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• The new managing director of Brain Haulage is surprisingly relaxed: he has the task of turning round a struggling business in an oversupplied sector of the road transport market. Brain, one of the UK's largest container hauliers, only managed to break even in its last financial year and is being forced to slim down its fleet. "It's like a swan, calm and peaceful on top and paddling like hell underneath," says Martin Smith.
The post was offered to Smith, who had no experience of the container world, a few months ago when he was deputy managing director at Heron Distribution.
Why the move? "I wanted something more meaningful and satisfactory," he says. "I get the chance to build my own team here. As I was not managing director it was not my team at Heron.
"I also have the naive belief that skills are transferable," he adds.
CONTAINER
Brain, which is privately owned by chairman John Brain, is one of the top 10 largest container distribution companies in the UK, alongside P&O, Taylor Barnard and Russell Davies. It operates 264 trucks, nearly 500 trailers and employs about 450 staff. Brain was set up 24 years ago, and in its heyday in the early 1970s, shortly after container distribution began, it had about 400 vehicles.
Its customers, which total about 100, include shipping lines Maersk Line and MISC. Brain also has a container repair and storage arm which contributes up to 20% of the company's £18m turnover.
Smith believes its storage arm is a good barometer of the health of the container industry: "If we are storing a lot of containers, it means there are not many moving about and business on our haulage side is down." At the moment it has 8,000 containers in stock which it holds for a nominal fee.
CONTRACT
Smith is based at the company's head office at Grays, Essex. He has big plans to diversify Brain's interests and make it profitable again. Smith wants to increase contract distribution work to 50%. Most of Brain's work is currently general haulage for a string of regular customers.
A sales and marketing director has been appointed to push for more work. The need for a contract director is also being considered.
"Contract distribution is what my experience is in," says Smith, who also dreams about setting up a distribution and warehousing operation for non-container customers. He is also considering diversifying into contract hire, another market which is far from flourishing.
Smith's first move has been to reduce his fleet by 10 vehicles, and more cuts could follow. Instead of selling the trucks, Smith could put them out to hire. "I have a few things up my sleeve," he says.
Despite the fleet cutbacks, there is some investment going on at Brain's storage arm; it is spending six-figure sums on extra-high forklift trucks that can stack up to six containers on top of each other.
Smith's ambition is to own a company. His new position is the nearest I've been to it". He has already spent 11 years at the top of the distribution companies, first as managing director of BOC Distribution Services for nine years and then at Heron.
He entered the transport industry accidently, having trained as an accountant. After serving two years' national service, he joined the accounting department of BOC. In 1969 he was promoted to finance director of BOC Transhield, the transport division dedicated to Marks & Spencer — a position he held for seven years.
After that he spent four years working in the food manufacturing industry, two years as commercial director of BOC subsidiary King Harry Foods, and two years as commercial director of United Biscuits' frozen food division.
DIRECTOR
Smith then rejoined BOC as managing director of BOC Distribution Services, the division which included Transhield, and managed primarily M&S food and textile distribution. He finally left because he wanted to diversify the company's business and found the post "frustrating".
"I needed fresh fields; it was limiting being a one-customer company. As a business it proved itself very well, but it could only grow as fast as M&S could."
Smith lobbied BOC to expand the customer base, "but there was no response". Ironically, after Smith left, more customers were taken on including a i.75m Smith Kline and Beecham contract.
At Heron, he was in charge of the warehousing, transport and contract distribution side of the business, and was successful in winning some new contracts, including business with Watney's.
Smith prides himself on being good with people and, for this reason, Brain may suit him best; BOC Distribution Services was too big a company for him to feel familiar with all the staff, while at Heron he was not quite the boss. Brain is "an unassuming low-profile company, and I like the people."
CI by Mary Williams