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CASE STUDY SPIRIT AUTO LOGISTICS
Page 37
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Danny Wilson, transport manager at Richard Lawson successor Spirit Autologistics, says all 72 of the fleet are "on the road and working".
In fact, such was the uplift from the scrappage scheme, 'the new (car delivery) side has been very busy" and Spirit has used subcontractors to help handle the volume of work.
Wilson attributes this good fortune partly down to a mixed customer base, including new car deliveries double-shifted trucking runs for Gefco all of Scottish Car Auctions' bulk movements, and a new van contract.
Being Scottish-based is proving much less of a disadvantage than it can be to other road transport endeavours.
"Nine times out of 10, we can backload," reveals Wilson.
Spirit Autologistics runs a mixed fleet of Volvos, Renaults and Scanias, drawbars, artics and rigids, plus some special van carriers, and the company buys both new and pre-owned vehicles in order to fulfil its transport needs.
Maintenance is done in-house, not just to ensure quick turnarounds, but, says Wilson, "the complexity of hydraulics and moving decks mean a lot of garages can't deal with transporters".
Wilson can't forsee the current fleet size at Spirit Autologistics declining, but will wait to assess the market before considering expansion.
'The money in this game isn't as big as it was," he says.