AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

SWEETS BY ROAD

30th May 1952, Page 40
30th May 1952
Page 40
Page 41
Page 42
Page 40, 30th May 1952 — SWEETS BY ROAD
Close
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.

Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

the post-war trend

Part Two By Alan Smith IN the first part of this article, attention was drawn to the different methogs adopted by confectionery manufacturers for the distribution of their products, and the recent tendency of the wholesale organizations to attract a greater volume of business. Most makers employ C-licence transport and in this cemnection there is no general agreement about the, publicity value of suitably decorated vans. Some operators are satisfied merely with a simple colour scheme, whilst others adopt

a more ambitious layout. . . .

Robertson and Woodcock, Ltd., Katherine Road, Forest Gate, London; E.7, maker of Trebor sweets, considers the attractive appearance of vans to be of high value and its C-licence vehicles have a light-blue background with pictorial paintwork by the bodybuilder. The company also, has a factory at Woodford

and another at Chesterfield. Before the war it was served by contractors, but has since built up a. fleet of C-licence vehicles based at Forest Gate and Chesterfield.

These vehicles are all 6-tonners of Seddon and Dodge manufacture, and the company is pursuing a policy of standardizing upon Perkins-erigined models. In doing this it is distinguished from other ancillary users in the

confectionery industry. The reason lies in the wide distributive area to be served from Forest Gate and Chesterfield, necessitating high annual mileages and the use of delivery vansgreater in capacity than usual. Other concerns distributing direct within a relatively small radius and trunking bulk loads to depots for subsequent local delivery have no urgent need to consider using oilers for the final stage of distribution.

This company's distribution system forms a contrast with the usual procedure. Its advantages are found in the ability to exploit the benefits of the oiler, to mainbin close control over consignments and to make regular personal contacts with customers. Moreover, empties are readily recovered. The railways are employed for container traffic to Ulster and the Channel Islands.

The return of empties is an important consideration to sweet manufacturers. Great difficulties were caused a. few years ago when an influenza epidemic in the north-west 'almost stopped the production of jars. Mr. J. S. King, transport manager of S. Parkinson and Son (Doncaster), Ltd., Doncaster, said that the industry was almost entirely dependent upon the regular recovery of glassware and tins, and that this was a function which could not be performed properly by outside hauliers, as it required personal contact with shopkeepers by the company's own staff.

This concern uses the railway for dispatch to parts of tte country not served by road from its factory or its depots at London, Birmingham and Manchester. 'The factory-based vans deliver in an area of 80-mile radius and the depot-served areas are 30-40 miles in radius. The company's own. C-licence vehicles comprise two Foden 7-tonners, two Austin 5-tonners, nine Austin and eight Albion 21-3-tanners, two Morris light vans and a Morrison-Electricar.

The 5-tonners and 7-toriners carry trunk loads to depots, whilst the other vehicles are used for local deliveries, the Morris vans and the battery-electric being confined to work in the immediate district. Annual mileages of the bigger vehicles vary between 20,000 and 25,000.

The importance of a ready return flow of containers was also stressed by Jonathan Edmondson and Co., Ltd., Colville Street, Wavertree, Liverpool, 15. The company uses various depots to which loads are sent in bulk by lorry or rail container. Four Morris-Commercial

and Austin 21-tormers based at .Waves-tree effect deliveries to wholesalers and retailers in the factory area.

George Payne and Co., Ltd., Tower Bridge, London, S.F.!, is another concern with activities other than the manufacture of chocolate. Tea and coffee blending are the company's . old-established businesses, but it has a spacious factory at Waddon, Croydon, mainly devoted to the production of block chocolate and chocolatecoated confections..

Production has expanded in the post-war years and there has been a corresponding rise in the strength• of the C-licence fleet. Thirty-two light Vans of Morris and Commer manufacture are employed by travelling salesmen, who carry srnall stocks, based on London and depots at Bristol, Birmingham, Aberdeen, Leeds, Halifax, Southampton, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Manchester, Oldham, Liverpool and Glasgow. These depots and those of wholesalers are supplied from Tower Bridge by live Maudslay 7-tonners, four of which are vans and one a drop-slider.

Raw materials are taken to Waddon by a Comrner and three Bedford 5-tonners and two Bedford articulated outfits. On their return runs these vehicles take Waddon's productions to either the company's London warehouse, B.R.S. depots or railheads for dispatch. In addition, these vehicles run to various ports with export traffic. Other employment is found in collecting raw materials from the docks, when the vehicles work in

conjunction with. -seven Jets-Tug machines. Eight Morris-Commercial 25-30-cwt. and two Austin 2-ton 'vans deliver to customers in the London area.

At Waddon a new warehouse has been built for the reception of raw materials and several lorries can be unloaded at the same time. About five arrivals are dealt with on most days. Internal handling in the warehouse is mechanized. The roomy layout of the

factory, bars and the use of stillage trucks permit a 5-tonner to be loaded in an average of 25 minutes.

By serving Waddon inwards and outwards with its own vehicles, George ,Payne and Co., Ltd., expects an appreciable saving compared with the hiring of transport-. Outside carriers are, however, employed as the company does not handle all its tonnage itself.

