Starter for ten ! I took this shot at the end of the road into the Milnthorpe depot shortly after we joined the Group,funny the lense cracked on the camera I was using 
Fire away lads,put all the ■■■■ onto this thread,I’m sure WRM are not the only ■■■■■■■ in the industry 
Shagged a couple of good firms up,Bewick and Henleys.How about that french outfit norbert donkeydangler his bought a few,ta,Pete
pete smith:
Shagged a couple of good firms up,Bewick and Henleys.How about that french outfit norbert donkeydangler his bought a few,ta,Pete
They did try before WRM Pete,Cheers Dennis.
Bewick:
pete smith:
Shagged a couple of good firms up,Bewick and Henleys.How about that french outfit norbert donkeydangler his bought a few,ta,PeteThey did try before WRM Pete,Cheers Dennis.
How about the green and reds,just off jcn44,sorry Dennis cant post the name,bad language in my book,ta,Pete
Stobarts are still called stobarts though ,call him fast Eddie but he’s been on the magazine front page plenty and he’s not on the back one yet !
pete smith:
Bewick:
pete smith:
Shagged a couple of good firms up,Bewick and Henleys.How about that french outfit norbert donkeydangler his bought a few,ta,PeteThey did try before WRM Pete,Cheers Dennis.
How about the green and reds,just off jcn44,sorry Dennis cant post the name,bad language in my book,ta,Pete
For what it’s worth WRM did run the rule over them as well but decided they wern’t up to the mark so gave them a miss,I kid you not Pete.Cheers Dennis.
I worked for RJ Wood (Coolchain) at the time of the WRM takeover in 1995. They certainly weren’t afraid to spend money and completely re-fleeted our depot with brand new Scania’s & Mercedes along with a large number of new trailers too. Much of Henleys fleet was also replaced and the last lorries bought by Jack were re painted into the WRM livery. Unfortunately WRM disappeared as quick as they came and within a couple of years they were gone never to be seen again. From a drivers perspective they were fine, we always got paid on time and drove nice new trucks doing the same work we had always done before. However, the big difference was we had to start working dead legal which was good for us because they had put us on a salary but not so good for the profit margin.
pete smith:
Shagged a couple of good firms up,Bewick and Henleys.How about that french outfit norbert donkeydangler his bought a few,ta,Pete
Evening all, Pete, now I know Norbert as a friend. Knew his father as well. What Norbert has achieved is quite incredible, and surely worth writing about.
He totally revolutionised the French Haulage Industry. He created the scene for the changes in the way that Commercial Vehicles are acquired, in terms of rented use/ residual value. He changed the way customers of the haulier “buy” the services of the haulier, the way that they pay, the rates that they pay. The remuneration of the “chauffeur”, his responsibilities, his work load, and those of all behind him, in the yard, the warehouse, and the garage.
As most second generation business owners in France Norbert joined his Fathers, (modest) hire and reward company. But unlike almost all in the UK he had received a “business orientated” eduation. Cash flow, profit and loss projections, and interpretation of Balance sheet information was not alien to the 20 year old.
Back in the late 70s I was invited to deliver a paper on the difference between the UK Hire and Reward Industry, and that of France, at a meeting of the French Road Haulage Association. As a meridien point I chose the business of J&A Smith, (Smiths of Maddiston), and the way that they gained utilisation of their vehicle assets/ compared to the major French Groups, (who employed far greater numbers of vehicles to move far lower tonnages)!.
There was incredulity from the audience, that a company could work its “workers” so hard, and not have industrial strife, and (more importantly), that such work could be done with such a little financial return!!!
Norbrt questioned me closely, then, and in later years
Its not about getting the load on, and delivering it, its all about is it worth doing in the first place!! And if it is…just how much you can get for providing the service!
Our association, and friendship grew over the years, the first real big "buy back " deal with Renault/Samro…and onwards…
His personal admiration for Sir James Duncans TDG Group…now he owns it… Salveson…(I remember a long night explaining from where Salveson had come, and Marie Therase and my good lady had long gone to their beds…now he owns it!!
