ISM WASTE & RECYCLING IS A RELATIVELY SMALL PLAYER IN THE WASTE SECTOR BUT ONE THAT HAS STAYED AHEAD OF THE PACK BY INVESTING IN THE LATEST AND MOST EFFICIENT EQUIPMENT, INCLUDING ITS NEW FH16 700 8x4 HOOK-LOADER DRAWBAR OUTFIT, AS BULK & TIPPER REPORTS.
Many outside the waste processing and recycling sector would assume that most of the big recycling innovations and initiatives have come from the biggest companies in the industry. But while this might be true for some of the more capital-intensive projects and most widespread initiatives, some family-owned operations have made their own contributions with substantial investments in new technology and better efficiency.
Lancashire firm ISM Waste & Recycling is just such a company. The family-owned operation is based in Ramsbottom and operates a modern, well-equipped waste transfer and recycling facility that handles more than 75,000 tonnes of material a year.
Its operations date back to 1965, when the late John Allen senior and his wife Winnie started in the scrap metal business in a modest fashion with just £9.00, recycling machinery salvaged from local factory closures and scrap metal collected in the local area. This eventually led to the purchase of skip-loaders and a move into skip hire and waste disposal.
In time, the next generation became involved and the operation expanded further, and now the third generation of the family is working in the business, last year celebrating the company’s 60th anniversary.
LOTS OF HAULIERS RUN BULK BLOWERS BUT FEW ARE AS DEDICATED TO THE MOVEMENT OF BULK ANIMAL FEED AS RJH TRANSPORT SERVICES, WHICH HAS JUST ACQUIRED TWO NEW TRIDEM RIGIDS FOR ITS OPERATION, AS BULK & TIPPER REPORTS.
The movement of bulk animal feed is something that never really stops. Animals need to be fed every day of the year, and their feed must be delivered regardless of the day or weather, especially in the winter when most of them are kept indoors and depend on grain-based feed.
Wiltshire-based RJH Transport Services is among those to keep them fed. The firm, which specialises in the movement of bulk animal feed, runs a 10-strong fleet of multi-compartment bulk blowers, distributing feed for many producers in the West Country and further afield. As a firm dedicated to bulk animal feed deliveries, RJH’s operating patterns are similar to those of the own-account fleets operated by the feed companies. It works for most of the major producers, distributing the finished product to a multitude of farms and then collecting products like soya, maize and rape meal for delivery to the mills or direct to other farms. Every vehicle it operates has a multi-compartment body and blowing equipment.
This specialisation in such a specific sector can be a mixed blessing. It can be difficult to get a customer to commit to a long-term contract, so work volumes can vary considerably and it takes some deft traffic management at times to cover the work and keep the fleet fully occupied.
With 100 pages of first-class niche transport content, what more could you wish for? Click the appropriate link below to purchase your annual subscription, or an individual copy.
IF THE RAIN'S CAUSING PAIN, THEN PLACE A CALL TO ANDIDRAIN, A DRAINAGE AND JETTING SPECIALIST THAT RUNS A FLEET OF TRICKED-OUT TRUCKS, AS BULK & TIPPER REPORTS.
Drains… they’re one of those things in society that nobody usually gives a moment’s thought to. Yet they’re essential, whether you’re looking at roads, residential or commercial areas. And you’ll certainly notice them when they aren’t working properly or simply can’t cope.
Properly specified, installed and maintained, drains are what stops everything from flooding when the rain comes down, which in the UK is rather often.
With roads getting wider, industrial buildings getting bigger and new-build estates situated in locations which were, until recently, considered less than optimal, there’s ever more importance placed on drainage.
Keeping drains clean and working with contractors to ensure new ones are up to standard, Andidrain was established 34 years ago by Andrew Little, who began with a couple of high-pressure jetting vans. Andy’s business has steadily expanded and today it boasts almost 40 trucks supported by a fleet of over 30 vans.
Based in Carlisle, the company was recently brought into the Denholm Environmental group and has continued to flourish, with a new depot in Accrington opening.
