NOW BEING RUN BY ITS FOURTH GENERATION, CORNISH TIPPER OPERATOR AR HADDY HAS BEEN IN BUSINESS LONG ENOUGH TO HAVE EXPERIENCED IT ALL AND TO KNOW JUST WHAT IT NEEDS FROM ITS TRUCKS AND TRAILERS, AS BULK & TIPPER FINDS OUT.
It’s not unusual to find family‐run businesses in haulage that are two or three generations old. But East Cornwall‐ based AR Haddy has been operating for longer than most. Currently, the fourth generation is running this long‐ established tipper operator, with the fifth already starting to take an interest.
Richard Haddy and his wife Nicola have day‐to‐day control, although Richard’s father George is still involved at the age of 78, driving almost every day as he has for some 60 years so far. In 1961, in fact, he transported stone and other materials for the construction of the nearby Tamar Bridge which links Cornwall to Devon at Saltash. And he has contributed similarly to almost every other major construction project that has taken place in the region since.
ND YOUNG TRANSPORT IS A LONG‐TERM VOLVO USER. BUT WHILE COMPANY FOUNDER NORMAN YOUNG LOVES THE LATEST TRUCKS HE HAS TAKEN ON FROM THE SWEDISH MANUFACTURER, HE ALSO ADMITS TO HAVING A SOFT SPOT FOR HIS RATHER OLDER DAVID BROWN TRACTOR. BULK & TIPPER DISCOVERS.
Running your own business can lead to significant rewards, but it can be a stressful way to make a living. Some people are simply drawn to this way of life, however – born with a knack for spotting a gap in the market and moving swiftly to fill it. And that’s how Norman Young found himself delivering logs around his local village at the age of just 13.
While working for around a shilling a week on a local farm, Norman decided to start collecting firewood using a homebuilt cart modified with pram wheels. Soon though, demand dictated an upgrade, with Norman shelling out £3 to acquire a second‐hand churn trolley. To help grow his business, Norman then recruited his sister Trish and cousin Paul Cracknell, and the trio began renting a portion of a local barn to store and cut the wood.
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IT'S A DREAM TEAM FOR THE MILK AND CREAM AT DAIRY INDUSTRY SPECIALIST G&J SHUTTLEWORTH – AND IT'S GOT A DREAM FLEET FOR THE JOB, TOO, AS BULK & TIPPER REPORTS.
Over a relatively short period of time, G&J Shuttleworth has become a well established haulier in the dairy industry, with a fleet of articulated tankers moving products including milk, cream and butter oil from as far north as Stirling down to the tip of Cornwall.
The company was established when father and son team John and Graham began working together, before which John worked as a self‐employed mechanic, focusing on agricultural equipment and trucks under the name of J&T Shuttleworth with his wife Teresa. Based out of a converted cowshed at a small farm run by John’s mother, he was kept busy for many years and in the summer of 2010 approached Graham to see if he’d like to take the business over as he’d like to retire. Graham was working as an HGV mechanic already, and decided he’d like to try going it alone, buying his father’s tools and taking on the work.
IVECO'S LEGENDARY TURBOSTAR DISAPPEARED BACK IN THE EARLY 1990S BUT NOW A SPECIAL EDITION S‐WAY HAS BROUGHT THE DISTINCTIVE NAME AND LOOK BACK TO UK ROADS, AS BULK & TIPPER REPORTS.
In the world of trucks, the Iveco TurboStar is a bit of a legend. Launched in the era of excess, the classic TurboStar is a 1980s totem of trucking that boasted 420hp and chiselled looks. It captured the attention of truckers all over the world, as well as that of youngster Andy Williams, whose prized possession was a diecast model TurboStar.
Fast forward a few decades and Andy now holds the reins of the RD Williams Transport fleet – and his dream of owning a truck with the TurboStar’s distinctive stripes has come true. The sun set on the Iveco TurboStar back in the early 1990s, but a special edition truck has resurrected the fabled name. One of only 180 and the only example officially in the UK, this is an Iveco S‐Way TurboStar Special Edition. Based on Iveco’s 570hp tractor unit, it pays homage to its fabled ancestor with that unmistakable swatch tattooed on the cab. Silver cab mirrors contrast the vibrant red hue, while highly polished air horns and Kelsa lightbars crown the truck, the latter working in tandem with an illuminated Iveco logo.
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FAMILY‐RUN COMPANY SR HARRADINE HAULAGE HAS BEEN BUILT UP OVER MORE THAN 20 YEARS BY STEVE AND JOAN HARRADINE AND THEIR SONS BRYN AND RICK, THANKS LARGELY TO STEVE’S REPUTATION AS A MAN OF HIS WORD. BULK & TIPPER REPORTS.