We still talk, mainly about our families, the weather, politics, farming, and whatever…but what Norbert, and Norbert alone has achieved is incredible, and should be seen, and admired as such…and not ever, ever, be seen on this thread…it should be on a thread of its own.
Totally incomparable…
Cheerio for now.
I do not doubt your sincerity and admiration for your man Saviem, but his French haulage model is not applied in this country. A couple of years ago one of his British divisions approached us to sub for them on a full time basis. The rates on offer were “poor”, and that is putting it mildly. I walked away, the work wasn’t worth doing
Hi all I remember in a magazine issue of the late 90’s an article, cant remember who by but they stated that in there opinion that by 2010 there would be just ten major providers of haulage within Europe, how right was he. During my time in transport you have to try and find the niche jobs to survive and try and hold on to them, this is not easy in a dog eat dog scenario. When twenty years ago in Southampton there were at least 20 companies involved in International transport and with them there regular sub contractors but today a very different outlook. We are still here but we are one of very limited numbers, how things have changed in a short space of time. We have lost jobs to other companies by them under cutting our rates to get the job, but we still believe in service and thank god some of our customers do to and pay a sensible rate for that service, Buzzer.
Shortly after the take over there was a prominent notice in Christian Salvesen traffic offices reminding office staff how to answer the phone and pronounce the name:
Nor - bare. Dong - tray - song - le.
Mark R:
I worked for RJ Wood (Coolchain) at the time of the WRM takeover in 1995. They certainly weren’t afraid to spend money and completely re-fleeted our depot with brand new Scania’s & Mercedes along with a large number of new trailers too. Much of Henleys fleet was also replaced and the last lorries bought by Jack were re painted into the WRM livery. Unfortunately WRM disappeared as quick as they came and within a couple of years they were gone never to be seen again. From a drivers perspective they were fine, we always got paid on time and drove nice new trucks doing the same work we had always done before. However, the big difference was we had to start working dead legal which was good for us because they had put us on a salary but not so good for the profit margin.
Although I was never directly involved with the goings on of the WRM head office in Dorking,apart from having to attend balls aching Group board meetings regularly, I was always kept in the loop by my pal and immediate boss Brian Collier from TDP at Hitchin who were also in the WRM stable.He told me while trying to keep a straight face that after buying Woods they found out that they were only able to make profit by running bent 
This revelation,I believe,resulted in WRM starting a court case to get their brass back,not sure how they went on but Woods had quite clearly tucked them up like kippers 
Cheers Bewick.
cav551:
Shortly after the take over there was a prominent notice in Christian Salvesen traffic offices reminding office staff how to answer the phone and pronounce the name:
Nor - bare. Dong - tray - song - le.
I wonder how much business they lost with customers who said, “Sorry, wrong number” and put the phone down, having expected to be speaking to Norbert Dressingtable?
Bewick:
Mark R:
I worked for RJ Wood (Coolchain) at the time of the WRM takeover in 1995. They certainly weren’t afraid to spend money and completely re-fleeted our depot with brand new Scania’s & Mercedes along with a large number of new trailers too. Much of Henleys fleet was also replaced and the last lorries bought by Jack were re painted into the WRM livery. Unfortunately WRM disappeared as quick as they came and within a couple of years they were gone never to be seen again. From a drivers perspective they were fine, we always got paid on time and drove nice new trucks doing the same work we had always done before. However, the big difference was we had to start working dead legal which was good for us because they had put us on a salary but not so good for the profit margin.Although I was never directly involved with the goings on of the WRM head office in Dorking,apart from having to attend balls aching Group board meetings regularly, I was always kept in the loop by my pal and immediate boss Brian Collier from TDP at Hitchin who were also in the WRM stable.He told me while trying to keep a straight face that after buying Woods they found out that they were only able to make profit by running bent
That would be the sort of reaction one would expect from a bunch of suits, who would no doubt then have been able to tell you hourly the current rate of exchange for the Pound against every currency from the Danish Krone to the Hungarian Florint, but who would have spent all day looking and scratching their heads trying to find a fifth wheel.
During the period of time that coolchain (R J Wood) had been taken over by wrm and prior to Henley Transport Co Ltd being taken over,there was a very strong rumour that wrm had caught quite a cold with the coolchain take over.
