NORTHERN IRELAND-BASED DONNELL & ELLIS HEAVY HAULAGE PROVIDES TRANSPORTATION SERVICES FOR ALL TYPES OF GOODS ACROSS EUROPE. WHEN THE COMPANY WAS ASKED TO TRANSPORT BIGGER AND HEAVIER PORTABLE DATA ROOMS FROM SOUTHERN IRELAND TO LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT EUROPE A NEW FAYMONVILLE DOUBLE-EXTENDING WAFER BED TRAILER SOLVED THE REQUIREMENT. HEAVYTORQUE FINDS OUT FROM SCOTT DONNELL HOW THE NEW CARRIER CAME INTO BEING.
Getting the right trailer for a job is an eternal problem for specialist transport companies, finding a design that will meet their exact requirements, particularly if the trailer is going to operate throughout Europe and meet the complex and often conflicting regulations in different countries, can be an issue. It inevitably involves the haulier working very closely with both its customer and the trailer manufacturer to achieve this. A further layer of complexity is added if the haulier wants to use the trailer for a wider range of operations making it as flexible as possible. Given the high cost of modern equipment, getting the most possible use from as much of the fleet is pretty much essential for almost every operator…
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BOXHILL CARAVANS SPECIALISES IN TRANSPORTING CARAVANS AND MOBILE HOMES. IT INVOLVES COLLECTING THE MOBILE UNIT FROM THE MANUFACTURER OR SELLER AND MOVING IT TO ITS NEW DESTINATION. THIS CAN TAKE THE COMPANY’S TEAMS ANYWHERE ACROSS THE COUNTRY. HEAVYTORQUE VISITED ITS PRESENT SITE NEAR CAPEL, IN SURREY.
Not surprisingly, folk history and the transport sector often cross paths. Natural disasters and wars need emergency relief, medical supplies and re-building, among other things. Those supplies need to reach the people who need it and that usually means on the back of a truck.
At the end of WWII, some two million homes in the UK had been lost to enemy bombing and around 2.25 million people were made homeless. The response of various governments was to try to accelerate house building, difficult with post-war materials shortages. Temporary solutions such as pre-fabricated (prefab) and kit houses also offered a quicker route to housing for some…
COMBINING TRADITIONAL VALUES, TRIED-AND-TESTED WORKING PRACTICES ALONG WITH MODERN TECHNOLOGY AND THE LATEST EQUIPMENT, MIGHT BE SEEN AS VERY DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE IN THE CURRENT SPECIALIST TRANSPORT WORLD. HOWEVER, HEAVYTORQUE FINDS OUT FROM MIKE PONSONBY HOW IT CAN BE DONE IF APPROACHED IN THE CORRECT MANNER.
Staffordshire based Mike Ponsonby, a third-generation operator of M.A. Ponsonby Ltd, has been able to embrace many of the values of his grandfather’s generation, while working in the era of the smart phone, internet and microchip. As ever, the devil is in the detail, doing the job properly has long been an effective mantra for a successful transport business. For Ponsonby this means maintaining high standards in every aspect of the business, keeping the vehicles and equipment in the best possible condition, and paying close attention to load security and safety in general.
Applying these principles to the daily operation creates are very positive image for both the company and the people involved, giving the concern a readily identifiable brand, that shows what you stand for in the most visible way…
With over 140+ pages of first class specialist transport content, what more could you wish for? Click the appropriate link below to purchase your annual subscription, or individual copy.
IT’S 65 YEARS SINCE JOHN BARON RAWCLIFFE BOUGHT HIS FIRST TRUCK. THESE DAYS, JB RAWCLIFFE AND SONS IS A BUSY AND WELL-RESPECTED HEAVY HAULAGE OPERATOR. HEAVYTORQUE HAS BEEN TO THE COMPANY’S HEADQUARTERS IN SKELMERSDALE TO MEET ONE OF JOHN RAWCLIFFE’S SONS, ALSO CALLED JOHN, TO HEAR HOW THE BUSINESS HAS EVOLVED FROM THOSE EARLY DAYS MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY AGO.
“Dad wasn’t really a transport man,” John Rawcliffe shrugs, “which may seem surprising when you look at what his company has become. He was really a farmer at heart. But back in 1956, there were no farms available. He had a Commer TS3 flatbed, and got a Contract A-licence with H&R Ainscough, the local animal feeds mill. He was doing farm deliveries in West Yorkshire, Shropshire, West Cumberland and so on. The Commer was joined by a Thames Trader, which my older brother Brian used to drive when he was 17. Then I took it over when I was old enough. I remember it was my 17th birthday on 2 January 1962, and I passed my driving test on that Thames Trader the next day!”
STODDART CRANE HIRE’S LATEST 150-TONNE DAF XF530 FTT TRACTOR UNIT WORKS ACROSS A VAST GEOGRAPHICAL AREA THAT INCLUDES THE HIGHLANDS, ISLANDS AND UK MAINLAND. HEAVYTORQUE VISITED THIS DYNAMIC OPERATION’S MUIR OF ORD BASE AND TALKED TO EWAN STODDART ABOUT ITS MOBILE CRANE AND TRANSPORT FLEET.
Stoddart Crane Hire has forged an enviable reputation in business during a relatively short timescale. The company was founded by David Stoddart back in 2004 with a 70-tonne Grove mobile crane. Since then, it has delivered carefully considered, year-on-year growth by adopting a ‘Can Do’ approach for its customers. Working in the Highlands and Islands frequently presents unique logistical and operational challenges, the like of which would be unknown for similar businesses south of the border. However, variety is literally the spice of life for the Stoddart family and its dedicated 20-strong staff team, who regularly go above and beyond the call of duty for their valued client base, providing a 24/7 crane hire and contract lift services, alongside a heavy haulage and specialist transport capability….
I am delighted to advise that the our first issue of 2022 is now in the capable hands of our printers.
We are advised to sit tight however, as not only are the printers operating on skeleton staff, but they are also badly hit by COVID. Therefore, we expect to have the magazines back around the 13th January.
Rest assured you lovely lot, that as soon as they land with us, they will be out in the post!
ALEX LYMER WAS WORKING AS A LABOURER ON BUILDING SITES 20 YEARS AGO AND WONDERING WHAT TO DO WITH HIS LIFE. NOT YET 40, HE’S NOW MANAGING DIRECTOR OF HIS OWN TRANSPORT AND STORAGE COMPANY, LYMERS ASSIST, AND EXPECTS TO HIT A TURNOVER OF FIVE MILLION POUNDS THIS YEAR. HEAVYTORQUE HAS BEEN TO MEET HIM AND TO HEAR HOW HARD WORK, AND LUCK – GOOD AND BAD – HAS PLAYED A PART IN HIS STORY.
Alex Lymer’s first job after leaving school in Blackpool was as a hod carrier, lugging bricks up and down ladders. It was hard work, and barely paid the bills, and when his wife, Emma, became pregnant, he realised he had to find a job that paid better so he could support his young family. “I saw an advert in a local paper,” he tells me. “They were looking for lorry drivers, and were promising £550 per week. I took out a loan so I could learn to drive and get through my Class 2 and Class 1 tests. This was all new to me. I didn’t have any background in transport. The nearest I got to it was watching Eddie Stobart driving up and down the M6! But I got a job driving refrigerated trailers back and forth to Ireland. I did that for a few years, and then got a job with Alasdair Morgan in Chorley, mainly working on Hiabs and step frames…
