CARTON MAKERS BUY BIG UNIT
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Cropper and Co. Acquire B.R.S. Thatcham Depot with Over 85 Vehicles
ACARTON-MANUFACTURIpEG company, Cropper and Co., Ltd., Thatcham, Berks, have, according to reliable sources, been successful with their tender for the Thatcham depot of British Road Services. They are thus able to embark upon public long-distance haulage. The unit consists of premises and 85 vehicles and 20 trailers, with a total unladen weight of 350 tons.
Among the bidders were T.R.T.S., Ltd., whose business the unit comprised before nationalization. Competent observers have placed the value of the unit in the region of £200,000.
The Thatcham depot is the Reading district headquarters of B.R.S. and the district manager is Mr. W. B. Street, Minst.T., a former director of T.R.T.S., Ltd. This company still exists as a " paper " entity. Mr. Street told The Commercial Motor that he was not aware of the identity of the successful tenderers.
Cropper and Co., Ltd., whose nominal share capital is £600,000, are associated with Colthrop Board and Paper Mills, Ltd. A subsidiary is Containers, Ltd. Before they were nationalized, T.R.T.S., Ltd., carried for Cropper and Co.
Bath Road Site Situated on the Bath Road between Reading and Newbury, the Thatcham unit comprises a filling station, workshops, garages, offices and stores and, in addition to domestic property let to" good " tenants, there is adequate land for extension in what was described in list S.1 as "a rapidly growing industrial area."
The effective fleet is made up of 16 eight-wheelers, 15 six-wheelers and 54 four-wheelers. There are four additional vehicles and two spare trailers. Included are a four-wheeled recovery vehicle, a six-wheeled Coles mobile crane and a Lodortnobile.
The take-over date is expected to be November 15. A representative of Cropper and Co. was unable to give The Commercial Motor details of the use to which the unit is to be put, as the matter had still to be discussed by the directors.
RED-ILLUMINATED NUMBER PLATES BANNED MO new vehicle of any type may use red-illuminated number plates in place of rear lamps. A regulation to this effect came into operation on October 1. As from October I, 1956, no existing vehicle, except a public service vehicle, may have red-illuminated number plates.
New regulations which amend the Road Vehicle (Registration and Licensing) Regulations, 1953, also provide that the hackney-carriage plate may be placed in any upright positiOn on the outside of a vehicle so long as it is clearly visible. It need no longer be attached to the top of the number plate.