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The Best of Two Worlds in Copenhagen

FOR BEDFORD IT'S WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL COPENHAGEN' —AND VICE VERSA

BY NORMAN H. TILSLEY DENMARK is, without a doubt, Bedford lerritory. MI you need to do to confirm this fact is to take a stroll along the Hans Christian Andersen Boulevard, past the Tivoli Gardens and into the Town Hall Square (they call it the Radhuspladsen over there) and you will be amazed at the number of Bedfords that you see—the Post Office. the Danish State Railways, the famous Carlsberg and Tuborg breweries, all use Bedfords in one form, shape and size or another.

Pro-British That they are pro-British in Denmark—so far as commercial vehicles are concerned—goes without saving when it is realized that in 1964 British vehicles accounted for no less than 54.1 per cent of the total market of commercial vehicles sold in the country. Of this total market Volvo took only 13.5 per cent, while Mercedes managed 14-1 per cent —and this in a country which is only a 35-minute ferry trip from Sweden and which borders onto Germany.

Looking a little deeper into these figures— and again taking last year as an example—out of the total British exports to Denmark, 64-3 per cent were Bedford, 14-2 Ford, 6.7 Morris, 6.3 Austin, 2.5 Commer, 1-6 Dodge. 0-5 Karrier, 3-2 Leyland, and other makes 0-7 Der c.2111.. A final breakdown of these figures into actual vehicle numbers reveals that in 1964, 7,123 commercial vehicles of all makes were sold in Denmark, 3,854 of which were British. But a lot more than half of these British vehicles--2,477 to be precise—were Bedfords.

This then is a success story for British-built Bedford vehicles—vehicles which are shipped via Esbjerg. or directly into the port of Copenhagen, and eventually into the giant General Motors plant, in huge crates, there to be unpacked and assembled by the 1,400-plus employees. To assemble a vehicle takes about six days, including welding, trimming and painting.

Price Competitivenc When, in Copenh'l I asked Paul

Kierk, truck and Nrnanager of

General Motors In ,rnalional, why it was that the Bedford was so successful there, he replied: "What attracts operators is the price competitiveness and an excellent dealer organization, plus full service promotion which gives advice to both dealers and operators." All that—which includes a training course for mechanics—as well as the fact that General Motors have had a plant in Copenhagen since 1923, and know by experience exactly

the kind of vehicle the Danes want and the price they are willing to pay for it.

Success Confirmed Mr. Kierk's explanation of the Bedford/Vauxhall/ General Motors success was confirmed when I later visited the headquarters of Kobenhavns Kommunes Korselsafdeling (Copenhagen City Council's transport department)—which is known throughout the country by the initials KKKA -there to speak to the department's dynamic director, Povl Skovby.

KKKA not only caters for the public trucking needs of Copenhagen—it does not take part in passenger transport, fire and ambulance services and public cleansing— but it operates as a hire-and-reward haulage concern as well, in competition with other hauliers in the city.

All told, the department operates a fleet. of 90 vehicles (including a breakdown recovery truck), every one of which is a Bedford, ranging from small tippers for carrying road construction and building materials, to latge tanker vehicles for carrying fuel oil for the heating of hospitals and schools.

1-12 Saved £70,000 in a Year

Povl (pronounced Paul) Skovby, as a young man, built up his own highly successful transport business. He sold it 10 years ago to take on his present appointment. When I asked him why he had standardized 100 per cent t..n Bedfords, he did not reply immediately — he first of all produced his account books. " Because of this standardiza tion on Bedford he said, "I have saved the Council £70,000 in a year in operating costs.That was a concrete fact, he stressed, pointing to a total in his book. Going into figures (the Danes seem to thrive on statistics) he told toe that in the year 1952-3 his maintenance costs per vehicle, not including tyres, were 7,073 kr. In the year 1963-4 he had reduced this figure to 3,644 kr. per unit—about £180.

How does he do-it? "I am not a professor or engineei he said, "but l have good experience, and I like to look into everything myself." When he selected a vehicle for his lleet, he pointed out, it had to have some main function, but also it had to be adaptable so that it could be utilized foi other purposes. For instance, the diesel KH TC 15 tippet chassis, which is illustrated in this article, can be used eithet as a tipper or as the tractive unit for pole or platform/sided

semi-trailers. Fitted with a 34-ton folding crane, it can be used for a variety, of purposes from street lighting maintenance to hauling long, indivisible loads.

There is also the example of the dump truck or multipurpose lift-dumper, to give it the correct English trans

lation. In 1956 Mr. Skovby. designed this ingenious vehicle, having taken the idea from a Swedish system he had seen. Built on a 7-ton, nortnal-control Bedford chassis, the special hydraulic loading device not only life.

heavy items such as cable drums, transformers, workmen's sheds and the like on to the platform, but it can be used also to tip the contents of 6-ton refuse containers which, again are carried on the platform of the vehicle. The vehicle—and KKKA boasts five of them now— used as a lift-dumper has also proved invaluable for earthmoving under difficult site conditions.

