TRAILER TO LEADER
Page 98
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York knows all about the ups and downs of the UK trailer industry: it has ridden through the worst of the recession to climb back in to the black.
• If anyone knows about roller coasters York does. Back in 1979 it employed over 2,000 people and had sales of £39.4 million in an overall UK market of around 18,000 trailers. Little more than a year later, it was facing losses approaching 24 million, and had begun a contraction programme which ultimately saw its workforce slashed to 600.
A lot has happened since then — not least the buyout of the York Group, along with its parent company United Parcels, by the giant Bunzl Corporation in October 1985, and the instigation of a major investment and restructuring programme which has put York firmly back in profit.
Last year, York boosted its trading volume by more than 60% to 280 million, while its profits, according to York Trailer Holdings' managing director Jim Davies, were, "almost twice as good as the best year we ever had" — referring to York's previous top year of 1979, when it made 22.5 million. It doesn't look like stopping there either, for Davies asserts that, "profits will increase in 1988".
NOTICEABLE FLURRY
Overall trailer sales in Britain are still a long way off the glory days of 1979, but last year there was a noticeable flurry in orders, particularly during the second half of the year, which helped produce a final total market of just over 12,000 trailers.
Last year York built some 3,200 trailers of all types. York's arch-rival, Crane Fruehauf, will not reveal its total British sales or production figures, which makes direct comparisons difficult — but Davies is in no doubt as to where York stands: "1987 was our biggest success story. We've overtaken Crane Fruehauf and assumed the mantle of market leadership. It took a lot of money and hard work, but we intend to stay there."
Paradoxically, while Davies is bullish about York's prospects for 1988, he is more cautious on how the overall UK trailer market will develop: "1988 will be better than 1987, because sales last year didn't take off until the second half of the year. If the market continues to sell as well as the second half of '87, sales could go as high as 13,500 units." Forecasting exactly what the market will do, however, remains something of a black art and there are already signs of some storm clouds approaching for the industry. Davies admits that although York's forward order books, "will certainly sustain it during the first half of '88, the second half is something of a mystery. Our best forecast is that in 1989 the market will be off by between 5-10%, and we are concerned that that decline may spill forward into 1988". Even if this does happen, Davies still feels that the market is, "unlikely to go below 12,000 this year".
However it turns out, Davies is confident that York, "has the production rate, which if the market allows us to sustain it, will take us to 4,000 trailers in 1988".
The recent reorganisation of the group's activities has left it with five main manufacturing centres. Its major trailer production site remains at North Allerton, which builds all the company's flats, dry freight and curtain-sided trailers, while its Harelaw, County Durham factory is responsible for the Thermostar reefer range, which includes complete trailers and rigid reefer body kits.
Following Bunzl's acquisition of Neville Charrold in 1986, NC's Mansfield factory is now the centre for all of York's tipper bodybuilding on both rigid and trailer chassis. Along with Neville Charrold, Bunzl also bought Glover Webb, the Southampton-based municipal and military vehicle bodybuilder, which continues to function in the same role.
York's fifth manufacturing arm is Abel Demounts at Chesterfield.
Backing up the main quintet, however, are a further 14 service and parts centres throughout the country, of which 10 have an additional "niche" bodybuilding or engineering capabilities. A typical example of this approach can be found at York's Warrington, Rushden and Watford depots. In addition to their normal semi-trailer servicing and parts business, this trio also builds Thermostar rigid reefer bodies, using kits supplied by Harelaw. The number of rigid reefer bodybuilding centres will soon rise to four, when they are joined by York's Dagenham depot.
Another example of York's niche marketing philosophy can be found at the company's Corby HQ, which carries out specialist chassis engineering notably 6x 2 twin-steer conversions on lveco Ford Cargo 3828 tractive units.
The number of mini-manufacturing sites based at York service and parts centres is set to rise during 1988. By the end of the summer two further depots will be opened at Bristol and Leeds, with the latter taking over steel tipping bodywork production from Mansfield, leaving Neville Charrold free to concentrate on building alloy tipping bodies.
While there are still some gaps to fill in York's niche policy, Davies is already looking beyond the UK for new opportunities: "If 1987 was the year we reached out potential in the UK, 1988 will be the year we take it forward into Europe — by the end of the decade we will have become a pan-European group."
AMBITIOUS TARGET
The first steps towards this ambitious target have already been taken. A purpose-built trailer assembly plant in Dordrecht, Holland is to become the main manufacturing centre of a new subsidiary company — York Trailer Europa (YTE).
Compared with the recently-merged SESR Group of former Fruehauf European subsidiaries, YTE is starting from a relatively small base — but York is already talking about winning a 5% share of the Benelux trailer market by the end of the year, rising to 10% in 1989.
The first products to come off the Dordrecht line will be Thermostar reefers and curtainsiders (built for UK-sourced kits) and TIR tilts. Dordrecht will eventually become the group supplier of tilts, says Davies, with Dutch-built trailers being shipped back across the North Sea for sale in the UK.
In addition to the Benelux countries, York is also planning to expand into France and Italy in 1988, and there are already firm plans to supply fully-built-up Thermostars to Scandinavia, where Davies estimates the company could sell up to 200 reefer trailers a year.
0 by Brian Weatherley