Did you know there’s a National Lorry Week?

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Did you know there’s a National Lorry Week?

This September marks the fourth year of an event that focuses on the haulage industry and in particular on the people who make sure we all get our food and other supplies on time.

Started by the Road Haulage Association (RHA) it runs this year from Saturday 15 September to Friday 21 September.

This year the RHA is encouraging members to visit schools, communities and colleges so that we can attract the next generation of workers into our industry because it has been estimated that by 2022 the industry will need to recruit 1.2 million more workers.

This includes not only drivers but also workshop technicians, warehouse operatives and management.

The Road Haulage Industry is the UK’s fifth largest sector, consisting of around 7,000 businesses, employing 2.5 million people and contributing an estimated £75 billion to the country’s economy.

According to the RHA Eighty-five per cent of everything we buy, eat, wear and use is moved by a UK-registered lorry.

You can visit the RHA website to find out about any events happening in your area and if you see us out and about on the road give us a wave or tweet #LoveTheLorry

Timing is crucial in freight transport

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Timing is crucial in freight transport

It is not only the supermarkets that rely on prompt delivery of fresh fruit and veg, much of it from overseas.

Many manufacturers no longer keep supplies in warehouses and also operate a “just in time” system in their production processes that depends heavily on the regular and prompt delivery of components to keep their production lines flowing smoothly.

So it is important that as a freight business Ticks Haulage can stick to customers’ schedules, something we take pride in achieving, no matter what time of day (or night).

However, we rely heavily on the efficiency of the ports from which we collect consignments.

In our experience it is the smaller container terminals that seem to perform best, with Harwich topping the list of the ones we regularly visit.

The port handles 400 lorries and trailers every morning, which includes approximately 150-180 accompanied trailers (ie with drivers) and another 200-plus unaccompanied trailers.

This includes the fresh produce from Holland, where the produce is picked, packed and loaded for delivery, dispatched for us to collect from the port and deliver to the customer, then the trailer is returned to the port for transport back to Holland for a new load, and all of it accomplished within 24 hours.

Immingham is another port from which we regularly pick up loads and again works very efficiently, partly because not every lorry has to be checked by Customs and Excise as used to be the case pre-EU.

There is no time for any breakdowns and so we also depend heavily on decent roads and smooth flowing traffic.  Most of the haulage work we do goes to the Midlands and North and in our experience the best road networks are around Birmingham.  Deliveries in the South and around London, on the other hand, can be a headache.  But we pride ourselves on always getting the job done on schedule.

In other news:  the storage side of the business has been growing fast with increasing numbers of small businesses using the facilities to store stock.  There has also been a lot of demand for the lorry loaded crane, particularly from building contractors, not only for lifting supplies onto the sites but also for shifting portable cabins and containers. 

If you need either of these services do please call us. We’re happy to help you.

Did you know?

Lorry Facts

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Did you know?

This month, we have some interesting facts about lorries and road haulage for you:

This September will be the fourth year of UK National Lorry Week.  It will be from September 15-21 and it’s organised by the Road Haulage Association (RHA), with events all over the country. In America each September they have National Truck Drivers’ Appreciation week.

According to the RHA 80% of all goods transported by land in Gt Britain are moved directly by road, and cover 98% of all food, agriculture and consumer products. The rest are likely to need transport by lorry at some point in their journey.

That means that 85% of everything we buy, eat, wear and use is moved by a UK-registered lorry. The amount of beer carried by UK lorries in a year would be enough to fill Wembley stadium.

The industry employs 2.54 million people (equivalent to half of Sweden’s total population) and is the UK’s fifth largest industry, contributing £124 Billion in Gross Added Value to the economy. Not only that but each 44 tonner contributes around £60,000 a year in fuel duty and VAT.

13% of all road haulage workers are self employed and there are approximately 285,000 HGV drivers in the country. However, only 1.2% of them are female.

The first ever female driver to have a commercial truck driving license was an American woman called Lillie McGee Drennan, who got her licence in 1929.

Potholes, pollution and petrol

Car drivers regularly complain about the damage potholes on our roads can do to their car’s suspension. The RHA, has criticised the state of UK roads and says that 20% of them are five years away from being unusable. Imagine what that could do to the undercarriage of a lorry, when you consider the average HGV will cover around 2000 miles every week.

Recently, oil prices have shot up and most car owners will have noticed the difference.  But did you know, diesel fuel costs approximately £1,000 per week per lorry?

However, in terms of pollution and emissions while overall car pollution has not changed much in 20 years, due to better design and technology modern lorries emit just t 5% of the pollutants they were responsible for 20 years ago.

What not to store in a storage container

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Things you should never store in a storage container

Some weird and wonderful things have been found in storage containers in the USA, including a severed leg, and the remains of someone’s grandmother (thankfully in a coffin) and we’re sure our customers in the UK have more common sense!

However, we thought you would like a checklist of items to not put in storage, largely because to do so would be dangerous.

So here they are

Anything alive, or that will decay easily:  No pets (obviously, although apparently some people have tried), but also fresh foods, including pet foods. They will decay and will inevitably attract rats and mice, or mould and bacteria, as they decay.

Hazardous materials: anything that has the potential to create substantial damage if opened or spilled is considered a hazardous material.