At that time I was doing a fair bit of free-lance writing for the truck mags, and also I had done some casual work for RJ Wood (and A Wood too), so T&D asked me to do one their regular columns about what is was like to work for well-known companies. WRM wouldn’t let me on the premises in the capacity of journalist; but I knew lots of their drivers so I conducted the interviews in pubs and truck stops anyway. The result was quite positive. I think drivers were just relieved to get into decent, new lorries with new trailers and earn an acceptable wage. I haven’t got copies of anything here in Cairo but you’ll find the write-up in a magazine somewhere around '97 time. Robert
robert1952:
At that time I was doing a fair bit of free-lance writing for the truck mags, and also I had done some casual work for RJ Wood (and A Wood too), so T&D asked me to do one their regular columns about what is was like to work for well-known companies. WRM wouldn’t let me on the premises in the capacity of journalist; but I knew lots of their drivers so I conducted the interviews in pubs and truck stops anyway. The result was quite positive. I think drivers were just relieved to get into decent, new lorries with new trailers and earn an acceptable wage. I haven’t got copies of anything here in Cairo but you’ll find the write-up in a magazine somewhere around '97 time. Robert
Quite interesting comment regarding the lorries,i can recall seeing R J Woods pulling out of Victoria Trading in Paddock Wood and they were running quite smart scania units and decent fridge boxes too.
As for Henley Transport Co Ltd where I was traffic manager we ran MAN and ERF units (Jack was a big ERF fan) we ran trailers with Boalloy bodywork all new fridges boxes came from Gray Adams.
All vehicles and trailers were meticulously maintained irrespective of costs,it was not unusual for a tractor unit to go in the workshop for service and be in there 2 to 3 days where it would be gone through with a fine tooth comb,we paid a good wage with overtime and bonuses and a company pension scheme.
lawrence2765:
robert1952:
At that time I was doing a fair bit of free-lance writing for the truck mags, and also I had done some casual work for RJ Wood (and A Wood too), so T&D asked me to do one their regular columns about what is was like to work for well-known companies. WRM wouldn’t let me on the premises in the capacity of journalist; but I knew lots of their drivers so I conducted the interviews in pubs and truck stops anyway. The result was quite positive. I think drivers were just relieved to get into decent, new lorries with new trailers and earn an acceptable wage. I haven’t got copies of anything here in Cairo but you’ll find the write-up in a magazine somewhere around '97 time. RobertQuite interesting comment regarding the lorries,i can recall seeing R J Woods pulling out of Victoria Trading in Paddock Wood and they were running quite smart scania units and decent fridge boxes too.
As for Henley Transport Co Ltd where I was traffic manager we ran MAN and ERF units (Jack was a big ERF fan) we ran trailers with Boalloy bodywork all new fridges boxes came from Gray Adams.
All vehicles and trailers were meticulously maintained irrespective of costs,it was not unusual for a tractor unit to go in the workshop for service and be in there 2 to 3 days where it would be gone through with a fine tooth comb,we paid a good wage with overtime and bonuses and a company pension scheme.
I didn’t intend to give the impression that WRM waved a magic wand or that it was particularly better. I simply reported on drivers’ contentment with the status quo. Certainly, RJ Woods were running good kit (a lot better than the stuff I drove for them 14 years earlier!), and Henley Transport was always regarded as a rather prestigious to work for, with good lorries; but I knew little about them at the time. As I said, my findings were positive, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that what came before was not positive either. Robert 
PS. If you were traffic manager at Henleys, you’ll enjoy this delightful classic I nicked from another thread!
I reckon messers Winkworth, Reagan, & Marr rued the day they ever came to Teynham. They got their fingers well and truly burned and Woody must have been laughing all the way to his Spanish villa!..its no secret that Woods worked us hard, but we earned well and accepted the job for what it was…farm collections during the day & wholesale fruit markets at night.
This photo shows one of the new WRM Mercs on its maiden voyage with an original Woods Coolchain trailer. Photo taken at a farm near Margate loading Greens.
I`am sure MR Bewick will keep me right but didn’t WRM buy a company in Shotts ( Lanarkshire Scotland ) owned and run by a guy named Allison ?.