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ROOT AND
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BRANCH
Wrings Transport is rooted in an old family firm, which has adjusted and changed
repeatedly. Jennifer Ball reports.
Walking into the transport office of Wrings Transport we're met by two bundling Highland terriers and Stuart Wring greets us with a smile mid-phone call.The office is buzzing, and he breathes a sigh of relief when we sit down in a corner of the temporary office. "To think when we started here we said we would stop when we reached 10 trucks — we now have 27," he say& "Mind you I was also told that if you stand still you go backwards so in that case we have moved forwards," he reflects.
Walking into the transport office of Wrings Transport we're met by two bundling Highland terriers and Stuart Wring greets us with a smile mid-phone call.The office is buzzing, and he breathes a sigh of relief when we sit down in a corner of the temporary office. "To think when we started here we said we would stop when we reached 10 trucks — we now have 27," he say& "Mind you I was also told that if you stand still you go backwards so in that case we have moved forwards," he reflects.
Walking into the transport office of Wrings Transport we're met by two bundling Highland terriers and Stuart Wring greets us with a smile mid-phone call.The office is buzzing, and he breathes a sigh of relief when we sit down in a corner of the temporary office. "To think when we started here we said we would stop when we reached 10 trucks — we now have 27," he say& "Mind you I was also told that if you stand still you go backwards so in that case we have moved forwards," he reflects.
The original Wrings Transport was started in the early 1920s by Wrings's grandfather Joe. He died in 1966 and the business was later sold in 1973. In 1995, Stuart and his brother Martin, who were both working for DFDS Transport, decided to give up their jobs and recreate the firm. The current company began life in awarehouse owned by their older brother Darren, who had his own fighting company in Failand (Avon):"We painted a corner office, put lights
in and began work straight away. Originally my father was running a newsagent but as the company grew he joined us too and is now the general administrator. My mum Linda also works in the office so it's a real family effort."
Personal contact
Wring spends much of his time in the office coordinating the day-to day running of the firm but he, or his brother Martin, will go out on the road if a driver is off sick rather than let a client down. He is conscious of the fact this means that he doesn't have a great deal of personal contact with his customers.This is something he plans to address in the coming months; he has recently taken a sponsorship deal at Bristol City FC so he can combine business with pleasure at the weekend&
A couple of years ago Wrings carried out a lot of supermarket work to regional distribution centres but has moved away from this because of the frequent delays it encountered. While the firm concentrates largely on
general haulage with clients ranging from warehousing firms to metal fabricators, its versatile fleet— which includes exhibition trailers, reefers, Hiab crane vehicles and tail-lift trailers — enables it to carry out more specialist work for the construction and entertainment industries.
The company is ideally located in Avonmouth for access to the country's motorway network: the Midlands, Cornwall and London are all within easy reach.The firm's out-oftown premises also leaves it less susceptible to congestion: "Although we would eventually like to own our own premises with warehouse space it would have to be local because we have centred a lot of our business here. Most of the goods we carry never see our premises and are transferred from one trailer to another before being delivered." The firm has an international 0-licence but Wring explains that it doesn't really carry out a lot of continental work because the rates are so low: "We have a specialist trip once a month for a Parisian company which found us on the internet, which is profitable.The job involves taking medical equipment from the UK to
Paris for onwards distribution.To add value we also pack and load the trailer."
The firm's exhibition trailers enable it to deliver and collect lights and lasers, mainly for Darren's firm, to and from concerts and festivals.This is an area which Wring would like to expand: "We bought them a while back but have not made full use of them and use them mainly for storage. But, because of their size, such exhibition trailers are in short supply and we often have a number of companies that hire them from us."
Buying new
Wring says that, while he would never have originally considered buying new trailers, he has discovered there are many benefits and has already bought five new trailers this year. He says the main reason is that even though a two-year-old trailer may costs £5,000 less than a new one, by the time you have paid refurbishment and maintenance costs to get it up to scratch there is not a lot of difference. "Buying a new truck with repair and maintenance covered is the only way for us to go now — maintenance for our older vehicles
has proved expensive. We don't own our own workshops and don't want to.
"We have the benefit that all our vehicle suppliers are situated in Avonmouth if we need something done. In addition, dealers offer a five-year repair and maintenance plan, which means that you don't have to worry about the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency putting up its test fees." Like many other operators Wring says that since the day it began it has had trouble recruiting drivers. It has now launched a number of initiatives aimed at retaining its staff, which are obviously successful. "We have 27 drivers operating from the site, one of
whom has worked for the firm for seven years; Dave Growcott even worked for the original Wrings Transport.
"It has always been a problem keeping anew man.We do offer some of our own training. On the first day a driver joins he will double-man with a regular driver to see if he likes the work. If he does, on his second day he will go out with Martin who can assess his ability and see whether there are any improvements that can be made and to give the driver any more information about the company that he requires. "There is also an opportunity for drivers to update their licences and a loyalty scheme to
help retain staff In addition, we pay a bonus twice a year related to fuel economy, tyre abuse and accident claims. This encourages safer driving and it also helps to keep our insurance costs down if there are fewer claims." Wring says that one of his major concerns is the Working Time Directive and the impact it will have on road transport when it comes into force next March: "It is not that we are burying our heads in the sand and are ignorant about it but, like other hauliers, we are not making any plans until we have concrete information from the govemment.We could plan as best as we can for it now but it could all change in six months' time." •