WHETHER IT’S RECYCLING CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS OR REVITALISING AN INDUSTRIAL BROWNFIELD SITE, BRISTOL TIPPER OPERATOR B&A GROUP HAS IT COVERED, AS BULK & TIPPER FINDS OUT.
The UK has undergone huge economic, social and regional change in the last 30 years or so, with the disappearance of much of its heavy industry. Typically, former industrial sites have been demolished and the land repurposed, many of them becoming retail, leisure or residential areas, and in some cases even new business parks.
Some old industrial brownfield sites stood derelict for many years, while easier parcels of land were redeveloped first. But many of these have since become more viable, as rising demand for homes, warehousing space and other new developments has increased land values, making the greater cost of the remediation and earthworks required in such locations more acceptable.
Specialist contractors that have been able to adapt and expand the range of services they offer to meet such needs have thrived, and none more so than Bristol-based B&A Group, which has over the last three decades evolved from being a relatively straightforward muckaway tipper operation that also operated its own heavy plant into a group of companies offering a wide range of interrelated services to meet the needs of today’s radically different marketplace.
IT MIGHT BE RELATIVELY SMALL BY COMAPRISON, BUT THE IVECO eDAILY IS CERTAINLY ONE MIGHTY MINI WHEN IT COMES TO ITS TOWING CAPACITY, PULLING OVER 153 TONNES RECENTLY TO SCOOP A NEW GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS TITLE.
The Iveco Daily’s 3.5-tonne towing capacity has seen it become a staple of fleets needing to lug generators, diggers and other large items from site to site. But as the world enters the new zero-emissions age of light commercials, is the all-electric eDaily still up to the task?
It turns out that the eDaily is every bit as capable as its diesel sibling – including in the towing department. Its ladder-frame chassis not only neatly stores its modular batteries without cargo volume intrusion, but also provides the strength to tow up to 3.5 tonnes. While its official towing figure is unrivalled at this point in time, Iveco wanted to know just how strong its latest model really was. And what better way to do so than to take on an official Guinness World Records title for towing?
Breaking or setting a world record isn’t as straightforward as you might think. There’s a huge amount of planning involved, incorporating everything from geographical gradients to the physical task itself.
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JOHN BARTLETT BOUGHT SOMERSET HAULIER W ROLLS BACK IN 1994 AFTER ITS FOUNDER PASSED AWAY, BUT SOON DECIDED TO TAKE THE FIRM IN A NEW DIRECTION, LEAVING ITS TRADITIONAL DEPENDENCE ON QUARRY WORK FAR BEHIND. BULK & TIPPER FINDS OUT WHY.
Family transport businesses have dominated the tipper haulage market for generations and despite some consolidation, most of the companies in this sector are still family concerns. And this is particularly so among those serving the quarry and aggregates sector, which has been a source of regular work for so many hauliers for decades.
In the past, such quarries were typically independent concerns with local owners and local staff who had generally amicable relationships with their hauliers. But things started to change in the late 1970s and early 1980s, as the aggregate producers started to become bigger as a result of takeovers and mergers. This gave them a stronger negotiating position with hauliers, the sheer scale of their operations making them big buyers of transport.
THE FRUEHAUF BRAND HAS CERTAINLY HAD A ROLLER-COASTER RIDE OVER RECENT YEARS BUT IT HAS BEEN ON THE UP ONCE AGAIN SINCE ITS TAKEOVER BY MV COMMERCIAL, AS KEY MANAGERS AT THE OPERATION TELL BULK & TIPPER.
Fruehauf tipping trailers have been something of an industry standard for generations, and the roots of the brand go right back to the days of horse-drawn carts on both sides of the Atlantic.
Unfortunately, in the UK, the brand has had something of a chequered history in recent years, with several different owners and a number of big promises about the long term that have ended in financial failure. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this roller-coaster ride is that several hardcore tipping trailer customers have remained loyal to the brand, regardless of its problems.
Just over two years ago, rumours were once again circulating that the manufacturer was in trouble, as previous assurances about funding and new investment had failed to materialise. It looked like it was destined to fail completely or be bought by a competitor that might move production outside the UK.
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MYERS GROUP HAS BEEN A FIXTURE IN YORKSHIRE FOR ALMOST 95 YEARS AND PROVIDES A RANGE OF SERVICES INCLUDING BULK TIPPER DELIVERIES, SKIP WAGONS AND TIMBER SUPPLIES. NOW IN THE HANDS OF THE FOURTH GENERATION OF THE FAMILY, ITS FUTURE IS LOOKING BRIGHTER THAN EVER. BULK & TIPPER REPORTS.
For anyone working in the construction trade in the Yorkshire area, Myers Group will be a familiar name. The company – the roots of which go back to 1929 when Hervey Myers bought housebuilder Isaac Timmins – has become a leading supplier in the area of everything from Yorkstone to skips.
Myers Group has supplied materials for some of the most iconic buildings in Yorkshire, including the Scammonden Bridge, the award-winning John Smith’s Stadium (home to Huddersfield Town FC and Huddersfield Giants RLC), and The University of Huddersfield’s striking Oastler Building.
The group is made up of four divisions: Myers Building & Timber Supplies, Myers Skip Hire, ReadyMix Huddersfield and Johnson Wellfield – Britain’s leading supplier of natural hard Yorkstone.
LLANDRINDOD WELLS-BASED BULK HAULIER AE GOUGH & SONS HAS ALREADY BEEN GOING FOR FOUR GENERATIONS, AND IS NOW EYEING UP THE FIFTH. BULK & TIPPER TALKS TO THIS FAMILY FIRM'S THIRD GENERATION ABOUT THE SECRET TO ITS SUCCESS.
Sustaining and growing a family business through four generations totalling almost 100 years is quite an achievement, especially for a bulk transport operation, given the cyclical nature of the marketplace. Add a location in rural mid-Wales, where the nearest dual-carriageway is roughly an hour and a half from base, a fleet of 38 rigids and trailers to run and regular sub-contractors to keep busy, and it soon becomes obvious that the management and staff of Llandrindod Wells-based AE Gough and Sons have a thorough understanding of the bulk haulage business.
The firm has been providing transport for quarries in the local area for years and has contract vehicles in the livery of some of its major customers, while the lion’s share of the fleet consists of high-specification articulated bulkers transporting grain, animal feed, aggregates and other TASCC-approved commodities.
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AFTER 30 YEARS IN BUSINESS, REDRUTH-BASED HART'S HAULAGE KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT IT NEEDS IN ITS VEHICLES – WHICH IS WHY IT'S SUCH A BIG VOLVO FAN. HARRISON THOMAS REPORTS.
Cornish firm Hart’s Haulage takes quite a pride in its vehicles. On top of the company’s 32-strong fleet, which works throughout the UK, the company’s founder and owner, Neil Hart, is also a retro truck hobbyist. He keeps numerous classic models – such as his Volvo F88 and a recently restored Volvo FM12 – in working order and makes sure they get a run out at least a handful of times a year.
“We take them out to the local rallies when we can, weather permitting,” he says. “Even all these years later, they’re still an absolute pleasure to drive.”
Neil is an experienced driver and business owner; this year marks his thirtieth in business, in fact. He cut his teeth as an owner- driver in the early 1990s, transporting ready-mixed concrete. A few months later, his concrete mixer was joined by a tipper as he began to expand. And his first brand-new truck was added to the fleet in 1996, by which point the Hart’s Haulage journey was well underway.
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