WELDING ISN’T JUST FOR STRENGTH OR REPAIR, BUT FABRICATION AS WELL. AT W.J. BALSDON, INVENTIVE BESPOKE UNITS ARE ALWAYS A POSSIBILITY. HEAVYTORQUE VISITED, AND FOUND OUT MORE.
Heavy transport has always been an industry where individuals can thrive. Original thinkers who like to do things their way – the type of people who relish a challenge are well suited to this ‘can do’ business. They might modify existing equipment for a new job, or just improve a design for their own particular needs.
Some took it a stage further and made their own. As a rule, there were few manufacturers capable of building suitable equipment at an acceptable price. Probably one of the best-known heavy hauliers who have gone as far as building their own trucks – from a diverse range of components – would be Peter Searson at Heanor Haulage. His Scammell/Volvo based specials, known as HHTs, were the stuff of legend. A modern-day equivalent would be ALE with their heavyweight Trojan ballast tractors. Those bespoke creations take the process to a new level.
THE WORD ‘LEGEND’ IS OVER-USED BY THE POPULAR PRESS FOR THOSE OFTEN UNWORTHY OF THE TITLE. BUT, AS HEAVYTORQUE EXPLAINS, THIS PROFILE IS ABOUT A MAN WHO REALLY DOES DESERVE TO BE CALLED A LEGEND
He is Dutchman Jan van Wees, who is well known in heavy haulage and heavy lifting operations. And not just in his native Holland – but in many different countries throughout the world because of his long and varied career. Despite having semi-retired, his knowledge and enthusiasm for the industry shows no signs of abating. He is still involved with various facets of the business and events – not least the Mack and Special Transport Show featured in the last issue of HeavyTorque (Issue Five) – where he knew virtually every driver and operator onsite. Plus most of the enthusiasts present.
When van Wees left school, he had no inkling of the career that would come to dominate his working life become a life long passion. The family farmed land rented from the city of Amsterdam; van Wees joined in and worked happily on the farm for the next 10 years. But all that changed one Friday in the late sixties.
Issue Six: with 164 pages of first-class journalism and photography, what more can you wish for? HeavyTorque, Britain’s best loved specialist transport title! Click the appropriate link below to purchase your annual subscription, or individual copy.
OPERATING FROM THEIR UK HEADQUARTERS IN DUDLEY, WEST MIDLANDS, TDR HEAVY HAULAGE HAVE ESTABLISHED A SOLID REPUTATION IN JUST TWENTY YEARS. WHEN WE SENT HEAVYTORQUE TO MEET RICHARD ROLLINSON, HE FOUND ONE OF A PAIR OF BROTHERS WHO SEEM TO HAVE THE RISK AND REWARD EQUATION PERFECTLY BALANCED.
Although Richard Rollinson is one of the two founding brothers of TDR, he’d be the first to admit that neither he nor his brothers, Tim, are half the company. That’s a roundabout way of saying they have a loyal team of staff and managers around them. But one thing they are responsible for is having the vision and courage to take on new investment, to win new business.
Richard, 43, told us: “We went limited in 1993. Considering we were in the grip of a recession at the time, we simply kept our feet firmly on the ground, and concentrated on giving the best possible level of customer service.” He says that gave them the power to get through tough trading conditions: “Those standards are the basis on which the company still operates today.”
HEAVYTORQUE RECENTLY TOOK A TRIP TO KING TRAILERS TO HEAR THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS FROM THE WELL-KNOWN MANUFACTURER, AND THEIR VIEW OF AN INCREASINGLY COMPETITIVE TRAILER MARKET.
King Trailers Limited is a long-established British specialist trailer manufacturer. Founded in 1962 by Canadian engineer Vern King and based in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, the company grew to be the largest manufacturer of heavy haulage and low bed trailers in the UK. Many heavy hauliers quite literally built their businesses on the backs of King lowloaders: the ability of some early models to soak up all manner of punishment and still come back for more is legendary. A great many still remain in service.
In the 60s King Trailers led the way with knock-out front-end lowloaders. Operators were looking for greater ease of loading, higher capacity, and more usable deck space. The old knock-out back end designs, with their four in-line axles, had reached their limit: heavy haulage crews wanted something that was easier to use.
Issue Six: with 164 pages of first-class journalism and photography, what more can you wish for? HeavyTorque, Britain’s best loved specialist transport title! Click the appropriate link below to purchase your annual subscription, or individual copy.
WESTDIJK IS ONE OF THE MOST WELL-KNOWN HEAVY HAULAGE COMPANIES IN THE NETHERLANDS TODAY. THEIR LOWLOADERS ARE ALSO REGULAR VISITORS TO THE UK. GOOD REASONS FOR HEAVYTORQUE TO VISIT THE COMPANY’S HEADQUARTERS IN ALPHEN A/D RIJN TO FIND OUT MORE. CELIA WESTDIJK (LOGISTICS MANAGER) AND MELS SIJPKES (SALES MANAGER) TOLD THEIR STORY, GIVING HIM A VIEW INSIDE THE COMPANY.
