MURRAY HOGG
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• Murray Hogg, managing director of the Newcastle-based haulage firm of the same name, says proudly: -There is no job we will not handle." With TOO vehicles, Murray Hogg will deliver to business premises as well as homes using a diverse fleet ranging from low-loaders to vans. But such a variety does not come out of thin air; a business of this size often takes decades to develop.
The firm is a prime example of such an evolution. It was founded in 1928 in Fawdon, Newcastle, by Murray Hogg, the present manager's grandfather. Until the Second World War it specialised in coal, but when peace broke out the fleet of six trucks steadily expanded through the fifties and sixties, necessitating a move to new premises in Gosforth, Newcastle, in 1960.
"At the end of the sixties we started talcing on all sorts of work,
including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, steel and bricks," says Hogg. "We carried everything you could imagine." In io the firm moved to its present 6.5-acre site
in North Gosforth, Newcastle.
Like many haulage outfits in the region, this is a close-knit family firm: two generations on, the founder's grandchildren are involved in just about every aspect of the job.
Murray is managing director; Alison is the company secretary; Colin is workshop manager; David is warehouse manager; and Paul runs the specialist car transport arm. They are all company directors.
Murray shows CM around the base. It is not the best of days— the rain is continuous—but its sheer size means we can we take a lengthy tour without having to venture outside too much.
The company has 7,000m2 of warehousing space, and distribution began in 1970. "We have a huge range of customers," says Murray. He explains that Murray Hogg vehicles collect goods from clients' premises, bring them to the warehouse for storage, then deliver them when the customer demands it.
These consignments include just about everything from television sets to pickled onions. The firm uses rigids and artics, as well as its nine Mercedes-Benz 84 vans, to deliver goods to the cus
tomers; the warehouse is also available to other firms as an overspill. We offer customers a full package from one kilo to 40 tonnes," says Murray.
To provide this flexibility the company has invested in the Mercedes vans, which are used for carrying parcels and light loads; two of the nine are equipped with tail-lifts, and are ded,icated to the home delivery of white goods.
The firm is also an integral part of the Hellman parcels network; a national operation which has its North-East depot at the Murray Hogg base. This service provides next-day deliveries to destinations across the UK.
Additionally, the firm has a fleet of 18 car transporters in its subsidiary Vehicle Movements North-East. Murray leads us to the workshop area. "We have ro fitters," he says. "We can carry out work on our vehicles—this vastly reduces the cost of maintenance."
In addition to the warehousing, pallet and car transport operations, Murray Hogg has the equipment necessary to handle abnormal loads. The firm runs low-loaders and curtainsiders, and has a number of H IAB cranes.
With this diversity of work, is Murray Hogg intent on expansion? The answer is an emphatic "yes". Murray says: "We will stay in the same work as now, but we are also looking at flagging out. The Continent is so easily accessible, and we have existing customers who have business there already."
Like many other hauliers throughout the UK he cites cheaper Continental fuel as an incentive to flag out. Importantly, Murray sees this as another string to the firm's bow: the UK operation will continue to develop.