kn Acton haulier plans
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thead with caution and ;ome hope
iv Paul Mungo THE WAY I look at life iese days is to take it as it miles," Roy Dodd says. We can't do long-term lanning anymore, only iort-term. Nine-tenths of lure plans never materiam.
Taking it day by day has )come the company philo.phy cton) Ltd. And Roy Dodd. ting in his second-floor office .erlooking the bustling yards the company that bears his ime and of which he is anaging director, is not optiistic about the future.
"There are new regulations the time," he says. -Overght parking. Forty-foot reguions. And we had a fuel
increase last Monday of 2p on a gallon.
Any business is frustrating, but haulage particularly. That's why so many are closing down."' Despite the pessimism, there is no danger of Dodd's closing. Since Roy Dodd's grandfather bwian the business in 1 900 with a horse and cart hauling light goods, it has grown to become a limited company with 80 employees and a fleet of more than 50 trucks.
Most of that growth has been registered since 1 961 . when the company had six trucks, mostly Bedford Pantechnicons, but including an open Rio Speedwagon and an open. flat, Bedford It was also the year that James Dodd, Roy's father, registered Dodd's Transport as a limited company. With his two sons, Ken and the present director Roy, James , began to expand the company, specialising in general. hauling. When he retired the directorship passed to his sons.
In 1972 however, the expansion came to an abrupt, if temporary, halt. At that time Dodd's had about 100 employees and a thriving warehousing business. There were plans to re-arrange the company management. But everything fell apart when in January of 1 972 both the warehouse manager and Ken Dodd were killed in a road accident.
-For a year really, the continued overleaf
'business was in a turmoil," Roy says now_ But we realised we • had to continue and we have.'" The warehousing business was closed after the death of its manager and it has never been re-opened. But the haulage side of the company is again on solid footing and, despite misgivings about the state of business at the moment, is growing once more.
No expansion
The truck fleet, fifty strong, is made up of everything from Ford Transits, to Albion 16-tonners, to an Atkinson 32-ton. For the time being, Roy Dodd is trying to renew the fleet, not expand it.
"It's not a time for expansion,explains William Randall, the company secretary. "It's no good expanding and having the vehicles sitting about. The traffic's just not available at the moment."
Dodd's still specialise in general. hauling. They have few' contracts and rely on their reputation of giving service to find and keep customers.
"This organisation has been built on service," Mr Randall states. "That's why we're still operating while other companies are going to the wall. The family tradition in business has been maintained, the tradition of satisfying customers and dependability."
The family tradition may well have been maintained, but Dodd's is definitely a modern company. Management staff includes an accounts Manager, a transport manager, and a stores manager. Control over repairs is maintained by the company's own workshops.
Own repairs
The workshops are an essential part of this operation," Roy Dodd says. "This is where we can give service by attending to any maintenance problem immediately and keeping vehicles on the road."
In the yard the Dodd's trucks are cleaned and repaired, and quickly sent back out. All but major overhauls can be accomplished in the workshops, allowing the company to set its own priorities and reducing dependence on outside garages.
Wages are deliberately set high, -usually above union rates,according to Mr Randall_ -The wages we pay are comparable to general market conditions," he says. "We've got to keep alongside the conditions or we wouldn't keep personnel And our personnel must be pleased with the conditions here because we have, quite a lot of long-term .employees."
Inflation for Dodd's is the ubiquitous problem it is for everyone else. "A vehicle vr could replace two years ago £6,000 now costs L £12,000, Roy states. "Bi our rates haven't gone u proportionally with inflation.'"
Mr Randall explains wlm -In a competitive market v■ have to compete. It does us r good pushing the rates up. TIprofits might increase but if volume of traffic would condown."
And despite everything, Rc sees some hope. There's ti' scent of an upturn in the air, ti' vague hint of a better future.
It's nothing we've reall measured," he says. -Just sa four or five weeks ago we ha 10 trucks sitting in the yarc And now they're workinc That's a beginning.