Dual control
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Two heads are certainly better than one, agree Les Coatman and David Nicholson of Durham City Transport. They tell Bob Tuck that having two managing directors is one of the secrets to their company’s long-term viability
If we wanted a graphic example of the ups and downs of life in road haulage, our visit to Durham City Transport could not have been timed better. There was a biting cold wind whistling through the company’s Meadowfield yard but one glance at the burnt-out remains of five vehicles and you could almost feel the heat from a recent arson attack.
When such a huge slice of your 30-strong operation almost disappears overnight, it is not surprising you feel like chucking the towel in. ‘I think if someone had offered me a fiver for the business that night,’ says Durham City’s joint managing director Les Coatman, ‘I would have told them they could have it. That incident has cost us £100,000 and sometimes you feel you have had enough.’
It is just as well Les has fellow managing director David Nicholson on hand to redress the balance: ‘Really that incident could have been a murder,’ David says, ‘because at times our drivers spend the night in the cab if they are after an early Monday start. And I am sure the fumes would have got to them first – but fortunately no one was hurt and we shall get over this.’
Getting into a vehicle that is on fire and driving it – albeit for a short distance – to a safe spot is laughed off as being just one of those things you do, but it is the combined efforts of the Coatman/Nicholson duo that have kept Durham City going since they started the business in 1990.
‘We both turn our hand to everything,’ David says, ‘whether it is driving trucks, cutting the grass or sweeping the yard. But really it is those times when one of us gets down that the other one always seems to be there to pull us through. We both have ups and downs but together we have come through all sorts of situations – and really we are better for being together.’
The Durham duo met in1986. ‘I was transport manager at the time with the large Durham haulier Barnfather & Wilkes,’ Les says. ‘I can remember David coming in with a 7.5-tonne flat and asking if we had any work for him. I said a flat was no good but three weeks later he came back with a 7.5-tonne curtainsider so I began using him as subbie – and within a few years he was running five motors.’
As David Nicholson Transport was on the up, the fate of Barnfather & Wilkes was going the other way: ‘The company eventually ceased trading in 1992, I think,’ Les says, ‘but well before that I had been offered redundancy and set up as a consultant because I could see the writing on the wall. So, as David and I had always got on well together, we decided to pool the various companies we were operating and join forces.’
Durham City Transport was the name chosen for this new business concern. ‘I could never understand why no one had ever registered it before as a trading name,’ David says, ‘as it is very distinctive.’ Also reckoned to be a good early decision was signing up for RHA membership: ‘It is one of the best things we have ever done,’ the directors agree. ‘We also signed up for the LawPlan coverage as well because we reckon it is a good insurance to have cover like this – just in case you need legal help.’
Durham City moves all its goods under the 1998 RHA conditions of carriage: ‘We had a situation where a company went down on us,’ explains Les, ‘and we decided to pull back – and hang onto – four loads of theirs which we were in the process of delivering.
'We checked the legality of what we were doing with the RHA and I think it was our local rep Malcolm Dodds who confirmed that, under the conditions relating to carriers lien, we were in order with what we had done.
'We still lost out a bit but disposal of those loads helped to redress the balance. It is great to be able to speak to someone at the RHA like Malcolm who can help you out immediately.’
We assumed that David and Les would want to bang the drum about unfair continental competition (similar to BH Cecil in Roadway December ’05) so we were more than surprised with their response. ‘We have not run to the Continent since 1997,’ Les says. ‘Even back then we felt the rates – and currency exchange problems – were not right and we suffered through things such as the fishermen’s blockades. We have found that staying in the UK gives you better control of your operations.’
But surely the continental operators should pay their dues with a contribution towards our fuel and road taxes in the UK? ‘We do not give it any thought,’ David admits. ‘Yes, it is a problem the government should address but you could worry yourself into an early grave about the injustice. Instead, we prefer to get on with what we are doing and just ignore them – there is nothing we can do about it. We have a lot better things to worry about than the continentals.’
You could say that David and Les are burying their heads in the sand but their approach is refreshing. How does Durham City manage when dry freight is what the continentals are now creaming off? ‘All our rigids are fitted with tail-lifts,’ Les says, ‘and about seven years ago we invested heavily in Moffett Mounty forklift trucks.
'I think we have 13 trailers kitted out to carry any of the six Moffetts we have. Yes, they cost £20,000-25,000 each but if a customer is after a premium delivery service into a specific tight spot, this is what we can give. You have to improve your level of service if you want to keep ahead of the continental opposition.’
‘Being a relatively small company means everyone knows everyone else and I think that is a good situation to be in.’
