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A world of rare diversity

5th August 2004, Page 70
5th August 2004
Page 70
Page 71
Page 70, 5th August 2004 — A world of rare diversity
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Emma Penny meets an Essex truck dealer who's a master of most trades and sells used trucks in Ghana too...

parking your car in the 20acre John Whiting yard is a tricky task-There are trucks and truck parts everywhere, as well as trucks coming and going all the time. And the man who runs the business, Ben Whiting, is as busy as the comings and goings in the yard suggest.

The business, just outside Colchester, is not just a used truck dealership; Whiting also supplies truck spares, runs a truck hire business, a dismantlers and a scrap business from his yard.

Truck sales, however, are his main business,and he's chosen to specialise in the export business with up to 80% of his vehicles going overseas.Export sales have grown by word of mouth; buyers regularly contact Whiting and say they've met someone else who had bought some trucks from hinr"We do have a website but !don't sit at home every evening updating it — nine times out of ten it's through people we have dealt with."

The firm's close proximity to three major ports — Harwich, Felixstowe andTilbury — is a huge advantage, and makes getting trucks onto ships very costeffective. It's certainly a burgeoning business: the day CM visited some Scanias and spares were being sent to Russia, while some Volvo car transporters were due to go on a ship to Poland the following Monday.And the previous week Whiting had sent 11 trucks to Cyprus via Harwich.

As many vehicles are sent out on trailers, Whiting has to supply those too. He's just expanded this business, with trailers located at a yard on the Al2 towards Ipswich. That yard currently holds about 100 trailers, while his home base stocks about 500 trucks — essential if he's to satisfy customer demand without going out looking for stock. Of that 500, very few come from auctions:most come from people phoning to offer him vehicles."I just don't have time to go to auctions," he adds.

Whiting reckons most of the trucks he sells are ideally suited for export: -We sell a lot of vehicles between the £2,000 and £5,000 mark." But not all foreign operators are looking for bargainbasement stock. In Cyprus, for example. the tax levied on imported trucks less than six years old is reduced as the government wants good trucks on the road.

Paperwork Other countries are less particular, but still have surprisingly tough requirements.

Vehicles being exported to Kenya are inspected by an official body before they leave the yard, then again on arrival in Kenya. And if the paperwork isn't right when they arrive, they won't be released by Customs. As well as Kenya, he cites Rwanda and Angola as countries where paperwork has to be right.

One member of staff is devoted almost full-time to this task.' I'd rather get it right and get repeat business," he says. He's built up a good bond with some of his buyers —he even sends some a container of spares every month.

He's been so successful in Ghana that he's set up his own yard. Whiting had been dealing with a Ghanaian businessman on a regular basis and decided it would be a good opportunity to set up a business there with him. Now trucks and spares are shipped out every month.

Spares are a big part of the export business, either with trucks, or in containers. Engines, axles and gearboxes are the most sought-after spares, and they'll often come from breaking vehicles —Whiting has a contract with the Post Office to take all its salvage vehicles,so he's got access to a lot of Daf spares which are particularly popular in Caribbean countries. Growth in the spares business meant Whiting was left with a lot of scrap, which is expensive to have shifted. So he set up his own scrap business.

Whiting doesn't ignore the home market.The morning we visited, he'd sold two trucks; sales average four or five a week. But if you spot something in his yard that you like the look of you'd better be quick—stock tends to move quickly.

He stocks all sorts of vehicles, from minibuses to trucks, but the most striking vehicle on offer at the moment is a topof-the-range Scania.The 2003 580hp Topline Classic has all the extras you'd expect, as well as 1,500-litre diesel tanks. It's only done 160,000km and was bought directly from the operator: yours for £59,000.

Not only the retail stock is for sale though. The rental fleet numbers 75 vehicles, but you can buy one if you want. Whiting opted to supply specialist vehicles as it's hard to compete on price with the established hirers of 7.5tonne box vans.

"We do sometimes have customers who take a vehicle for a few weeks then decide to buy it,he adds. •

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