Mr Colosio is now retired ,I knew him well.Before ERF ,he sold many Magirus in the Champagne district and also some Bedford TK and TM.
You’re not the only one with a two way soakaway system Saviem. Only way I could solve mine was by diverting the field drains away from it.
Your Valtra is now from the same stable as MF of course. Does it have a Sisu engine and if so is it a derivative of the 0600?
Banner Lane was not the only factory that our dear allies the yanks closed. They also shut the combine plant in Kilmarnock many years ago. I used to ship hundreds of them to Iran by sea into Trabzon and then overland.
I also shipped thousands of Banner Lane products. When the closure of the free world’s largest tractor plant was announced one of the reasons was that there would be no labour problems with the decision. Whereas if they had closed Beauvais it would have been a very different story. Aux barricades!
Bewick:
I’ve been appointed Treasurer,subs must be sent in cash,in a brown envelope please,and if we must we will reluctantly take subs from our “overseas” members in Euros!
Bewick. !
Monsieur Bewick I can further add to our drunken currency confusion by throwing in the last-standing European Franc, the Swissie.
But I can offer alternative ways of settling my dues (and in my own way adding to the improved fluidity of our assets) namely in kind by throwing in some products of Switzerland’s vastly undervalued wine-making talent.
Or if we conclude our first steering committee with the closing statement that we the members of the board are still in state of thirst, I can furnish some samples of local “abricotine” or other highly flammable white spirits.
Evening all, well Ive been "lugging " all this wet day, and Deere was my mount. What a wonderful machine, good brakes, loads of torque, an engine note to die for…no radio station can compete, and only sips the red nectar! The legislators propose 31tonnes for us…role on I say, will make us legal at last…(. I joke, for the subject of on road haulage with agricultural vehicles…and even more so agricultural drivers is a subject close to my heart, and something needs to be done)!..though I doubt it. Has there ever been a more unstable combination than a tractor/trailer at high gross weight, and high speed (40kph aint half fast if you have got to stop quickish)!!! and a young, (or not so young), chap in charge!!!
Yes the Valtra is a Sisu powered one, real economy, good on the PTO, and great on the road…but its early days yet! Jazzandy I can only agree with everything that you say about MF, but do any of the politicians even begin to understand, no, no, never! When will our stupid politicians wake up to the ways of American business? The easy way is the only way, God bless the Dollar, for that is all that they can see!!
Now then ROF, just have a look at the spud prices when you next visit your supermarket…they have not moved at all!..but then look at the weight that you are buying in that bag…its going down! So Mr Supermarket prices and profits go up…and your spend/ to value goes down!!! Hey, and me, and many others can barely cover the cost of growing them for you to enjoy!!!
Now Davidoff, I just cannot remember the UN Hazchem code for Abricotine, but it should be on each bottle!!! Great fluid for de-icing an Alpine road, or removing stains from very old dentures…or is it true that it is the only known substitute for Jet A1■■?
gingerfold I feel for you, ours is a really hard industry, and strangely that applies whatever country you look at. Why, oh why, this constant drive towards the bottom, cheaper, cheaper. The “marketing men” talk of added value…there is none, just a suicidal dive to the bottom…and those that leave are replaced by the “hopefuls” pouring in from the top! A constant cycle of despair! Perhaps advising your clients to peruse the “published” accounts from your ■■■■■■■■ adversary may help, and in particular a quick analysis of the equity to debt ratio, or the return on capital employed…forensic accounting is a great marketing tool…just as good as an Atom Bomb!!!
Good night my friends…tommorows diary is full, and judging by the smell in the yard, Id best get the vacumn tank on as a priority!!!
Cheerio for now,
if the rain doesn’t stop soon and the septic tank keeps overflowing , madame indoors will be feeding you with a catapult ere long saviem .
Saviem, mon brave,
As usual, I am forced to agree with the reasoning of your post, except in one small area:
As a REALLY tight-fisted old ■■■■ (Welsh ancestry!) I have to inform you that Messrs Tesco, Asda, Morrison, etc. have never known the pleasure of ridding me of my hard-earned in the pursuit of a couple of spuds!