Durham City is aware drivers do not come to them because they have the ritziest, glitziest motors in the area. ‘We buy our vehicles outright with something like an eight-year life in mind,’ Les says, ‘so obviously those older motors do not have all the bells and whistles of extras that the latest vehicles have.’
Once a 100% MAN operation, Durham City now also runs Mercedes-Benz and Volvo trucks. ‘MAN let us down a few years back when we wanted another vehicle in a hurry,’ David says, ‘so we turned to the local Mercedes dealership, Bell Trucks, and it came up trumps. Although we have bought many MANs since, it made us realise we should spread our buying round a bit. The three Volvo FHs we bought were very low mileage second-hand units. They gave us a huge saving compared with new and they were very well looked after.’
While the new vehicles are covered by the manufacturers’ R&M contracts, Durham City retains its own workshop and mechanics. ‘Reliability of service is a must for anyone in transport,’ Les says, ‘and having your own mechanics means as well as looking after our big trailer fleet and our older vehicles, we can repair small defects before they become a big problem.’
‘I suppose we take things as they come,’ David says. ‘In August ’04 we were approached by Jym Adams of Coxhoe who asked if we wanted to take over his business because he said he had had enough. There was a mix of vans, rigids and artics and in truth I was not that interested.
‘However, because we work so closely together, we talked it over as Les reckoned we should think about it and, in truth, I changed my mind. We did not keep all of the 14 vehicles and trailers involved but it was a good expansive move for us.’
Like many of its kind, Durham City is aware you have to work very hard to stay ahead of the game: ‘I suppose we are like swans,’ Les admits. ‘To all appearances we are going along quite serenely but, of course, under the surface, a lot of people are paddling hard to keep us going.’
What is the secret to the smooth passage? ‘I think you need to have an enthusiasm for the job,’ David says. ‘Both Les and I are 48 years old but really we still have the drive of someone of perhaps 32.
‘And, of course, it is a major plus that the company has two managing directors – I doubt we would have done as well if we had not joined forces, even though we are very different from each other.’
When such a huge slice of your 30-strong operation almost disappears overnight, it is not surprising you feel like chucking the towel in. ‘I think if someone had offered me a fiver for the business that night,’ says Durham City’s joint managing director Les Coatman, ‘I would have told them they could have it. That incident has cost us £100,000 and sometimes you feel you have had enough.’
It is just as well Les has fellow managing director David Nicholson on hand to redress the balance: ‘Really that incident could have been a murder,’ David says, ‘because at times our drivers spend the night in the cab if they are after an early Monday start. And I am sure the fumes would have got to them first – but fortunately no one was hurt and we shall get over this.’
Heroic saviour
David smiles at how the local Newcastle Journal newspaper headlined him as a hero. ‘When I arrived the fire brigade was there,’ he says, ‘but I realised if one burning truck was not moved quickly, the fire could have spread onto a line of trailers – and things would have been a lot worse.’Getting into a vehicle that is on fire and driving it – albeit for a short distance – to a safe spot is laughed off as being just one of those things you do, but it is the combined efforts of the Coatman/Nicholson duo that have kept Durham City going since they started the business in 1990.
‘We both turn our hand to everything,’ David says, ‘whether it is driving trucks, cutting the grass or sweeping the yard. But really it is those times when one of us gets down that the other one always seems to be there to pull us through. We both have ups and downs but together we have come through all sorts of situations – and really we are better for being together.’
The Durham duo met in1986. ‘I was transport manager at the time with the large Durham haulier Barnfather & Wilkes,’ Les says. ‘I can remember David coming in with a 7.5-tonne flat and asking if we had any work for him. I said a flat was no good but three weeks later he came back with a 7.5-tonne curtainsider so I began using him as subbie – and within a few years he was running five motors.’
As David Nicholson Transport was on the up, the fate of Barnfather & Wilkes was going the other way: ‘The company eventually ceased trading in 1992, I think,’ Les says, ‘but well before that I had been offered redundancy and set up as a consultant because I could see the writing on the wall. So, as David and I had always got on well together, we decided to pool the various companies we were operating and join forces.’
Durham City Transport was the name chosen for this new business concern. ‘I could never understand why no one had ever registered it before as a trading name,’ David says, ‘as it is very distinctive.’ Also reckoned to be a good early decision was signing up for RHA membership: ‘It is one of the best things we have ever done,’ the directors agree. ‘We also signed up for the LawPlan coverage as well because we reckon it is a good insurance to have cover like this – just in case you need legal help.’