Driver Consultation

Apart from visiting the various motor shows both here (at Earls Court) and on the Continent (Paris, Geneva and Frankfurt) to see for himself the new Models on offer, Mr. Skovby takes his drivers and technicians into his confidence. Before actually ordering any truck; he told me, he calls the driver-to-be of the prospective purchase :-.nd asks if he agrees with the choice. "After all ", he said, "the man who is going to use it is directly involved, and he feels he should have part of the decision. It shows, moreover, that we have confidence in him." After delivery has been made-and General Motors usually can deliver a new model within six months of it being orderedthe driver tries it out and is asked for his views.

This kind of consultation goes on throughout the whole organization, I discovered. "My door is always open for every idea ", Mr. Skovby emphasized. If a constructive idea—to do with either vehicle operation, maintenance or organization--is forthcoming, it is gone into very deeply.

Quick Turnover Advantageous Returning to the question of "Why Bedford?" again, Povl Skovby told me that he was well aware that Bedford was perhaps not the world's best truck. But taken in relation• to the price, plus the cost of spares and the service facilities that were available, it was more advantageous to have a quicker turnover of cheaper (in price) trucks than having higher quality vehicles at higher prices with a lower turnover—a good enough reason, perhaps, why Volvo and Mercedes sell so few commercial vehicles in Denmark.

Four years is the maximum vehicle life of the KKKA fleet and—a fact that director Skovby is obviously proud of—his traded-in vehicles are in big demand when they are placed on the second-hand market for sale by the dealer.

Spares Stocks Reduced Bearing in mind the fact that General Motors carry 38,000 items of spare parts at their Copenhagen plant (both private car and commercial vehicle), it is understandable how Mr. Skovby has been able to reduce to £150-worth a stock of spares that Was valued at .17,500 some 10 years ago when he took over the running of the department. The two men that were then employed looking after the stock have been released to carry out more productive work.

With such a quick turnover of vehicles, KKKA is not plagued With heavy items of repair, although accidents (and there were 260 of these last year. the figure including the minutest. such as a shattered rear reflector to a buckled bumper or torn wing), most of which are caused by "other people ", are gradually mouhting as traffic congest.on builds up in the city. Maintenance Programme The normal Vauxhall coupon maintenance programme Is adhered to with regard to the servicing of the KKKA vehicles—four mechanics and an unskilled man being employed for this purpose. A form has been devised which has to be completed by every driver before he leaves the depot each night. This carries columns dealing with every item that could possibly become defective during a day's work—steering, brakes, lamps, indicators, horn. registration. plates, windscreen wipers, electrical wiring system, cooling system, engine, chassis, doors and wheels, tipping mechanism, cab, platform together with a space for general comment.

This form is kept handy on .a table, and drivers must tick off or make comments as necessary and sign off against the appropriate vehicle number. Next morning, the form is passed to the depot manager for any necessary action. The system is so efficient. I was informed, that the gatemen will not allow drivers to leave the depot without completing the form.

Invaluable for repair and maintenance purposes, this form has another—and perhaps more important-function. Under Danish law the owner of a vehicle is responsible to the police if something wrong is discovered with the roadworthiness of the vehicle. This form could mitigate the effects of. such a charge and pass the responsibility over to the driver.

. As I indicated earlier, vehicles are hired out to the public at rates that are competitive with those offered by other hire-and-reward hauliers in the city. Rates have to be approved by a Monopolies Board, and Mr. Skovby and his accounting staff have devised a booklet setting out the various rates for the different „types of vehicle operated, which must be the envy of many operators. In loose-leaf format, not only are scales of rates given, but also photographs of the vehicles involved.

No Black Smoking Problems

I asked Mr. Skovby if he had any problems with .black exhaust smoking and, if so, what. he did to combat it. "1. have no troubles in this direction ", he replied. The depot has two fuel storage tanks, each of which can hold enongh

diesel to last the fleet for 14 days. We leave fuel in a tank for 14 days, meanwhile using the other tank '', he explained. This allows the dirt in the fuel to settle. Then we put it through three filters before pouring it into the vehicle tanks. The trucks never smoke after this -.

Never Been off the Road

My last question to director Skovby was: "What would make you change over to another make of vehicle?" He replied that if transport conditions changed and he .found vehicles which were more suitable, then of course he would change. It was, after all, a question of economics—he having to work to a close budget. "But ", he added, "I have never really been off the road with these Bedfords. I mark my success down to standardization. As such, the interest from the supplier is much bigger." Mr. Skovby said that if he had one make of vehicle, he would be certain of getting 100 per cent service from the supplier. If, on the other hand, he had 10 different makes, then he would get only 10 per cent service from each supplier—a. view that many British operators probably would not share.

It was snowing when If left the offices of KKKA. The organization's three snowploughs and most of its tippers were out on snow clearance duties—work which goes on round the clock, if necessary. As I was driven through the depot gates and into the busy streets of CopenhagenI. could not help feeling that both Bedford (or Vauxhallcum-General Motors) and KKKA enjoyed the best of two wOrlds—and all to the advantage of the City of Copenhagen. For Vauxhall, KKKA was the ideal operator. For KKKA, on the other hand, Bedford seemed-the ideal vehicle.