In the days before my retirement it was reasonably easy to beg half a bag of Maris product from a sympathetic farmer (yes, there are some!) but mostly I have all my days been a grow-my-own fanatic.
ALLOTMENTEERS RULE !!!
And by the way, would your workhorse, Mr Deere, be one of the bigger chaps, with the ■■■■■■■ power plant?
Saviem:
gingerfold I feel for you, ours is a really hard industry, and strangely that applies whatever country you look at. Why, oh why, this constant drive towards the bottom, cheaper, cheaper. The “marketing men” talk of added value…there is none, just a suicidal dive to the bottom…and those that leave are replaced by the “hopefuls” pouring in from the top! A constant cycle of despair! Perhaps advising your clients to peruse the “published” accounts from your ■■■■■■■■ adversary may help, and in particular a quick analysis of the equity to debt ratio, or the return on capital employed…forensic accounting is a great marketing tool…just as good as an Atom Bomb!!!Good night my friends…tommorows diary is full, and judging by the smell in the yard, Id best get the vacumn tank on as a priority!!!
Cheerio for now,
Thank you for your show of solidarity and sympathy Saviem. I feel that our situation with our (former) main customer is irretrievable. Severfield’s is the largest structural steel fabricator in the UK and a public company just as Stobart is. Big wants to deal with big these days, all the senior corporate people talk to one another in a load of meaningless b******s which sound impressive but is utter rubbish. You only need to read some websites these days to wonder what planet they come from and if they have ever done a proper day’s work in their lives.
I had been worried for some time that at over 40% of our turnover our exposure with Severfield’s subsidiary, Watsons Steel Structures, was too much and since the new year we have done just two jobs for them. Stobart is “investing” in 65 new extender trailers (I use the term “investing” loosely; - they don’t own the wind in the tyres of their vehicles, let alone the vehicles and trailers themselves) and they have already hired in a substantial number of flat trailers to do the work. Two of my drivers have already decided that the Stobart uniform has a certain kudos and have jumped ship. I expect others to follow. Other much bigger steel hauliers than us are in Stobart’s sights. Interesting days are ahead. 
My sympathies Gingerfold, looks like the dirty “S” word is about to get dirtier. I was lucky to sell up and get out two years ago, the alleged “rescheduling” my main customer was
initiating at the time was, in my opinion, a smoke screen to shift the work to the green monster. Luckily for me, the six week period of the “changes” to the work structure, (no work for me) arrived when my vehicle was due for taxing, MOT, and my 65th birthday, so the solution didn’t take much working out!!. I know this is not the answer for most people, as there are other factors and responsibilities to consider, but it worked for me. Good luck for the future, Regards Kev.
It’s sad to read your posting about the Stobart situation, Gingerfold, and I noted your comments in “CVRTC News” too. I would have thought that experienced drivers leaving to join your competitor will give ES a better chance of being successful in their new niche also.
It is interesting to note that as in the case of lafarge tarmac the monopolies and mergers commission have instructed them to divest some of their holdings in the interest of fair trading ( even though the merger was sanctioned ). When will they realise that stobart , nobbies , turners et al are doing their utmost to establish monopolies in the haulage industries ? .I suppose it will have to develop with all the resulting chaos and mismanagement before the MMC will start flapping their hands and panicking . By that time i suppose the race to the bottom will have been won .
The advantage of living in the country. We buy spuds directly from the farmer and eggs from a small holding, genuine free range and cheaper than the supermarkets by 50%. 
Cheers Dave.
Richard Stanier:
It’s sad to read your posting about the Stobart situation, Gingerfold, and I noted your comments in “CVRTC News” too. I would have thought that experienced drivers leaving to join your competitor will give ES a better chance of being successful in their new niche also.