At the end of the 70s, the three Westdijk brothers – Teun, Tom, and Nico – started the business, doing earthworks, tipper, and lowloader transport. After a short spell, they decided to sell the excavator and concentrate on transport. Money from the sale was invested in a lowloader. It turned out to be a wise move. The company was asked to move more and more machinery in the area around their hometown. Among the loads were quite a few piling rigs. Soon a 6×4 DAF with lowered roof joined the fleet, a tractor specially adapted to load crane jibs and piling-rig leaders over the top of the cab (see panel). Over the years the company grew steadily. Apart from the tippers and lowloaders, skip trucks and hookloaders for hauling waste were added to the fleet in the 80s.
THE RED AND GREY LIVERY OF CHRIS BENNETT IS A FAMILIAR SIGHT FROM THE NORTH WEST’S HEAVY HAULAGE FRATERNITY. LAST AUGUST, THEY TOOK THEIR FIRST MERCEDES-BENZ HEAVY HAULAGE CHASSIS. WE CAUGHT UP WITH CHRIS BENNETT JNR, ON A WET AND BLUSTERY SATURDAY, TO ASK HIM WHY. HEAVYTORQUE REPORTS.
The long hot summer of 1976 was about as far from the recent floods endured by northern England as it’s possible to get. There was a drought, and even a drought Minister to go with it. That was also the year that Chris Bennett Snr set up on his own, with a single Ford D series. The company has come a very long way since then, with his three children joining him in the successful family business. Chris Jnr, known as Jim Lad to distinguish him from the company’s founder, works alongside his sister and co-director Lorraine, who runs the vital administration, and brother Anthony. Both men drive the company’s flagship heavy haulage tractors, now at the front of Chris Bennett Heavy Haulage’s substantial mixed fleet of 40 trucks and 60 trailers.
Issue Six: with 164 pages of first-class journalism and photography, what more can you wish for? HeavyTorque, Britain’s best loved specialist transport title! Click the appropriate link below to purchase your annual subscription, or individual copy.
THERE ARE PLENTY OF GLITZY NEW TRUCKS AND TRAILERS ON THE ROAD, BUT IT’S GOOD TO REMIND OURSELVES HOW MUCH WORK THERE IS LEFT IN GOOD QUALITY USED STOCK. HEAVYTORQUE TALKS TO DALE CALKELD, OWNER OF LEEDS AND KEIGHLEY-BASED CALKELD HEAVY HAULAGE, WHO IS MORE THAN CANNY ABOUT HIS FLEET ACQUISITIONS.
They say there’s more than one way to skin a cat. Quite why you’d need to skin one in the first place is unclear, but according to Calkeld there’s a lot of money going to waste if you get it wrong. It’s so easy to fall for the blandishments of a new tower of steel, glass and chrome, with the latest registration plate on the bumper. That hassle-free repair and maintenance contract in the cab door pocket will make all your workshop woes vanish too. But when it’s all on the road – and naturally performing well – there’s the bottom line of an invoice sitting on your desk which won’t go away. We all know premium truck brands cost: a new full-spec SLT Mercedes, or an R730 Scania, can leave you with a bill enthusiastically marching north of £200,000.
DEMOLITION COMPANY SQUIBB IS UNIQUELY PLACED TO UNDERSTAND THE PARTICULAR DIFFICULTIES OF MOVING HEAVY VEHICLES AROUND THE UK’S CAPITAL. KNOCKING-DOWN OLD LONDON FOR ALMOST 70 YEARS, IT HAS A FLEET OF SPECIALIST MACHINES WEIGHING UP TO 100T EACH. HEAVYTORQUE LEARNS HOW THE COMPANY DEALS WITH THE BUSY, CONGESTED CITY ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS.
Squibb’s roots date back to before WWII, when Harry Squibb made his living carrying rubbish and other waste materials from east London and the docks, using a horse and cart. Called up to serve in the army during the war, when he came back he found most of his business now involved clearing rubble and demolishing buildings – bomb-damaged by the Blitz – in the East End and docks. He founded H Squibb & Son in Stepney, in 1948, on the back of a programme to clear East End tenement blocks.
The company has continued to grow, with two more generations of the Squibb family joining the business: it now has a turnover of around £40M a year. Milestones in the company’s 67-year history include being the first demolition company to be awarded a licence to work with asbestos, and the opening three years ago of an office in Qatar.
Issue Six: with 164 pages of first-class journalism and photography, what more can you wish for? HeavyTorque, Britain’s best loved specialist transport title! Click the appropriate link below to purchase your annual subscription, or individual copy.