Most ancillary operators recognize the benefits to be derived from tteet standardization, but have found it difficult to adopt an appropriate policy because of shortages. Mayfair Products, Ltd., Sunderland, runs 12 C-licensed vehicles of Bedford and Commer makes and intends to increase its fleet at every opportunity. The company delivers mainly to wholesalers.

A company which never uses the railways directly is M. A. Craven and Son, Ltd., York. This concern runs sizt C-licensed vans---Bedfords and Thames—the larger models of which were built to specification, and direct deliveries are made within a 150-mile radius. Beyond this limit, consignments are handled through five depots of the Rowntree organization.

Stillage trucks are employed for loading and a 3-tonner can be filled in 15 minutes. In 1951 the company's machines covered over 130,000 miles and carried 1,286 tons of goods. An increase in the fleet strength is envisaged as production rises.

In contrast to Craven, Cliftons Chocolates, Ltd., Levenshulme, Manchester, 19, deals largely with the railways for the distribution of its products. A Commer 3-tonner and a Bedford 15-cwt. are, however, run under C licence for making deliveries within a 60-70-mile radius of the factory. .

G. F. Lovell and Co., Ltd., Rexville, Newport, Mon, may be called an enthusiastic C-licence operator. it insists that vans and drivers are always smartly turned out, so as to be a credit to the company, and although its fleet is comparatively small, consisting of 29 vehicles, the company has its own bodybuilding department, where six men and four boys are employed. All the bodies of the Lovell vehicles are made, painted and repaired in this shop and additional work is done for outside customers. Maintenance is carried out by Lovell's Motor Co., an associated concerti. It has been found that the running of a bodybuilding section is an economic proposition: Travellers' cars and vans are also

catered. fat. . : This concern's policy is to distribute, mainly to retailers, although wholesalers are supplied in some areas. Railway. transport is. employed for delivery to remote districts, but most Of the output goes by road. C-licencevehicles are used_ when economic for consignments from Newport' to the Midlands, Clxford, Reading and North. Devon, and Lovell's own depots in London. Manchester and Swansea are Supplied by two Leyland 10-tonners; Arrarigements are made with professional hauliers for distribution in other areas..

Retail deliveries are made by 16 Bedford vans varying in capacity from 30 cwt. to 5 tons. A Bedford 4-ton lorry is used for dock traffic and two Thames 10-cwt. vans are employed for special purposes. Standardization upon Bedford has been almost completed and it is intended to replace one of the Leylands, a 1934 model, by a Bedford articulated vehicle. No increase in the fleet strength is contemplated.

For manufacturers of high-grade chocolates, ancillary transport is of great value, for the good condition of products upon delivery is well guaranteed. This is the experience of W. and M. Duncan, Ltd., Beaverhall Road, Edinburgh, 7, a company associated with Rowntree. Whilst the railways are employed for bulk deliveries to English depots, all consignments in East and West Scotland are carried by the company's own eight vehicles. In a recent week these covered 4,748 miles and carried over 148 tons.

it8 Four Thornycroft 3-4-ton vans operated by Harry Vincent, Ltd., Hunnington, 'near Birmingham, each coverabout 30,000 miles a year on long-distance delivery. Ninety per cent. of output is supplied to wholesalers and the remainder direct to retailers. In a year several thousands of tons are handled. A fifth part is moved by rail, the same proportion by outside carriers and the balance by. ancillary transport. The Thornycrofts are augmented by two Cornmer 2-24tanners and three Morris light vans which cater for local deliveries.

W. R. Wilkinson and Co., Ltd., Pontefract, well known for its liquorice confections, similarly relies mainly upon its C-licence facilities. Railways are used for distant destinations and for the dispatch of small lots that do not make up a vanloacl. The company has three Morris-Commercial 5-ton vans (two of which are oilers), a Bedford 5-ton van and a covered lorry of similar type, two Bedford 2-3-ton vans and a MorrisCommercial 25-cwt. van.

The vans are used for delivering to wholesalers and retailers throughout the country and the lorry carries bulk loads to wholesalers or Rowntree depots. The fleet covers up to 250,000 miles a year and shifts over 3,000 tons of goods. Pride is taken in the appearance of the vehicles, which are kept extremely clean. The directors consider that it is of little use to maintain a high degree of hygiene in the factory and then to deliver products in vans coated with mud and dust.

As Wilkinson's is engaged in making a special type of confectionery, the value of ancillary operation in the recovery of empties does not apply. The benefits of promptness, personal contact with customers and the knowledge that goods will be received in good condition nevertheless hold, and the concern hopes to increase its fleet when greater factory production is possible.

Manufacturers in the confectionery industry have different approaches to the use of road transport. The average cost of transport compared with the price of the retail product is possibly between 3 per cent. and 5 per cent. This is fairly high when it is considered that confectionery is a moderately expensive traffic, but the safe delivery of products in good condition, a vital backflow of used containers and the satisfaction of customers' needs must be ensured.


comments powered by Disqus