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THE GENERATION GAME
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It's been said of family businesses that they often survive two generations only to be brought down when the third generation takes over. But it doesn't have to be that way. Colin Barnett and Kevin Swallow have been to visit three very different companies around the country, all of which are well into at least the third generation and still thriving. By coincidence, they're all Foden fans as well. HV BOWEN & SONS
There can be few hauliers based in settings as idyllic as those of HV Bowen. In the compact way of the Welsh language, the name Dwyrhiew Mill means "the mill at the confluence of two rivers". Maybe in full flood they count as rivers, but during our visit you could easily cross without getting your feet wet. Located near the tiny village of New Mills on the edge of open countryside to the north-east of Newtown, Powys, the yard lies at the bottom of a tranquil wooded valley.
And there can be even fewer operators who have operated out of the same site for the best part of a century When Harry Vaughan Bowen started with a horse and cart i n 1907 he managed without an operating centre but moved to the mill in 1911 and the company has been there ever since.
Today it is run jointly by HV's grandson Haydn, his wife Gwyneth, and their son Mark, who has recently returned to the fold after working as an engineer in the Midlands. In total, the company employs 32 staff.
From mill and quarry
Bowen operates in two distinct areas. From Dwyrhiew Mill local necessities such as fuel oil and coal, animal feedstuff and fertiliser, and sand and cement arc distributed.
The other half of the business operates from an even more remote locationjany-foel Quarry, near Cefn Coch.And we do mean remote:this site is used by the hardier branches of the British Army as a dropping off point for search-and-evasion exercises, though goodness knows where you would hide unless you were disguised as a sheep or a wind turbine.
Reflecting the mixed nature of the firm's II! activities, the fleet comprises four domestic fuel tankers, three bulk-feed tippers, five concrete mixers, five stone tippers, a 6x2 curtainsider, one artic and an elderly 7.5-tonne tipper.The quarry gives Bowen the luxury of plenty of space. and at first glance the workedout quarry floor seems to be a veritable truck retirement home,giving the impression that no vehicle has ever been sold from the fleet.
By far the largest proportion of its vehicles, on and off-highway trucks alike, carry the Foden kite. Foden is definitely Bowen's favoured marque, the most recent example being a 56-reg 8x4 tipper.Although the fleet now contains a fair proportion of Dafs the most recent arrival is a CF85 6x2 with a triaxle curtainsider allegiance to Paccar is by no means a give n:Volvo, Scania and MercedesBenz also feature in the line-up.
Jewel in the crown
However the pride of the fleet is an AEC tractor, freshly restored but owned by the firm from new. Scattered around the property are original tanker, flat, tipper and low-loader trailers ready to be restored to match.
For the past year, the fleet's maintenance has been handled by Andrew Williams, working out of a workshop that must have one of the best views in the business. Despite not having an excess of space or facilities, and with everything liable to be covered in a coating of grit-stone dust from across the road,Williams boasts an impressive 100% first-time pass rate.
The secret of Bowen's continuing success as it enters its second century is to provide a comprehensive service to the local community and be an active part of that community With a young son already taking an interest in the world of trucks, there is every likelihood of Mark eventually being able to hand over a solid business to a fifth generation of Bowens.