Gray & Adams News WINTER 2019
In This Issue > Tom Cassells: A real industry highflyer > Interview with Warburtons’ Steven Gray > Passing the baton
ISSUE 9 | WINTER 2019
Contents Celebrating success in 2019 and looking ahead to 2020
Celebrating success in 2019 and looking ahead to 2020
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Game larders 4 Supporting our Young Community
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Family ties: Gordon & Donnie Harper
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Supplier spotlight: BPW
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Tom Cassells: a real industry highflyer
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It’s almost the end of another exciting year in Gray & Adams’ illustrious history and it’s safe to say we have a lot to celebrate this year. At the 2019 TCS&D Awards, we won the Innovation Award for the second year running and Refrigerated Trailer of the Year Award for the fourth year in a row. We have a very successful history at the awards and building on last year’s success, the Innovation Award this year was won for our work on ‘The Pod’ with NewCold Logistics, who also took home the Lifetime Achievement Award for Tom Cassells. In addition, Castell Howell won Livery of the Year and Martin Jones accepted the award with a nod to Gray & Adams’ support in delivering their livery.
Passing the baton 10 Doncaster cut their carbon footprint
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Welcoming Tony Jones
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Friends of ANCHOR Masked Ball
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Japan Centre 14 Quayside 14 John M Munro 15 Kinship 15 Warburtons: an interview with Steven Gray
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S. Wilson Transport keeps it local with delivery from Gray & Adams
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Making tracks: Alanna Sinclair
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Gray & Adams (Ireland) golf day
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Peterhead Relay For Life
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Bidfood Transport Awards
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Not only this, but we won Bidfood’s Supplier of the Year Award in November which delivered further recognition for Gray & Adams from our industry peers and we were also proud to have attained both ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018 this year too. Giving back through our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity has been another focus for our team. This has included our recent Friends of ANCHOR Dinner sponsorship and the fantastic efforts of the Dunfermline team on their epic 2019 charity challenge as they walked the West Highland Way and paddled the Great Glen Canoe Trail.
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Gray & Adams invests heavily in training and development which improves our capability to deliver the best quality service for our customers. In 2019, we have maintained focus on developing young talent and have been working to attract and retain more young people. Our efforts in this area have ensured we are building the next generation of Gray & Adams staff and this will stay central to our plans as we move into next year and beyond.
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As 2019 draws to a close we prepare to say goodbye to a core member of the senior team, Billy Dougan, as he retires this month. Billy recently won the 2019 Export & Freight Transport Personality of the Year Award, and with 25 years’ service under his belt, his departure will be felt company wide. We also welcome Geoff Potter who takes on the mantle of Managing Director at Gray & Adams (Ireland) and we wish both of them all the very best. In 2020, we will renew our commitment to our people and continue with our clear focus on the development of our teams to ensure that they have the skills they need to succeed. Our on-going commitment to building quality products for our customers will ensure we remain at the forefront of innovation, delivering high-quality craftsmanship and engineering and driving even more ambitious projects to maintain our industry-leading edge. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank our team, as well as our clients and suppliers, for the fantastic support we have received throughout 2019 - we wish you all a very prosperous and successful 2020. JAMES AND PETER GRAY
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Game larders Gray & Adams stand-alone game larders are specifically designed for the storage of game in the commercial game supplying industry and are suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. Because, in-skin and skinned carcasses must be separated to avoid contamination within the storage area, the larders usually contain two compartments. This consists of a preparation area and a chilled storage area, which can take between 20 and 30 carcasses. The entrance to the larder leads into the preparation area and a separate exit door is through the rear of the chilled section. This complies with health and safety legislation which states that hung game cannot be brought back through the preparation area. The Gray & Adams game larder is also tailor made to suit individual requirements. Mattias Schøler Pedersen, Headkeeper at Dalchonzie & Glenbeich Estate in Perthshire, said of the product: “We chose to work with Gray & Adams because of their reputation for quality and because they build bespoke to our needs. For both Dalchonzie and Glenbeich, which are big forestry estates in Scotland, our game larders are positioned inside other buildings; therefore we had very clear specifications for a tailored solution to fit our space.”
As with the other refrigerated storage options from Gray & Adams, game larders are very rigorously designed to incorporate all relevant health and safety features to comply with UK food storage legislation.
Other health and safety features, such as non-slip floors, knee operated tap, infrared knife steriliser, insectocutors and internal lighting systems are also included and are designed for ease of operation, low maintenance and easy cleaning.