BULK TIPPER OWNER-DRIVER BRADLEY NUSSEY SPENT MONTHS WORKING OUT WHAT HE REALLY NEEDED FROM HIS NEW VOLVO FH 500 TC AERO 6X2 IN AN EFFORT TO MAXIMISE ITS FUEL CONSUMPTION AND FLEXIBILITY, AS BULK & TIPPER FINDS OUT.
Think of bulk tippers and the subject of clever aerodynamics probably won’t be the first to spring to mind. But fuel costs are a major factor for every operator and anything that can help to reduce consumption is important.
While the irregular profile of most articulated tipper combinations and the relatively large gap between tractor and trailer mean tippers will never match the sleek profile and optimised aerodynamics of some boxvan or curtainsided rigs, savings can still be achieved if you’re careful with your specification.
Hungerford, Berkshire-based owner-driver Bradley Nussey has done just this with his latest Volvo tractor unit and STAS bulk tipping trailer, which he uses to carry grain and other TASC-approved materials throughout the southern half of the country for most of the year. Bradley is a long-established operator who runs a professional operation and changes his equipment regularly. He takes great care when specifying a vehicle to ensure that it meets his requirements and is not afraid to try new technology.
The past vehicles, prior to the new Volvo FH were also very carefully specified. They included another Volvo and a series of DAFs before he made the switch to Scania. The first was a S500 being replaced by a V8 650S, and then back to DAF with one of the first New Generation XG+ 530 FTP 6×2 tractors with the lightweight pusher axle.
With 100 pages of first-class niche transport content, what more could you wish for? Click the appropriate link below to purchase your annual subscription, or an individual copy.
DUGDALE NUTRITION RUNS A VARIED OWN-ACCOUNT FLEET TO MOVE ITS ANIMAL FEEDS TO CUSTOMERS ACROSS THE NORTH OF ENGLAND, INCLUDING A NEW DAF XF 480 8x4 TRIDEM WITH WHICH IT IS VERY HAPPY, AS BULK & TIPPER FINDS OUT.
Dugdale Nutrition, based in Clitheroe, Lancashire, runs a very mixed fleet, both in terms of marques and specifications. The firm produces animal feed there and at a second site at Speke, in Liverpool, and delivers its produce all over the north of England, going up into Scotland and down as far as the Midlands.
The firm also owns Home and Dry and RBC Agri, both of which cater for different types of animal feeds and grass seeds and the former of which delivers across the whole of the UK. While most of its drivers are on day work, a few do tramp.
No single truck specification suits all of its needs, therefore. It needs a lot of rigids, as access to many farms can be so restrictive. And it also deals with bulk orders and long-distance runs, for which an artic can be preferable.
The firm, which is celebrating its 175th anniversary this year, likes to specify its trucks to a high standard, something transport manager Dan Brown (inset) takes care of. They are all immaculately turned out and well looked after, and the drivers take great pride in their vehicles.
SCOTTISH CIVIL ENGINEERING AND PLANT HIRE OPERATOR G MCNAUGHTON & SON CELEBRATED ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY LAST YEAR. BULK & TIPPER CATCHES UP WITH FOUNDER GEORGE, HIS WIFE JANET, AND THEIR SON CAMERON, WHO IS NOW TAKING THE BUSINESS FORWARD.
Based in Lochgilphead on the Mid Argyll Peninsula, G McNaughton & Son celebrated its 50th anniversary during 2025. Run by George and Janet McNaughton and now their son Cameron, the firm was started by George in 1975 after he left school at the age of 15, with some help from his father, George senior.
It began with just three pieces of mechanical equipment; a tractor, a lime-spreader and a backhoe loader. Forestry work got the ball rolling before civils arrived at scale with a contract at RAF Machrihanish outside Campbeltown.
Like many startups, the original yard was at the back of George senior’s house, before the business moved to its current site on the Kilmory Industrial Estate in 1990. Over the years, it has grown from three pieces of kit into a sizeable civil engineering company that has worked in tandem with renewable energy and infrastructure projects. And it has broadened its area of operations from Argyll and Bute to cover all of Scotland.
Along the way, various trucks have been added to support the business, the fleet gradually expanding as demand from jobs to relocate plant as well as plant hire grew.
With 100 pages of first-class niche transport content, what more could you wish for? Click the appropriate link below to purchase your annual subscription, or an individual copy.
