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HB Holt & Sons has really had to diversify in rece

6th december 2012
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Page 18, 6th december 2012 — HB Holt & Sons has really had to diversify in rece
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HB Holt & Sons has really had to diversify in recent years to keep up with all the changes in the haulage industry - and has managed to stay strong, thanks to MD Eddie Holt's determination Words: George Barrow/ Images: Tom Cunningham HB Holt & Sons moves everything including the kitchen sink, which is why company MD Eddie Holt will be the first to admit that earning a wage as a haulier is a tough job these days. However, the family-run business, based in Howden, East Yorkshire, has been moving kitchens, and their sinks, in increasing numbers of late, thanks to a contract with Wren Kitchens.

"We've had the Wren contract for two years," says Holt. "They have an office on site, and we've got 20 trucks servicing the contract. Wren has created lots of employment in the area with its assembly plant in Howden, and we're the only firm doing home delivery for their kitchens. That means that every time there is a new [Wren] showroom there's another truck for the fleet."

The 50-strong fleet is made up predominantly of Volvo and Renault 6x2 tractors, with some rigids serving as wagon and drags. But the fleet also includes some Scania and MAN rigids for use as draw-bar units, which are used across the Wren Kitchens contract and in HB Holt & Sons' contribution to the Palletforce network. While its kitchen deliveries are carried out using two-man, home-delivery teams that deliver across the UK, its Palletforce operations are confined to just YO and HU postcodes.

"The YO postcode takes you right up to the moors," Holt remarks. "You can end up doing a quarter pallet up to farms — which is the last thing you want to be doing. That's why we gave most of the YO postcode up, and a Scarborough haulier took it up, as he can probably get more in and out of the network from up there."

Despite relinquishing part of the YO postcode, Holt is still a strong supporter of the pallet network and continues to be impressed with the operation since joining as a founding member. But, prior to joining Palletforce, HB Holt & Sons was previously feeding into a different pallet network — an experience that has left Holt less enamoured with the state of the industry as a whole, citing vicious pricing and cowboy operators as two contributing factors to the problems facing firms on general haulage work.

"Everyone knows that hauliers have always been their own worst enemy. The way to survive isn't by slashing their own rates. It's got pretty vicious with pricing in recent years, but I think it will come back. When we first started doing groupage it would cost up to £70 for a one pallet delivery to Stafford, but it's now closer to £28 per pallet, it's suicide. Some hauliers are working solely for the pallet networks, and surviving purely on the volumes they can provide. Because of the strengths of the rules and regulations these days, service levels have become more important," says Holt.

Premium service "There's little profit, so you have to rely on getting a better price for a premium service. All the Palletforce hauliers speak to each other, so there is nothing to hide. You have to be serious about the network because you need to buy in with shares, which ensures that operators aren't in it for a quick buck. The pallet network we were with before was desperate for you to take an area, and when you did, the more you put in, the more hassle you got out. They would sometimes sit on the pallets for two or three days, which is no good for your customer. You get a lot of people in this business who hide their mistakes and you get to be on the receiving end. We believe that if your delivery partner can't make any revenue from the pallet, then we can't make any revenue either. As far as we are concerned, we are in a much better position now," he concludes.

Their previous bad experience did not deter them from entering a new network, and now Holt estimates that around 15% of their workload is through Palletforce. The rest of the fleet is spread across other general haulage work, groceries and glass-carrying — using specialist Saint Gobain-liveried trailers. In addition to Wren Kitchens, the firm also has a long-standing contract, dating back 25 years, with Birdseye Peas.

The operation has steadily grown in size, and the firm now employs 75 people across driving and administrative roles, but Holt is always at the heart of the action when it comes to specifying his vehicles.

"We buy Renaults and Volvos for the back-up in this area," he says. "There's nobody with a Mercedes-Benz in the area, and if they do, they use Immingham [nearly 40 miles away from HowdentWe have Volvo service contracts, and if anything wants doing they pick them up, service them and carry out most of the work over the weekend."

With the words 'Swedish Perfection' painted on the back of its Volvo F12, HB Holt & Sons' enthusiasm for Volvos is evident, and the company's striking red and green livery may also soon be adorning the latest FH. Holt is keen on several aspects of its design, and reveals his local dealer has already come in with a price for the new Euro-6 wagon. The decision to buy does, however, come down to more than unit price, and Holt is confident he is not going to splash out on several new Euro-6 trucks when his current 460hp and 480hp FHs are returning good average fuel figures.

Like most operators Holt keeps a close eye on the price of fuel, and is constantly looking to get the best economy and value from his trucks. "We spend around £40,000 per week on fuel, so I'm always checking who is offering the best fuel prices. We have three card suppliers, and in some weeks a supplier's price will drop by 2ppl. It's not worth bunkering fuel as you've got to sleep at night, and I can't see there being such a big saving for the hassle. There's theft, insurance and storage to worry about, and it could be £1.16 one week when you fill the tanks, and then if [the price] went and dropped you'd kick yourself."

With Holt keeping records dating back more than a decade of his average fuel costs, it is clear to see how the meteoric rise in fuel costs has affected hauliers like HB Holt & Sons. "We usually get 8mpg, 9mpg or even lOmpg out of our I-Shift Volvos, but you'd have to be doing 14mpg to get back to the old fuel prices," Holt says.

In a further effort to keep a handle on costs, HB Holt & Sons recently signed up ATS Euromaster as its tyre supplier, ensuring fitment of Taurus (a Michelin brand) tyres across the range, as well as 24/7 emergency roadside assistance and, most importantly, a fixed-price agreement.

Fixed-price contract "We were left at the mercy of tyre dealers charging us significant sums if we ran into problems outside Yorkshire," Holt says. "The independents in this area give us a good service, but you have no control over independents in other markets. When you're stuck at the roadside you're not in the best position, and either get the most expensive tyre they can find or a really crap one. We wanted a fixed-price contract, because a breakdown in London could end up costing you dearly. You've got to keep on top of costs."

By keeping an eye on costs with the ATS contract, opting for Roadrunner parts rather than original equipment, and choosing its fuel supplier wisely, HB Holt & Sons is benefitting from Holt's careful financial management — and packing the kitchen sink into his fleet is paying off. • All in the family It's been 75 years since the Holt family tooks its first steps into haulage, trading as RS Holt, taking milk from local farms to the dairies. The current company name of HB Holt & Sons is taken from Eddie's father, but it was his grandfather who started the family trade which now sees HB Holt & Sons run by Eddie and his two brothers, Steve and Stuart. Among the photos from their childhood, a young Eddie can be seen standing in front of his grandfather's Commer T53. Eddie hopes to find the Commer and, using his photographs, restore the truck to the original company livery. He hopes it will be the first of many classic trucks to rejoin the fleet.


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