Mattias continues, “We have also successfully taken delivery of a game larder to one of our estates in Denmark, which is built to the same specification, whilst meeting Scandinavian regulatory requirements, and is equally impressive. The flexibility and ease of operation of this product is what makes it such a pleasure to use. On all of our estates, we require a high level of quality in order to meet and exceed quality assurance standards, which this product delivers exceptionally well for us.”
Mattias added, “Gray & Adams’ customer service across all three of our game larder purchases has been exceptional. They are responsive, collaborative, open to feedback and always happy to help us solve any issues or challenges we may have with the product. Our relationship is excellent and their aftersales customer care is second to none – we can’t recommend their product and service highly enough!”
The preparation area includes a sink with hot and cold water taps. The cold water is connected to the mains supply and hot water is supplied through a water heater. In this compartment, there is a separate infrared operation hand-washing basin and stainless steel cutting tables, along with a winch for lifting game.
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Supporting our young community Throughout our 60+ years of business and, despite fluctuating market conditions, Gray & Adams supports 40 apprentices each year through its apprenticeship scheme and is proud to have developed many more engineers and skilled tradespersons over the years. We are committed to supporting young people within our community and look forward to carrying this practice on for the foreseeable future. JAMES GRAY, JOINT MANAGING DIRECTOR
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Family ties: Gordon & Donnie Harper Maintenance Manager, Gordon Harper shares his Gray & Adams experience so far having recently taken over the role from his father, Donnie Harper. Donnie retired from Gray & Adams in September, having worked with us for almost 25 years. What is your role at Gray & Adams and what does it entail? I took over the role of Maintenance Manager from my father after his retirement in September. I manage a team of 11 maintenance personnel and together we are responsible for providing both proactive and reactive, multi-skilled maintenance services across all of our operational equipment. This amounts to 5,374 pieces of plant and tooling in our Fraserburgh site and our team ensures proper maintenance is carried out to ensure plant and equipment are kept running efficiently.
What made you want to work at Gray & Adams?
How do you feel about taking over his role?
The opportunity to work in a challenging and rewarding environment as well as the reputation the company has for being a good employer – my father worked here for 24 years and couldn’t speak highly enough of it.
His experience and specialist knowledge is irreplaceable but I am looking forward to bringing my own experience into the role and hopefully building up the same reputation. The existing set up works well so I will be looking to keep that running efficiently while also looking for ways in which we can improve our processes.
What are your first memories of your father working at Gray & Adams? I remember him taking trips away to different companies to test the equipment being implemented at Gray & Adams. He would speak about improving processes and I could tell his knowledge and experience were second to none. I also remember him taking various customers on tours round the site. How long have you worked at Gray & Adams and have you received any training and support from your father?
What is the best thing about working at Gray & Adams? No two days are the same, you never know what’s going to happen or challenges you may face, which keeps the role very interesting. I work alongside a very good team with a strong work ethic, who pull together to resolve any issue we may face.
I started a year passed August and spent the first year shadowing him. He was always on hand to pass on the knowledge and is still happy to help.
Part of my role is to manage our maintenance stock ensuring there are spares available to keep equipment running smoothly. Through planned maintenance and operational effectiveness we have been improving machine downtime.
“...my father worked here for 24 years and couldn’t speak highly enough of it.”
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Supplier spotlight BPW
Who are BPW?
What’s on the horizon for BPW in the coming months?
BPW, whilst still a family owned business, prides itself on being a dependable international mobility and system partner for the transport industry, serving as a one-stop shop for innovative solutions across over 70 subsidiaries across the world.
With a drive for continuous improvement, BPW has recently launched the new ECO Air axle and suspension, featuring patented laser etching technology, into the UK market. This will shortly be followed by the new BPW TS2 disc brake caliper, which offers advantages in weight reduction.
What products and services do you offer to Gray & Adams? Our portfolio includes axles, suspension systems and brake technologies (BPW), locking systems and bodywork technology (Hestal), lighting systems (Ermax), composite technologies (HBN-Teknik), and user-friendly telematics applications for trucks and trailers (Idem Telematics). How long have you been working with Gray & Adams and what’s your experience of working as part of their supply chain? BPW have been working with Gray & Adams since the company first set up a Leicester based operation 30 years ago to supply axles, suspensions and brake systems into the UK. Gray & Adams was one of the first manufacturers in the UK to fit the Idem Telematics solution to a trailer. BPW have always respected, and shared, the Gray & Adams philosophy of supplying quality and well-engineered products into the demanding UK commercial vehicle transport industry. What are the key opportunities and challenges in the industry in 2019 from BPW’s perspective?
