Springing The Volvo dealer has
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emerged wiser, leaner and tougher after a period littered with
back to life failing operators and
van franchises
Words/images: Steve Banner A model of a truck deliberately tipped over onto its side sits in a glass case in Mark Woosnam's (pictured, right) office. The vehicle bears the livery of collapsed retailer Woolworths, and is symbolic of the recession that engulfed the UK economy over the past couple of years
As MD of independent Volvo dealership Thomas Hardie, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Woosnam is aware of the damaging effect the downturn has had on the new truck market. Both he and his colleagues have had to grapple with the impact it has had on their company — and it has been considerable.
Today, the business operates five sites: Preston, Trafford Park in Manchester, Liverpool, Deeside, and Middlewich in Cheshire. The last-named site is home to the firm's central used truck operation "We've got an engineering centre and bodyshop in Chorley too,adds Woosnam.
Scaling back
Up until the start of last year,Thomas Hardie had eight locations, but the recession forced the company to close its sites in Wigan and Stockport, as well as cutting back elsewhere. Sadly, this resulted in significant redundancies and losing some good people in the process. says Woosnam.
"Last autumn was really tough," he recalls. "We had no choice but to look at our cost base and do the right thing to ensure that the business survived.
"At the same time, we had to try to keep on board as many good people as we could and continue to provide, not just good customer service, but great customer service."
Previously sales director.Woosnam became MD in February 2009. He had been involved in a management buyout of the company in 2003 when times were prosperous They continued to be buoyant until well into 2008. "That was the year we registered 1,258 trucks; our biggest year ever," he says "A normal year would be 900 to 1,000 registrations" However, 2009 saw this total plummet to 450. "This year we'll do a similar number, so we'll be 50% down on our average level of sales," he says As well as coping with a declining new truck market, Woosnam had to deal with the fallout from the demise of LDV"We represented LDV at every one of our dealer locations," he recalls The downturn was so sudden and all-consuming that it caught Thomas Hardie with excessive stock of used trucks. "At the time, we were typically selling about 500 a year, and we had lots of FH 6x2 tractor units priced at L40,000 to £50,000 each that nobody wanted," he remembers Then there was the rental operation; the £67m-tumover company had got back into rental two years before the recession bit, with a fleet of nearly 200 vehicles."All of a sudden nobody wanted them, and they were coming back from all over the place," he says.
Did there ever come a point when he thought the entire business might go under given the pressures that were on it? "Yes, there were moments." he replies without hesitation. -And it still sends a shiver down my spine today."
One step at a time
So how did it survive'? "Remember that we weren't hit by all of these problems simultaneously," he replies. "They :.-ame along as a series of hurdles, with a bit of breathing space between them.
"As a consequence, we were able to get over them one by one," Woosnam continues. "If they'd all been put in front of us at the same time. I'd have said that it was pointless to start the race because no way were we going to get to the finishing line. As it was though, we were able to deal with the challenges in bite-sized chunks."
Although it was painful, closing Wigan and Stockport took a lot of the pressure off.
"LDV ended up owing us a fair amount of money, so we took vans instead and turned them into cash," he says. "It was a fire sale, but it meant we had money coming in."
Much the same approach was taken with the used operation. "We had to write some money off, but again we had cash coming into the business." he continues.
In more recent times, the firm has benefited from an upswing in the demand for second-hand trucks, although that has been accompanied by a shortage of quality stock that is bedevilling dealers nationwide.
So far as the hire fleet is concemed,Thomas Hardie has switched tack and is now concentrating on promoting flexible long-term rental — in effect a halfway house between spot hire and contract hire. By doing so, it is in tune with the mood of the market, and it is a move that has been well-received. Many operators are reluctant to commit themselves to leasing vehicles in what remains an uncertain climate, and are favouring flexible long-term hire instead.
As a consequence of the action it has taken, Thomas I fardie has survived to celebrate its 25th birthday. Times are still tough however, says Woosnam, so the company is planning its current and future activities a little more carefully than it might have done in the past.
That is especially the case when it comes toils aftersales operation. "One of the things we're doing is working hard at persuading our existing contract maintenance customers to extend their contracts with us," he says. "We've also had some success in winning new maintenance contracts, although not to the extent that I'm looking for."
One compelling argument in favour of using Thomas Hardie to service your trucks is its impressive MoT pass rate. "We're averaging 97%," he says. "That gives the customer a high degree of confidence."
So, how soon before the new truck market starts to pick up? "I think it will be another 12 to 18 months before we see a return to stable ordering patterns," he replies — and a revitalised Thomas Hardie will be ready.
"One thing is for sure," he concludes, this business is only as good as its people, and we've got not just good, but great, people."•