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The legend passes on

7th April 2011, Page 7
7th April 2011
Page 7
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Page 7, 7th April 2011 — The legend passes on
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

By Bob Tuck

THE ROAD TRANSPORT world is mourning the passing of Edward Stobart who died in University Hospital, Coventry at 8.10am on Thursday 31 March 2011 at the age of 56.

He had apparently collapsed at his home in Ettington, Warwickshire the day before, and was admitted to hospital with suspected heart problems. His wife Mandy and their two children were said to have been at his bedside when he died.

Although Edward had sold the Eddie Stobart business in 2004 – to his brother William and Andrew Tinkler – it’s accepted by the current management that Edward was the person who built this iconic brand and business.

In the 30-plus years of his involvement with Eddie Stobart Ltd, Edward did more than anyone to transform not just his family’s ledgling concern, but also the whole image of the UK’s road transport industry. In a world where appearance had never been given much priority, Edward Stobart had something of an obsession with keeping his trucks clean and his drivers smartly turned-out.

His idea of personalising each truck with a girl’s name subsequently saw the creation of the Eddie Stobart Fan Club.

At its peak, there were circa 25,000 club members who loved ‘Eddie’ spotting although even non-truck fans would often turn their heads whenever they saw an eye-catching Stobart outit.

Lots of hard work

Sheer hard work has long epitomised Edward’s approach to getting on in life. However, his father Eddie gave him a huge boost in 1980 when he liquidated the family assets to build a brand new warehouse and depot on the Kingstown industrial estate in Carlisle. Eddie apparently said that Edward would either make them or break them: “He could end up a multi-millionaire or we could all end up bust – there will be nothing in between.” Edward obviously ended up a multi-millionaire as the next 20 years saw the Stobart leet grow massively through an extensive network of depots across the UK – and into Europe.

With smartly turned-out outits and drivers in uniform, the Stobart proile became one of the highest in the land.

The general public certainly loved them, but the rest of the industry didn’t always think the same.

All sorts of rumours were circulated in the early 1990s to try and discredit the company. But Edward steered the business through it all, and, by 2001, Stobart had a turnover of £150m, 27 depots, 2,200 staff and more than 1,000 vehicles.

Keep on working

Although he retired from the Stobart business in 2004, Edward wasn’t inished with the road transport world as in November 2007 he acquired the Boalloy Fastruck express body building business in Cheshire.

“The products manufactured at Boalloy were of too good a quality to let die,” Edward apparently said after the previous owners had put the business into administration. However, he couldn’t re-create his golden touch with Fastruck, as two years later the company was wound up with debts of £1.4m.

Although this may be a slightly sour note to end his working life, the balance of what Edward Stobart contributed to the business world is hugely positive.

It’s probably true that no other single individual has done as much as Edward Stobart to enhance the image of road transport. I’m sure that not everyone might agree in how he did things, but you could never say he wasn’t focused in what he did.

He never forgot people who helped him out along the way and he certainly enjoyed what he did.

And while his stammer may have meant he was a man of few words, he let his actions speak for themselves. And when that action carries one stunning Eddie Stobart livery, it’s an action that has always spoken to the highest standard. ■

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