In this constantly changing market BPW are always looking to adapt, with initiatives such as a new cooperation with the Glasgow Training Group to give greater availability to BPW axle maintenance training to Scotland. Additionally BPW are also investing in their assembly plant in the UK to increase the level of manufacturing, ensuring continued supply chain reliability and flexibility. With the increasing move to electronic technology, BPW also continues its development of both electric drive axles and power regeneration. Finally, your thoughts about the overall experience of working with the Gray & Adams team? BPW values working with the whole Gray & Adams team, across many departments, with their common customer focus ethos and willingness to work together to progress. We hope that in the future we will continue to be able to work with them to find ever more efficient, smarter and innovative ways to exceed our customers’ expectations.
There are many shadows being cast on the transport industry, with growing skills and driver shortages, as well as challenges presented by the ever-changing and uncertain political environment, and new factors affecting customer buying behaviour such as environmental concerns.
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Tom Cassells
A real industry highflyer Following an early career as a tank driver in the 13th and 18th Royal Hussars in the British Army, Tom Cassells first joined the Cold Chain Industry as a driver for Wilsons Transport of Boroughbridge. Displaying the tenacity and drive he is so well renowned for today amongst his industry peers, Tom quickly progressed up through the ranks of Wilsons Transport and then Reed Boardall Transport, following its purchase of Wilsons Transport in 1992. With an unwavering commitment to quality, environmental and customer service standards Tom assumed the position of Managing Director at Reed Boardall Transport and led it to become the largest frozen food consolidator in the UK. At the forefront of design innovation With his strong eye for detail and ability to think outside the box, Tom has been at the forefront of design innovation in the industry for his whole career. Tom’s first major design innovation was the concept of the lifting deck semitrailer, with the first built over 20 years ago and Reed Boardall was the first to operate them in temperature control distribution. This led to a large increase in trailer capacity, which enabled Tom
to grow the business and double the site in North Yorkshire to a 55-acre storage and distribution hub, capable of accommodating up to 142,000 pallets. Never one to stand still, Tom approached Gray & Adams in 2012 to develop a 44-pallet double deck trailer, continuing to push the boundaries of innovative design. The 44-pallet trailer incorporates a series of cleverly engineered measures that allow operators to make practical use of every precious inch of space on the two decks to achieve a 10 per cent increase in carrying capacity compared to a standard, 13.6m double-decker. This is the trailer Gray & Adams proudly continue to design and manufacture today. An industry highflyer When he is not flying high at the forefront of the industry, Tom finds other ways to reach new heights. A very successful British aerobatic champion pilot, Tom’s flying resumÊ is impressive to say the least. His logbook reflects some 8,000 hours and includes over forty different aircraft types. His introduction into aerobatics in 1992 has led to a wealth of winning achievements both in the UK and on the international stage.
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Instrumental to industry innovation Throughout his career Tom Cassells has been known to think differently. With a skilled engineering eye and an interest in many other activities outside of his career, Tom has brought knowledge from other industries and adapted them to enhance technologies within our industry. Notably, the use of nitrogen in truck tyres to enhance stability and reduce risk of fire and his involvement in the introduction of satellite tracking to our industry. Most recently, in his new position as a Logistics Advisor to NewCold, Tom returned from a trip to Germany where he was impressed with loading automation innovations and saw the opportunity to bring this to the UK, for use with double decks. The challenge however in the UK was that most loading bays lack the space required to facilitate auto-loading equipment. From his experience Tom knew the process of loading and unloading refrigerated vehicles not only costs time and money, but can also affect the quality of refrigerated produce. Tom worked with the team at Gray & Adams to engineer a solution to facilitate auto-loading operations in a temperature-controlled environment to ensure best quality produce and optimised efficiency with reduced loading times.
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‘The Pod’ was created this year and is an auto-loading freezer pod, built inside a 15.6m refrigerated trailer with 60-palette capacity that holds produce at minus 25 degrees Celsius. This innovation is a first for the UK and the pod enables loading in just seven minutes with full unload and reload taking less than 30 minutes in total and is testament to Tom’s commitment to innovation in the industry. Gray & Adams has had the privilege of working with Tom Cassells for over 30 years. We have witnessed firsthand his successes, worked alongside his larger than life character and partnered to deliver industry firsts. His commitment to the cold chain, direction of design innovation in the industry and leadership is admired by all at Gray & Adams, our customers and our suppliers.
