bird's eye view
Page 49
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by the Hawk
meet
Geoff Hallam
• With the just announced addition of McVeigh Transport's fleet to his existing responsibilities as managing director of Humber Warehousing Group Ltd, Geoffrey Hallam now controls about 525 vehicles and 1100 trailers, a sizeable part of them forming the largest independent frozen food fleet in the country. It is a tycoon image which sits well on the ample shoulders of this jovial haulage executive, who started in transport 24 years ago as traffic clerk to a haulier near Lincoln where he was born—and whose bonhomie does not detract from his effectiveness as a boss: he does not suffer fools gladly.
In 1948 he joined an agricultural service organization whose transport and storage section evolved into Humber Warehousing: he became Humber's managing director in 1965. the year in which the company was bought by Associated Fisheries Ltd. Geoffrey Hallam pays ready tribute to the contribution of staff at all levels to Humber's success, but a visitor to the modern hq at Grimsby soon senses that the real driving force comes from the intensive work of the small management team. Geoff Hallam himself commonly works a 16-hour day, covers 800 miles a week seeing his depots and customers, and usually shares the traffic office's busiest two hours of the day. His finger is on all the pulses—and the business runs on meticulous budgets.
At 43 Geoffrey Hallam has come a long way. Now he believes that haulage must move increasingly into bigger units able to offer the big industrial groups a complete service. He agrees that there'll still be a place for the efficient small man able to offer first-class service, but he is a passionate believer in professionalism and is convinced that the days of the old rule-of-thumb general haulier are over.
Mr Hallam regards an expert sales force as essential: he is also convinced that the employment of a local PR firm to get Humber Warehousing known and understood was one of the best investments he ever made.
A 16-hour day leaves little time for hobbies. Geoffrey follows show-jumping with enthusiasm, is intensely interested in farming and thinks one day he'll get around to breeding ponies. He is also a great enthusiast for South Humberside and a champion for better roads there. A family man, very proud of his three children, he is quietly pleased that his 18year-old son looks like entering road transport by wSY of cost accountancy. Nothing, he feels, could provide a more essential feet-on-theground entry to tomorrow's haulage world.
• Late cheers
Four years after he had retired as chairman of the Cardiff and district sub-area of the RHA, Noel Wynn received the traditional half-pint tankard last Friday. The occasion was the first dinner dance of the sub-area in Cardiff where the ex-national chairman was the principal guest.
Before his speech, Noel promised not to follow his usual pattern of "having a go" at the RTITB. He kept his word. Later in the evening, he confided to the CM man present that there would have been no point in going after the Board because his old friend and antagonist, Eric Tindall, wasn't there to take up the challenge.
Douglas Beech, this year's chairman, almost took over Noel's role, then changed tack when he said: "Let's face it, we've got to live with each other." Unlikely bedfellows, I would have thought.
• French leave
A visit to the Paris Show makes one appreciate how pretty and smart and colourful British girls are. Whatever happened to that Parisian reputation for chic? On the other hand,' whatever happened to London's smart, clean, colourful Underground? One has come to accept greasy seats and dirty carriages without protest—until one sees that the Metro's ancient stock is at least kept presentable. And a first-class single flat fare is still only Ifr 50 (about 2s 3d) for any distance—or just about lfr if one buys a book of tickets. The second class is, of course, even less.
• Living room
Earls Court this year was a bit more colourful than usual, but a trip to the Paris Show makes one realize what the visitor is missing. For example, on its huge stand Berliet had about 20 vehicles spaced out like the spokes of a wheel, radiating from a central terrace. This was an exceptionally big stand, but there were plenty of others with space and artistry, too. The Berliet terrace was designed for visitors to sit and watch a complete engine change by whiteoveralled fitters working on a gold-painted example of their new V8 chassis—to the music of "drums and vibes".
Saviem had a chassis mounted vertically and rotating slowly over the heads of the crowd, while—a typically neat French touch—they had a rotating amber flashing emergency lamp to mark their inquiry kiosk.
• Fifty thoughts
It was ambitious of flour-miller Joseph Rank to choose British Isles Transport for the name of the transport company he set up in 1920, but as it turned out he was pretty well justified. BIT has just celebrated its 50th anniversary and now runs 400 heavy vehicles and 500 fleet cars.
Group transport advisor Philip Briggs has been with the company a long time, and recalls how the steam wagon drivers used to lean down to shake hands with unsuspecting bystanders—who got a shock, since the old steamers built up a fine charge of static.
They still refer to vehicles coming in for workshop attention as "in for a washout"— a hangover from boiler-cleaning days.
Meanwhile general manager Stuart Philips is beginning to wonder how much longer companies will be able to continue making urban deliveries in normal hours. In the Metropolitan area the situation is really very difficult, he says, and calls for some intensive planning.
Last month people of English stock living in Natal, South Africa, celebrated the 150th anniversary of the landing of the 1820 settlers who faced the might of Shake and his Zulu nation. Among the floats in a spectacular procession through Durban was this one, with a Cummins-engined ERF tractor pulling a 72ft low-loader built by Henred Trailer Engineering Co (Pty) Ltd of Johannesburg for South African Railways. On board was the engine of SA's first train, which drew out of Durban on June 26 1860. Rolling stock consisted of one carriage, six trucks and (pessimistically?) two travelling cranes. Old newspapers describe the event: "It bolted into the bush like a mad horse and screaming its head off like a wild animal." Estimated top speed was 28 mph!