BEDFORDSHIRE-BASED DOHERTY HEAVY HAULAGE IS A FAMILY-OWNED AND RUN BUSINESS TRANSPORTING ABNORMAL LOADS, HEAVY HAULAGE PLANT, CARGO AND MACHINERY. HEAVYTORQUE TALKS TO THE BOSS DARREN DOHERTY AND THE COMPANY’S HEAVY HAULAGE EXPERT HASAN HUSEYIN.
Any specialist transport operation must match its capabilities to the demands of its regular customer base, this might seem like a statement of the blindingly obvious, but it does hold true for a great many operators. The natural progression for many, is to gradually increase the carrying capacity and flexibility of the fleet as customer demand grows – this often involves acquiring bigger, higher capacity outfits to move heavier loads. Many start with a relatively modest capability, often a six-axle outfit capable of operating within the 44-tonne Construction and Use (C&U) threshold, but with the ability to run at up to 65-tonnes or so under Special Types General Orders (STGO) Cat 2 regulations when required. Then a move to 80-tonnes invariably means a bigger trailer and a 6×2 or 6×4 tractor capable of handling the increased weights easily enough, this can be enough for some operators, but heavy plant hauliers have to consider the increasing size and weight of many modern machines and the frequency with which they are moved.
ALMOST EVERYBODY INVOLVED IN THE SPECIALIST AND HEAVY TRANSPORT SECTOR WILL BE AWARE THAT THE POLICE, DRIVER AND VEHICLE STANDARDS AGENCY (DVSA) AND OTHER AUTHORITIES HAVE INCREASED THE LEVELS OF ENFORCEMENT REGARDING THE MOVEMENT OF OVERSIZE AND ABNORMAL LOADS IN MANY PARTS OF THE UK IN RECENT MONTHS. HEAVYTORQUE TALKS TO JASON PRIEST, OF PRIEST ABNORMAL LOAD SERVICES, WHO SPEAKS OUT AND EXPLAINS THE NEW APPROACH TO LAW ENFORCEMENT.
In certain areas the authorities have taken to scrutinising every aspect of any abnormal load moving through their area, this includes the vehicle, the load being moved and the exact wording, dimensions and fine details of the movement order. Quite a few operators have found that their long-term understanding of the regulations and the requirements placed upon both the operator, driver and escort driver (where required), differs from the interpretation of the rules by some enforcement operators. Also, the increased use of social media by police forces and other government agencies, often to highlight their activities to the general public, have stated that operators are wilfully breaking regulations – when it has been subsequently proven that they were complying with the regulations as stated on government websites and from other official sources. In these situations, the officer on the ground is using their own interpretation of the regulations, but the public only see and remember that they were told that the drivers and truck operators were flouting the law.
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A P HOLLINGWORTH IS A SOUTH YORKSHIRE-BASED FAMILY-OWNED SPECIALIST TRANSPORTATION COMPANY WORKING WITHIN THE CONSTRUCTION AND ENGINEERING SECTORS. IT WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1923 BY ALBERT PARKER HOLLINGWORTH IN UPPER CUMBERWORTH, NEAR HUDDERSFIELD. IT’S NOW IN THE HANDS OF THE THIRD AND FOURTH GENERATIONS – HEAVYTORQUE TALKS TO THE THIRD-GENERATION BOSS ANDREW HOLLINGWORTH.
Specialist heavy transport inevitably attracts attention, big trucks and big loads are difficult to miss out on the road. Some companies like to gain as much publicity as possible and inform others of what they are doing, particularly in this digital age where an image on the internet can flash around the globe in minutes. On the other hand, there are other operators in this sector that have been going about their business for generations in a low-key manner, working in a truly professional manner, shifting some impressive loads and completing complex projects, but don’t feel the need to make too much of a fuss about it. South Yorkshire-based A P Hollingworth is very much this type of company, very old established with a long track record in specialist transport, serving clearly defined sectors of the market with first-rate equipment and a very experienced team able to cope with whatever is asked of them. It has a wide customer base in several sectors, and is invariably busy, often working closely with a small group of other like-minded hauliers when required and has a reputation for doing things properly.