It would be interesting to find out if the drivers who have started for “the fast one” are on the same sort of wages as with their previous employer,although I cannot see that the"fast one" has secured the contract at an increased rate so one must assume that he’ll have cut the bottom out of the job and probably ■■■■■■ up another job in the process.So watch this space,it could be the same as the British Gypsum contract,once they see it won’t work they’ll give it “the elbow” and leave a pile of ■■■■■ for some other poor bugger to clean up.How do Curtainsiders and extendable trailers mix unless they are going to try and re-load them with their food and beverages traffic,but hang on,that will entail sheeting and roping Oooooo! thats a big No No plus Coke/Tescos wouldn’t wear it,would they ? Bewick.
Bewick:
Richard Stanier:
It’s sad to read your posting about the Stobart situation, Gingerfold, and I noted your comments in “CVRTC News” too. I would have thought that experienced drivers leaving to join your competitor will give ES a better chance of being successful in their new niche also.It would be interesting to find out if the drivers who have started for “the fast one” are on the same sort of wages as with their previous employer,although I cannot see that the"fast one" has secured the contract at an increased rate so one must assume that he’ll have cut the bottom out of the job and probably [zb] up another job in the process.So watch this space,it could be the same as the British Gypsum contract,once they see it won’t work they’ll give it “the elbow” and leave a pile of [zb] for some other poor bugger to clean up.How do Curtainsiders and extendable trailers mix unless they are going to try and re-load them with their food and beverages traffic,but hang on,that will entail sheeting and roping Oooooo! thats a big No No plus Coke/Tescos wouldn’t wear it,would they ? Bewick.
From all the photos I’ve seen of their tautliners bashing bridges perhaps they will use these for the flat loads, you’ve got to admire their way of thinking 
Telekonsteve:
Bewick:
Richard Stanier:
It’s sad to read your posting about the Stobart situation, Gingerfold, and I noted your comments in “CVRTC News” too. I would have thought that experienced drivers leaving to join your competitor will give ES a better chance of being successful in their new niche also.It would be interesting to find out if the drivers who have started for “the fast one” are on the same sort of wages as with their previous employer,although I cannot see that the"fast one" has secured the contract at an increased rate so one must assume that he’ll have cut the bottom out of the job and probably [zb] up another job in the process.So watch this space,it could be the same as the British Gypsum contract,once they see it won’t work they’ll give it “the elbow” and leave a pile of [zb] for some other poor bugger to clean up.How do Curtainsiders and extendable trailers mix unless they are going to try and re-load them with their food and beverages traffic,but hang on,that will entail sheeting and roping Oooooo! thats a big No No plus Coke/Tescos wouldn’t wear it,would they ? Bewick.
From all the photos I’ve seen of their tautliners bashing bridges perhaps they will use these for the flat loads, you’ve got to admire their way of thinking
Admire the S lot I don’t think so, Regards Larry.
I see they are now hauling Aluminium ingots on flat trailers, whose work was that ?
Trev_H:
I see they are now hauling Aluminium ingots on flat trailers, whose work was that ?
Probabley for nowt, That’s most likely why they have the work IMO, Regards Larry.
I regret that it’s not only the transport industry that is aiming for the bottom, but most of our once “great” British industries. With accountants and investment bankers running the countries’ businesses, the cheapest quote is always going to win the job.
I really feel awful for those of you who are still trying to compete, having, through your own hard work and entrepreneurialism built up your businesses over many years. Unfortunately, I struggle to see any improvement in the situation.
The very best of luck to you chaps, I hope it may be of some comfort for you to know that there are many folks who still believe that “transport people” are the best people to run transport.
It’s a tad unusual for me to be serious, isn’t it? And on good old Saviem’s thread, as well!
Must try harder. 
Retired Old ■■■■:
It’s a tad unusual for me to be serious, isn’t it? And on good old Saviem’s thread, as well!Must try harder.
Well said ROF , Regards Larry.
Retired Old ■■■■:
It’s a tad unusual for me to be serious, isn’t it? And on good old Saviem’s thread, as well!Must try harder.
Yeh how many have ur had and at this time of neet