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Passing the baton: interviews with Billy Dougan and Geoff Potter As Billy Dougan gears up for his retirement as Managing Director of Gray & Adams (Ireland) he shares his experience recapping some of the defining moments of his career whilst Geoff Potter, who is setting up to assume the role gives us an insight into his future ambitions for the business.
Billy Dougan: If you could summarise your time at Gray & Adams, how would you do so? It has been great working for a committed family business that has such belief in their products - I have absolutely no regrets about joining the company 25 years ago. If I had to sum it up, there is never a dull moment; I have had good days and bad days but overall, I have really enjoyed my time at G&A. What changes have you seen at Gray & Adams (Ireland) during your tenure? In 1994, G&A Ireland employed 27 people, and built one and a half bodies per week. Today we have 80 employees and build ten per week. In 1994 we had one service customer but now have separate new build and service workshops, with over 150 pieces of equipment on repair and maintenance contracts. In 1997 we developed a custodial vehicle and built a prototype in 1999, which took 1,468 man-hours - a figure that is planted in my brain to this day! We also introduced an insulated curtainside
trailer in 2002 to service the milk industry and developed an insulated panel van conversion in 2015. All of these developments were necessary to grow the business and reduce the burden of the ‘dreaded first quarter’ we faced almost every year. I believe the turning point for the business was in 1999 when we began building fridge trailers alongside rigids. We now build more trailers than rigids. What are your career highlights from working at Gray & Adams (Ireland)? Aside from my promotion from Sales Manager to General Manager in 1995 and then to Managing Director in 2002, the greatest highlight of my career was being awarded Northern Ireland Transport Personality of the Year at the Export and Freight Awards. This was a very proud moment for me as well as the team at G&A Ireland and my family, who have supported me over the years. It is gratifying to retire with this recognition alongside others, like Norman McBurney, who have committed their lives to the industry. There are a few specific deals that stand out, including an order for 142 custodial vehicles in 2004, which justified our earlier R&D investment. Another that is memorable was for 50 trailers to DFDS in 2010. When I eventually got the order, Stuart Martin said I should get a medal for perseverance as I had been trying to sell to them for years!
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What are you looking forward to in your retirement? I am going to be involved in building a new house, selling some properties and I am joining my daughter and her husband in their consultancy business, Genie Insights. I am planning to speak to a company regarding the agency for a product for Ireland that could see me keeping ties to the Transport Industry. I have played golf for around 40 years but never have had time to get any good at it, so I have an ambition to reduce my handicap to around 16 by learning how to pitch and putt. Having four grandchildren I am sure I will be doing my fair share of school runs and child minding. I hope to get better use of my house in Spain. I am looking forward to taking my grandkids away for weekends in our caravan, just like we did years ago with our own children. To sum it up I just want to have a great time and grow old “disgracefully.” In your experience, what’s the best thing about working for Gray & Adams? One of the best things about working for Gray and Adams has been working for a financially strong company with fantastic products that, even when there are issues, customers are supported 100%. I will treasure the friendships that I have made over the last 25 years, across staff, customers, suppliers and my employers. I consider myself very privileged to have worked for Gray & Adams and to have had the opportunity to meet so many of these fantastic people, some who are now amongst my best friends. www.gray-adams.com
Geoff Potter: Tell us about your career highlights to date? I feel genuinely privileged to have spent my career in the Automotive and Transport industry. Since starting as a graduate management trainee with NFC PLC I’ve held roles in business development, operations, manufacturing, product development and aftersales. I’m proud to have been involved in a number of successful projects ranging from the establishment of new distribution businesses to the introduction of new manufacturing and aftersales support operations. What first attracted you to the role at Gray & Adams? Part of my responsibility at BRS and Exel Logistics was purchasing vehicles for their distribution, truck rental and contract hire fleets in Ireland. Back then, Gray & Adams was my first choice for refrigerated bodies and trailers – and would be today if I was still running a fleet. Gray & Adams is synonymous with high quality, tailored products and services that somehow manage to incorporate elements of the customers’ DNA. Their belief in strong business relationships is also a vital factor. For me, Gray & Adams was the natural choice.
How do you see the future of the industry?
What are your future ambitions for Gray & Adams (Ireland)?
I see a generally bright future for the industry. As far as Brexit is concerned, the industry will do whatever it takes to be successful – regardless of the outcome.