This includes chemicals, aerosol cans, acids, gases, gasoline, propane tanks, lamp or motor oils, pains, paint thinners, cleaners, pesticides, weed killers, car batteries, fireworks, alcohol and charcoal. They are all highly flammable and some can also be corrosive.

Similarly, do not store garden equipment, such as lawn mowers, that are petrol driven unless you have emptied the tank first.

The last thing you need is for any of your treasured storage items – or anyone else’s – to be destroyed by fire or by infestations.

We can always source a cabin

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We can always source a cabin

As the weather improves demand for our storage containers begins to surge.

However, even if we are at full capacity, we can quickly get hold of another one so our customers are not left in the lurch, as happened recently when we received a phone call to book one on a Friday, and we were able to get one by the Saturday morning.

Demand at this time of year is mainly from construction companies as the work starts to increase with the better weather.

They are usually wanting secure buildings on site and we can supply them with mobile office-style cabins, all insulated and complete with windows and doors but with the added security of external shutters that can be closed when the buildings are not in use.

Later in the year, we expect more requests from schools in need of either additional classroom or office space.

For those who want to rent, rather than buy storage space, our minimum rental period is for three months.

The containers are kept on a secure site to ensure your valuables are safe. However, if, for example, you are moving to a new house and have a suitable space on your driveway, we can deliver the container unit for you to load yourself then take it back to our storage site until you are ready to put your furniture into your new home.

If you want to know more about our self-storage rental or about buying a secure container or cabin please do get in touch.

Diversifying and expanding our services

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Diversifying and expanding our services

As we reach the second anniversary of our storage operation we have been expanding our services to meet growing demand from customers.

As you know, we have a secure storage site where business and private customers can safely store their goods and property.

There are 36 containers, each measuring 20ft by 8ft on the site, which are used by private customers to store possessions during a house move, when downsizing to a smaller property or when spring cleaning. We can also leave units at customers’ property, where they have enough space, so that they can load storage items themselves for transport either back to our storage depot or to their next location.

Businesses use our units for everything from archiving records they need to keep to storing stock, which can be particularly useful for e-commerce businesses.

Recently we have purchased a different type of trailer, with a flat bed for moving cabins.

We are now buying and selling portable buildings with shutters and windows that can be used as offices.

Demand has been growing for these units, as well as storage containers, not only from businesses needing extra space on site but also from schools and other organisations in need of extra space.

These are just some examples of the versatility of storage units and portable buildings that can be located where they are needed.

But we are sure there are many more.  If you think we can help you but would like to discuss your needs with us, why not get in touch.

Seasons Greetings

Seasons-Greetings

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Seasons Greetings

All of us at Ticks Haulage and Storage

Would like to wish our friends and customers

A very Happy Christmas

and a

Prosperous New Year

 

Two more months to go and our self-storage division will be celebrating its second anniversary

Why our self-storage is unique

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Our self-storage division will soon be two years old!

In February 2018 our self-storage facilities will be two years old.

Set in secure premises surrounded by a 2.4 metre-high steel security fencing palisade with big steel gates we offer safe, secure storage 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.

How can you be sure your property is secure? Everyone gets their own key to the gate and a padlock for the container, for which we charge a deposit.

Very soon, installation of CCTV will be completed, with remote access so that we can check on security from any location via the internet.

Why is our storage unique?

We believe we are the only self-storage company that will deliver a container to your premises, as long as you have the space and good access.  This means you only have to load your property once. We recently did this for a home owner, depositing the 10 ft container on their driveway giving them a weekend to pack everything to their satisfaction before we picked it up and took it back to our yard.

All our containers are new, no more than two years old, and all have insulated roofs to ensure no moisture gets in to potentially damage stored property.

Who uses our storage?

Many of our customers are small businesses and tradespeople such as plumbers, construction companies and sole traders needing somewhere to store their stock.

However, we also have clients who are regulars at car boot sales, as well as people who are moving home, or going to work abroad for a period of time and need somewhere to store their possessions while they rent out their homes.

We can also offer secure space for vehicles, such as caravans and vans and we have one client who has a trailer that he leaves with us in between uses.

Hiring a lorry-mounted crane

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Hiring a lorry-mounted crane

Many businesses have an occasional need for something heavy to be transported either to or from their sites.

In these circumstances having their own lorry-mounted crane sand a suitably qualified driver may not be cost-effective.  However, there is a solution and that is to hire a lorry-mounted crane and driver from Ticks. 

We have a 50-tonne meter lorry-mounted crane that is suitable for up to two tonnes at 16 metres. That is enough to lift and transport a shipping container. On one occasion a private client who was moving home rented a container to hold the contents of their home and we shipped it for them.

But it is not only containers that the crane can lift.

Among our recent jobs has been lifting a condenser onto a roof for a client and lifting wooden, ready-assembled eaves and RSJs (Rolled Steel Joists onto buildings for construction companies.

We are often called on by engineering companies to transport and deliver heavy pieces of equipment they have constructed to order for clients.

Another favourite is portable buildings and we have shifted and positioned classrooms for schools and cabins for construction companies. Sometimes, construction companies also hire our crane for the day to work on site and help with putting up buildings.

Then, of course, there are boats. Most recently one of these jobs involved picking up a boat from Manningtree and delivering it to Southampton.

These are just a few examples of the types of heavy equipment that our lorry-mounted crane can move, so why not get in touch with Ticks if you want something heavy shifting.