The BIG Interview, Paul Marrow, Samworth Brothers Supply Chain 8

yet to fully support the Government plans for carbon and particulate emissions reductions targets. I’ve also been impressed by the growth in partnerships to further electrification as part of the journey – Fantastic to see some of the big companies working together to find solutions to help move things forward more quickly. There are other remarkable innovations which are going to happen too, like autonomous driving - It’s just a matter of when!

7. How does Samworth Brothers Supply Chain ensure it always stays at the forefront of industry innovation? We attend seminars, events, keep our eye on social media, industry sites and magazines – all those channels help us to do our research and keep learning. However, we also reach out to our trusted partners such as Carrier Transicold, Volvo, Mercedes and Gray & Adams, for expertise, advice and guidance. They have worked with us for a long time and often know us better than we know ourselves.

8. You recently placed multiple double decks and twin member orders, as well as several brand-new e-Cools – what has driven these purchases for your business? In terms of Double Decks, they make up the largest percentage of our fleet. We have 240 trailers and 71 are double decks. We’re one of the highest independent users of double decks in the UK and we think they are a fantastic product. We are proud to be a forward-thinking business which has sustainability at the forefront of our thinking and reduced carbon is therefore very attractive to us. We had planned on new trailers and when the Vector E-Cool came on the market we changed our plans and looked for revised capital to allow for that investment. Having also invested in six new Volvo trucks, we’ll be very proud to see our new Gray & Adams Vector eCool trailers on the back.

Given the many supply chain issues that are prevalent across the automotive industry globally, we are always looking for sound commercial judgements that, in this case, have been influenced by Gray & Adams’ support. They give us guidance and counsel on what’s new in the market, greater economical returns, ways to reduce carbon, driver aids and, importantly, how to keep people safe. For example, we recently collaborated with Gray & Adams on a lighting system underneath our trailers to help the driver see the area on the ground around the trailer as they reverse. This not only prevents damage to the vehicle, but it also helps to keep pedestrians away from the area whilst reversing so it has multiple safety angles. Between us, we’ve developed something that adds value across several key elements for our operation and this is a big part of the reason we have such a long-standing relationship.

9. How important is sustainability when considering the specifications of your fleet and how does Gray & Adams help you to achieve this? We’re ambitious as a business and sustainability is a big consideration for us. We never shy away from strategic decisions which can help us reduce our carbon footprint and our impact on the environment. There are a few things in play when we’re looking at how our fleet can meet this expectation. With the pending Government plans for removing tax relief on red diesel, we’re looking for ways to reduce usage. With Gray & Adams we’re looking at electric fridges, better insulation, improved waste management, innovative engineering or advances in electronics.

10. Are there any other key drivers which will impact how your fleet evolves moving forwards? Our fleet has several priorities but must always provide the highest level of safety and efficiency whilst protecting vulnerable road users. We have our own driver training academy, and all drivers are scored using telematics and analytics packages so that we can manage continuous performance improvement and retrain when necessary. Fleet consistency is also important to us – we don’t have a mixed fleet as we found that drivers were often habitual by nature. For example, if we change the number of steps down from the cab of a truck, we found that small accidents were more frequent. Consistency in our fleet helps to prevent those unnecessary health and safety issues.

11. Finally, your thoughts about the overall service and aftercare received from the Gray & Adams team? The service is fantastic, really. We have our own on-site engineering team, and they work exceptionally well with Gray & Adams - really great collaborative work and they’re very clear and easy to work with. I would have no complaints about the products, service or aftercare!

Building strong relationships: Robert Burns Ltd and Gray & Adams

Long term Gray & Adams customer, Robert Burns Limited, based in Broxburn, West Lothian has been purchasing Gray & Adams trailers since the late 1980’s. We caught up with Robert Burns, Managing Director, to talk about the long relationship between the businesses.

Robert Burns Ltd began life in 1984 with founder and MD, Robert Burns, driving one truck before expanding in the late 1980’s. In the early days, the business was involved in export meat products from British abattoirs to all over Western Europe before finally refining the business and focusing on UK wide transport. Today, Robert Burns Ltd, delivers consumer ready meat and fish products to supermarkets across the UK. Efficiency and service is important to Robert, and he has built his business around being able to deliver added value to his customers. The team was delighted when one of their largest customers, a popular discount supermarket, reported that they had a supplier service level on 100% on 100,000 pallets of product that they delivered last year.