AT ONE TIME, HILLS OF BOTLEY OPERATED A HUGE FLEET OF VEHICLES, INCLUDING MILK TANKERS, CATTLE TRUCKS AND GENERAL HAULAGE LORRIES. BUT, AS HEAVYTORQUE REPORTS, THE HAMPSHIRE COMPANY IS PROBABLY BEST REMEMBERED FOR ITS UNORTHODOX, BUT EFFECTIVE, APPROACH TO HEAVY HAULAGE WORK.
“You’d better stand back if you don’t want to get choked by fumes,” Mont Theobald told me cheerfully as he climbed into the cab of his 1967 Foden S36 and started it up. The beautifully restored ballasted tractor in the original maroon livery of Hills of Botley is his own tribute to the company he joined nearly 60 years ago as a teenager.
The origins of Hills can be traced back to the 19th century when George Augustus Hill was a farmer. He started off moving his own produce by horse and cart before buying his first traction engine, and later a Model T Ford. As well as moving his own goods, he was asked by other local farmers to transport milk, hay, grain and animal feeds. As the haulage company grew, George was joined by his eldest son, Valentine Augustus, and later Valentine’s sons, Eric, Jack and Dudley. In those days of A, B and C-licences, the Hill family would buy the vehicles, and sometimes premises, of other transport operators as a way of getting their hands on extra licences.
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WIGAN-BASED AINSCOUGH INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (AIS) SUPPORTS ITS CUSTOMERS IN CHALLENGING SECTORS AND HAZARDOUS LOCATIONS, ACROSS THE UK, THROUGHOUT EUROPE AND BEYOND. COMBINING SPECIALIST EXPERTISE, A WIDE-RANGING, WHOLLY-OWNED FLEET OF EQUIPMENT, AND A STRATEGIC BRANCH NETWORK, IT LIFTS, MOVES, INSTALLS AND DECOMMISSIONS EQUIPMENT AND MACHINERY. HEAVYTORQUE TALKS TO RICHARD AINSCOUGH, A THIRD-GENERATION FAMILY MEMBER, WHO IS THE TRANSPORT AND ASSET MANAGER AT AIS.
The requirement to move, lift and install industrial machines, production line equipment and other large items used in factories, almost certainly developed at the time of the Industrial Revolution. Once the early inventors and industrialists have conceived, built and developed machinery that enabled companies to produced finished goods and components on a mass production basis, it was inevitable that there would be huge demand for machines that could do the work of dozens of people in far less time. This in turn created demand for specialists that could transport, install and assemble these machines wherever they were needed and so the machinery moving industry was born. The modern-day machinery movement industry is obviously a highly sophisticated business, utilising the latest technology to carry out its work on a worldwide basis, but it still requires the skill, ingenuity and problem-solving abilities of teams of individuals who can pool their combined knowledge and experience to create solutions and meet the customers’ requirements.
THE ST ALBANS-BASED KANE GROUP HAS SEVERAL DIVISIONS COVERING A WIDE RANGE OF INTERCONNECTED ACTIVITIES. HEAVYTORQUE MET UP WITH THE COMPANY’S CURRENT MD ANDY KANE AT THE ST ALBANS HQ.
Kane Group offers its customers a comprehensive range of specialist services, which include bulk earthmoving, demolition, remediation, asbestos survey and removal, heavy plant hire and aggregate supply. All these activities are facilitated and served by a substantial in-house transport operation. This comprises of a large fleet of eight-wheel tippers and hook loaders, along with two 150-tonne STGO Cat 3 low loader outfits. These two heavy outfits are at times, the most important assets in the fleet, if they fail to deliver the wide range of excavators, bulldozers, loading shovels, along with crushers, screeners and other specialist kit to site on time, a substantial part of the operation could be at a standstill. While the company carries out virtually all of its own plant movements with its own low loaders, they are also used for a considerable proportion of third-party work, moving heavy plant for a number of regular customers. This includes the collection from ports and delivery to end users of a lot of new excavators and equipment for manufacturers, this and other work for other construction and crane hire companies, as a result the two heavy MAN/Faymonville combinations cover much of the UK on a regular basis.
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