When Steve Harradine started his business nearly 25 years ago, he just wanted to make a decent living for himself and his family – never envisaging that the company would one day grow to number 30 trucks in the fleet. But 24 years later the business, which is based in Earith, Cambridgeshire, and focuses on materials, muckaway and machine hire as well as recycling, continues to thrive, largely thanks to the old‐fashioned values of delivering a good service and keeping its word.
Today’s fleet incorporates five artics and three grab trucks, the remainder being 8‐wheel tippers. The trucks are all Volvo FMXs and Scania P‐series. Steve favours these for their build quality and reliability. The bodies are from Abba Commercials, Wilcox, Charlton and Thompson. Most are Predator bodies from Abba Commercials, however, which Steve favours for their toughness and durability.
CLIVE WARCUP OF DRIFFIELD‐BASED WARCUP TRANSPORT SAYS HE IS STEPPING BACK FROM THE BUSINESS... BUT WHEN BULK & TIPPER MEETS THE EFFERVESCENT 77 YEAR‐OLD ON A TRIP TO THE YORKSHIRE WOLDS, IT'S CLEAR THAT WON'T BE HAPPENING JUST YET. AND IN THE MEANTIME, HE'S DECIDED TO START BUYING DAFS AGAIN.
It is a rainy day in Garton‐on‐the‐Wolds, a couple of miles outside Driffield, when we drop in on Warcup Transport, but that doesn’t dampen MD Clive Warcup’s enthusiasm for talking about his bulk haulage operation, which now has 26 trucks and nearly 55 years in business to its credit.
We’re joined by Clive’s son Brian, who is the operations director and heir‐apparent to the thriving family business. Brian’s wife Christine is responsible for payroll and sales ledger; Clive’s wife Diane is a director; and Clive’s daughter Wendy looks after purchase ledger and accounts. Of the firm’s 26 trucks – all maximum weight 6×2 mid‐lift tractors – the majority are Scanias, though DAF, which used to dominate with its built‐in‐Britain brand up to the arrival of a 51‐plate XF Super Space Cab back in 2001, is now beginning to enjoy something of a resurgence on the fleet.
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FROM JUST TWO ORIGINAL TRUCKS IN 2005, PJM SERVICES HAS BUILT UP A SPARKLING WHITE FLEET DOMINATED BY TIPPERS THAT WORKS ALONGSIDE A BUSY COMMERCIAL VEHICLE REFURB BUSINESS, AS BULK & TIPPER REPORTS.
Starting out simple, with one 8‐wheel tipper and one artic with flatbed trailer, Fife‐based PJM Services was founded by Pauline McInnes in 2005, her son Steven and partner Mick taking on the driving duties. Today, the company runs 15 trucks, with Steven at the helm.
Sadly, Pauline passed away in 2019 but there’s a tribute to her on the cab of the firm’s restored 144, one of two classic Scanias there. The second is a rare Australian 143 T‐cab. The company is committed to running clean, smart‐looking trucks and, in conjunction with sister company Ladybank Commercial Refurb (LCR), it has created a unique style known as Ladybank‐spec. The clean white livery is complimented with white wheels, red trim and Dutch‐style headboards. Steven always knew he would work with lorries, he tells us, and prior to driving for the family company he drove a tipper for construction firm Dunne, a rare Mercedes‐Benz Actros 8‐wheeler with 16‐speed manual box. “That was a great truck,” he states. “The chassis was specified well for off‐road work and the V6 engine had plenty of performance.”
IN THE FIRST OF A MINI‐SERIES ON ALAN DALE, FOUNDER OF ALAN F DALE, ALAN TELLS US HOW HIS FATHER PROMPTED HIS INTEREST IN THE WORLD OF TRANSPORT AND HOW HE TOOK HIS OWN FIRST STEPS IN THE BUSINESS.
Dad was 25 years old when I was born in 1955, right in that heady mix of being young and keenly enthusiastic. And according to the stories I came to hear later from his workmates and contemporaries, he lived and breathed the ‘lorry job’.
Like thousands of other little boys and girls, I was subsequently brought up in the world of transport and loved it. And it has remained a constant love throughout my life, as it was for my dad.
I can’t really explain just what it is about this seemingly ordinary profession that is so addictive and intoxicating to me. I just know that the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and my eyes moisten every time I hear a Commer two‐ stroke on the road. Fifty years ago, they were everywhere and not the slightest bit special; but today they immediately reduce me to a burbling wreck!
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