Durham City moves all its goods under the 1998 RHA conditions of carriage: ‘We had a situation where a company went down on us,’ explains Les, ‘and we decided to pull back – and hang onto – four loads of theirs which we were in the process of delivering.
'We checked the legality of what we were doing with the RHA and I think it was our local rep Malcolm Dodds who confirmed that, under the conditions relating to carriers lien, we were in order with what we had done.
'We still lost out a bit but disposal of those loads helped to redress the balance. It is great to be able to speak to someone at the RHA like Malcolm who can help you out immediately.’
Reputation
Durham City undertakes general haulage throughout the UK. ‘I think last week we had a truck at Land’s End on the same day as we had another at John o’Groat’s,’ David says. And, while they have used the RHA Directory for back load contacts, they prefer to build up their own list of direct customers in other parts of the country. ‘This job is all about service,’ David says, ‘and you stake your reputation on being contactable 24/7. And if your customer is happy with your service, then he will keep using you.’We assumed that David and Les would want to bang the drum about unfair continental competition (similar to BH Cecil in Roadway December ’05) so we were more than surprised with their response. ‘We have not run to the Continent since 1997,’ Les says. ‘Even back then we felt the rates – and currency exchange problems – were not right and we suffered through things such as the fishermen’s blockades. We have found that staying in the UK gives you better control of your operations.’
But surely the continental operators should pay their dues with a contribution towards our fuel and road taxes in the UK? ‘We do not give it any thought,’ David admits. ‘Yes, it is a problem the government should address but you could worry yourself into an early grave about the injustice. Instead, we prefer to get on with what we are doing and just ignore them – there is nothing we can do about it. We have a lot better things to worry about than the continentals.’
You could say that David and Les are burying their heads in the sand but their approach is refreshing. How does Durham City manage when dry freight is what the continentals are now creaming off? ‘All our rigids are fitted with tail-lifts,’ Les says, ‘and about seven years ago we invested heavily in Moffett Mounty forklift trucks.
'I think we have 13 trailers kitted out to carry any of the six Moffetts we have. Yes, they cost £20,000-25,000 each but if a customer is after a premium delivery service into a specific tight spot, this is what we can give. You have to improve your level of service if you want to keep ahead of the continental opposition.’
Potential drivers
Having increased its fleet size from five to 30 vehicles in 15 years, Durham City must be doing something right. And the company is also in the fortunate position of having a long list of drivers who want to work for it. ‘I suppose it is because we respect our drivers that they give us the same respect back,’ David says.‘Being a relatively small company means everyone knows everyone else and I think that is a good situation to be in.’
Durham City is aware drivers do not come to them because they have the ritziest, glitziest motors in the area. ‘We buy our vehicles outright with something like an eight-year life in mind,’ Les says, ‘so obviously those older motors do not have all the bells and whistles of extras that the latest vehicles have.’
Once a 100% MAN operation, Durham City now also runs Mercedes-Benz and Volvo trucks. ‘MAN let us down a few years back when we wanted another vehicle in a hurry,’ David says, ‘so we turned to the local Mercedes dealership, Bell Trucks, and it came up trumps. Although we have bought many MANs since, it made us realise we should spread our buying round a bit. The three Volvo FHs we bought were very low mileage second-hand units. They gave us a huge saving compared with new and they were very well looked after.’
While the new vehicles are covered by the manufacturers’ R&M contracts, Durham City retains its own workshop and mechanics. ‘Reliability of service is a must for anyone in transport,’ Les says, ‘and having your own mechanics means as well as looking after our big trailer fleet and our older vehicles, we can repair small defects before they become a big problem.’
Future prospects
So what about future prospects for Durham City?‘I suppose we take things as they come,’ David says. ‘In August ’04 we were approached by Jym Adams of Coxhoe who asked if we wanted to take over his business because he said he had had enough. There was a mix of vans, rigids and artics and in truth I was not that interested.
‘However, because we work so closely together, we talked it over as Les reckoned we should think about it and, in truth, I changed my mind. We did not keep all of the 14 vehicles and trailers involved but it was a good expansive move for us.’
Like many of its kind, Durham City is aware you have to work very hard to stay ahead of the game: ‘I suppose we are like swans,’ Les admits. ‘To all appearances we are going along quite serenely but, of course, under the surface, a lot of people are paddling hard to keep us going.’
What is the secret to the smooth passage? ‘I think you need to have an enthusiasm for the job,’ David says. ‘Both Les and I are 48 years old but really we still have the drive of someone of perhaps 32.
‘And, of course, it is a major plus that the company has two managing directors – I doubt we would have done as well if we had not joined forces, even though we are very different from each other.’
