close personal attention to customers' desires, Messrs. Booth and Green have built up a strong feeling of confidence, both in their immediate business circle and among other operators. Further, a sound reputation has been established among manufacturers and others scattered over wide areas of the Midlands and North.