High standards
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Keeping to high professional standards has kept Edwin C Farrall Transport in business since it was started in 1956 By Roger Brown
IN COMMON with many other established familyowned haulage firms, Edwin C Farrall Transport runs an efficient operation with training and compliance at the top of its list of priorities.
The company, started by Edwin C Fan-all in 1956, carries out deliveries around the UK for many leading companies, and offers more than 100,000ft2 of warehousing space at its facilities in Chester and nearby Deeside.
Matt Farrall and his sister Katharine are the third generation of the family business, the former working as marketing manager and the latter in finance and administration. Polite, engaging, down to earth and friendly, but clearly switched on when it comes to business matters, the pair are keen to maintain the high standards set by their grandfather and carried on by their dad Mike, supported by wife Elaine and uncle Mark. Matt tells CM: "Dad has been excellent, and other
family members have been on hand to give advice.
Grandad comes into the yard on a regular basis and is a f wealth of useful information. It's great to be able to c=, benefit from their industry knowledge, as well as the ,2 experience of the great team of staff we have here." There are 85 employees at the business, 50 of them full-time drivers. The company is keen on investing in its
workforce and has been running Driver CPC training courses on the first Saturday of every month.
Kat, who is studying an accountancy course part-time, says: "We were training our drivers long before the Driver CPC came about.
"For the Driver CPC we tied our own objectives to the courses, and make sure that our drivers are properly trained in all areas of their job. We put our drivers on different modules, which include drivers' hours, safe and fuel-efficient driving, and safe loading of vehicles." Ahead of time
With nine months to go before the deadline, many of the drivers at Fan-all have finished their training and have received their qualification card. The company, which has a full-time training officer, can offer the firm's accredited CPC training programme to other haulage companies in the area.
"The CPC programme will help raise the professional standing of drivers across the road transport industry," Kat explains. "We want to do it properly and get the full benefit from it, both for ourselves and our customers. However, it's important for us that Driver CPC is not simply a box-ticking exercise."
Fan-all Transport owns its vehicles and trailers as well as its two sites. All trucks have a digital tachograph and checks are carried out using technology from Tachomaster.
Since March, it has invested £1.5m in 13 new Volvo trucks — a mix of FH, FM, and FL models, all Euro-5 — and 10 new trailers complete with tail-lifts. The firm operates a fleet of 40 vehicles and 60 trailers.
Matt says: "We have invested in an efficient fleet that is low-maintenance, low fuel consumption and Euro-5 compliant. All of these elements are vital to winning new business. Being Euro-5 compliant is also critical for consignments destined for London; we wanted to ensure we had the fleet to support and expand our distribution capacity to the capital." The finishing touches The FLs, which will be used on the company's Palletforce operation, based at its Chester site, were selected for their rear-wheel-steer capability and extra manoeuvrability. Two of the new FLs have been finished in the network's livery. They are all set to be maintained at the company's workshop at the Chester facility, run by Mike's brother
Mark and supported by a team of mechanics.
Matt says: "With the new trucks we looked at the possibility of getting them on a repair and maintenance contract, but we decided to keep doing it in-house. "There are excellent facilities here, including a double inspection pit area, and rolling road brake testing equipment. We are happy with our workshop and the team, who do excellent work and
keep the fleet compliant."
The company is a founder member and shareholder of Palletforce, an active member of the Transport Association (TA), the Road Haulage Association (RHA) and the UK Warehousing Association. Farrall's produces a newsletter that delivers compliance-related information to drivers, much of it
from the organisations it belongs to. Matt says: "The TA is excellent, members are able to share on-site fuel facilities and help each other out with parking. I'm also a big supporter of the RHA, and our
traffic office team get lots of useful information from the organisation about changes in the law." The firm has a particularly close relationship with fellow Palletforce, RHA and TA member Fagan and Whalley, based in Burnley. It has resulted in the setting up
of a joint 4PL company called Farrall Fagan and Whalley to organise work for insulation manufacturer Knauf at sites in Cwmbran, Queensferry and St Helens.
Matt says: "We have a good relationship with Stephen and Graham Fagan, as well as Sam Fagan, one of the younger generation. This type of partnership working fits in perfectly with the ethos of both our companies."
The company's warehouse in Deeside stores anything from tomato puree and peanuts to towbars and mudflaps. Matt is keen to expand the warehousing capability of the business and does not rule out the possibility that it will obtain a new site in the next few years.
Matt also wants the operator to provide more added value services for customers. He says: "Warehousing is an important part of our service to customers and is something we want to expand. Regarding added value, we can help customers run their business, either through setting up a website for them using our IT capabilities, or helping them run their e-commerce operations." On a visit to the warehouse, Kat introduces herself to a
new member of staff who has started work assembling products for a US-based firm that manufactures mudflaps for CVs. Added-value service
The company sends Farrall's individual components from North America, which are then put together by a worker on-site with the help of a machine in a small section of the warehouse. Matt says: "This is an excellent example of an added-value service in practice. We provide the space for the firm, the product is relatively easy to build, and it removes the hassle for the customer as we can do it well and at a relatively low cost." Matt says that over the past year, Farrall's has experienced steady growth in new contract wins and extra
value added work. It also recently set up a freight forwarding division, which it hopes will add significantly to company profit. Matt concludes: "It's an old saying, but a true one, that my dad often repeats: turnover is vanity, profit is sanity. The company has always been based on family values, customer service and a can-do attitude for our customers, but with a strong commitment to business growth. Kat and I are keen to continue that and maintain the high standards the company has reached over many years." •
Something old, something new
One of the most visible changes Matt has helped bring about is the modernisation of the firm's livery. The distinctive red and white paintwork remains, but is now joined by the company's website and the simple 'Farrell's' on the new cabs rather than Edwin C Farrell Transport.
However, the Farrell tradition of putting the name of the driver on the side of the cab has been kept alive. "We wanted to keep the traditional livery and red and white colours, but bring it up to date a bit," he says.
Tetematics
The company has gradually phased in the implementation of Dynafleet — Volvo's online transport information system — over the past two years.
The system helps the firm's transport manager on compliance matters by providing details on service intervals and driver working times as well as locations of the vehicles in the fleet.
It has also helped the company step up from a fleet average of 8.6mpg to 9.6mpg, which equates to saving £100,000 a year in fuel costs.