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GRO STUD 1
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AFS is a haulage firm, specialist pallet outfit, training provider and driver recruitment company. Tim Maughan visits the Hampshire base of this multi-faceted outfit.
When CM first made contact with AFS, we assumed it was purely a road haulage firm. It does indeed have this capability, but there is more to this Eastleigh. Hampshire operation than hireor-reward operations. AFS is made up of four divisions: Workforce. Pallets, Haulage, and training division 2 Start. As a group it turns over £4.5m.
Peter Carney, operations manager for AFS Workforce, says:"We supply permanent and temporary labour, both internally [for the AFS Haulage fleet] and to external customers. We have 55 people on our books and they're placed from one or two days up to a year."
EU legislation was the impetus behind AFSWorkforce,says Carney, a national and international CPC holder."It was instigated to fill the gaps left by the Working Time Directive during busy times of the day —last thing at night or first thing in the morning."
In May AFS launched 2 Start, a training wing offering an extensive range of courses — 'Start stands for Strategic Transport and Resource Training. It offers LGV driver, forklift and truck-mounted-crane programmes and Moffatt Mounty tuition, as well as running students through tachograph and ADR courses.
Hub of activity
On the day CM visits, there is quite a bit of activity to be seen. "At the moment, we've got four on Cat C training, one on C+E, and one undergoing forklift refresher training," says Carney. "We've also got four guys taking forklift training at local customers' depots."
The forklift refresher training is being undertaken by an AFS warehouse operative. It is a demonstration of how a multi-layered firm can use its specialist training arm to nurture skills without fuss or travelling miles to a third party's facility.
The structure of AFS means newly qualified drivers can be weaned into the industry, says Carney. In Britain, LGVs on training duties on public roads must run empty, which means drivers get a feel for trucks but do not get to grips with real-life, fully loaded vehicles.
Because AFS has its own hire-or-reward ap. transport fleet, ills able to offer newly qualified drivers the chance to run with full loads.After passing their tests,drivers are given half a day on public roads in fully laden trucks.
An empty artic has an unladen weight of 16 tonnes, but a full load completely changes the vehicle's dynamics. It's more fit for purpose when they start driving for real," says Carney.
The newly qualified drivers then either go their own war, become an agency driver for AFS Workforce, or join the AFS Haulage division as a fully paid-up staff member.
Out in the yard, driving instructor Gary Cobb is training Cat C licence holder Steve „fames for his C+E test. Cobb is also an accident investigator; other operators pay him to look into incidents involving their vehicles.
AFS Haulage division
AFS has three sites, located within a stone's throw of each other.The busiest one serves as the base for AFS Haulage. Chris Small, transport manager. says this division runs 30 trucks."We are running tractor units, although the majority of the vehicles are rigid curtainsiders with tail-lifts.We also run smaller vehicles, vans and 7.5-tonners," Trailer-wise, the firm runs a few flats and a single low-loader." But our maximum weight is 44 tonnes," says Small."We decided to drop STGO Especial Types General Order] because of the expensive insurance." Demand for AFS heavies had also fallen.
The fleet size is tailored to demand. "The reason we are the size we are is because we offer a personal service," he says. The customer base is varied. AFS Haulage transports containers used by the pharmaceutical industry.The empty, newly made containers are picked up from the South Coast and taken to pharmaceutical wholesalers across Britain.
"We also distribute a lot of swimming pool equipment pumps and filters,says Small. AFS fields 18-tonne curtainsiders. equipped with tail-lifts, for this work.The pool-related movements are steady across the year, although the summer months do see an increase in demand. "The bulk of this business is in the north, with 65% of it between Birmingham, Leeds, and Liverpool." he adds. AFS Haulage is also involved with island deliveries. Vehicles collect loads from around Britain for consolidation at the firm's new £1.5m base, which has 836m2 of warehousing space.
"The new build is mainly utilised for the consolidation of offshore island freight, to the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands," says Small."The new depot is ideally situated for all the main shippers to the islands, to collect from AFS daily and ship via Portsmouth or Southampton."
Offshore experience "AFS has over 20 yearsexperience in moving freight to and from the Channel Islands and the Isle of Wight. Our fast, efficient and costeffective service suits our offshore customers
— which have all increased their service on the back of AFS," The AFS Pallets division. via fellow UK Pallets members, also dispatches loads to the Channel Islands and the Isle ofWight.
AFS Haulage recently won a two-year contract with a cable manufacturer to transport its wares."We demonstrated the ability to eliminate damage claims, consolidate deliveries and reduce overall costs." says Small.
"Our success in fighting off stiff competition from two major IJK-based competitors was mainly due to the personal service we offered to the cable manufacturer and their customers."
And for the future?"The sky's the limit, really. But we don't want to get too big, we won't go for volume just for the sake of it." •