The saying that “change is the only constant” has always been true. However, I believe our industry is currently undergoing a period of unprecedented and dramatic change. In this context it’s important that Gray & Adams continue to lead from the front by constantly innovating our products and services. My ambition is to see that Gray & Adams remain the aspirational choice for refrigerated and specialist vehicles.
Environmental concerns will play an increasingly prominent role. We have a responsibility to protect the environment and there’s no doubt that deforestation, plastic pollution, global warming and air quality all need to be addressed. However, I’m concerned that the global warming debate in particular has become politically weaponised, with reality and facts now taking a back seat and emotion playing the leading role. I’m a strong advocate of an environmental strategy that encourages the use of optimised solutions from a range of clean propulsion technologies, rather than a single technology solution. I believe that there’s no such thing as a “one size fits all” solution and I’m sure that clean combustion engines, fuel cell and battery electric will all play important future roles in transport mobility. The future will be eclectic with an element of electric.
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What are you looking forward to most about your new role? While much has changed at Gray & Adams, much has stayed the same. Billy has been a great ambassador for Gray & Adams and I’m very appreciative of the foundation he has built during his 25-year tenure. I’m really looking forward to continuing to work with our established customers as well as developing new opportunities. I want to collaborate with customers, to understand their needs and work with them to help deliver their objectives. I feel very privileged and excited to be leading an extremely talented, innovative and hardworking team at Gray & Adams (Ireland) Ltd.
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Doncaster cut their carbon footprint Gray & Adams (Doncaster) has been striving to cut its carbon footprint and, after months of surveying, designs and applications, we are delighted to say that it now has Solar PV. from two minutes to two hours) the site could be completely self-sufficient and not reliant on the national grid.
With the professional knowledge of the SRS Works team, we now have two Photovoltaic Solar Systems installed on two separate buildings with a combined maximum power output of 63KW at any one time which, as a comparison, is enough to power 315 computers or boil 52 kettles at the same time.
With a warranty of 12 years per module, we have every confidence this system will create a lasting sustainable impact for the business in Doncaster and as a whole. All power generated DC by the modules is then run through industry leading Solis inverters that deliver our AC power and can be used day to day for office and production areas alike.
Combined, the systems consist of 225 tier 1 rated PV modules, manufactured by the reputable ‘Hanwha Q.CELLS’. Each module is able to produce a maximum of 280 watts of power during peak periods and should see Doncaster achieve considerable cost savings for many years to come.
We also have an estimated CO2 emissions saving for the first year of 34,429kg. We are already looking forward to next year’s summer days so the system can showcase its carbon-busting capability in full.
In the warmer summer months, if the weather is very good and the system is generating to its maximum capacity, we are predicting that during certain periods (which could be anything
Welcome Tony Jones, Group HSE Manager We were delighted to welcome the appointment of Tony Jones as our new Group HSE Manager back in July. Tony is a qualified and established HSE manager and brings a great deal of HSE experience, gained primarily in the oil and gas industries as well as spending 16 years in the fire service in and around the Grampian area.
“Today’s ‘near miss’ is tomorrow’s accident. Report near misses.”
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Friends of ANCHOR Masked Ball We were honored to be the title sponsor at this year’s Friends of ANCHOR Masked Ball. The ‘Emerald City’ themed event saw around 400 guests follow the yellow brick road to reach the gates to the city, both of which were donated by Gray & Adams, helping to create a wonderful atmosphere. Friends of ANCHOR is an Aberdeen-based charity which has been serving oncology and haematology patients throughout the northeast of Scotland, since 1997. The event, which takes place every two years, raised an amazing £150,000 that will go towards the Anchored Together appeal, which is a drive to raise £2million for a new ANCHOR centre at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. We were delighted to receive the following message of thanks from Masked Ball committee member Gordon Hutcheon:
“Thank you Gray & Adams. I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to thank you personally for being the title sponsor. I have been involved with Friends of ANCHOR for many years and have known the Gray family for the last three of those. They are one of the most generous businesses and families in the northeast and as a former patient I’ve seen first hand the difference that it makes.”
Joint Managing Director, Peter Gray, said of the event,
“As a family business based in the northeast it is very important to us that we support local causes. Friends of ANCHOR is a charity close to our hearts and we are delighted to support the great work they do for our community.”
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Japan Centre
Quayside
Established in 1976, the Japan Centre Food Hall is a wellloved institution situated in Central London with an outpost in Westfield Stratford City. In 2005, Japan Centre Online was launched to bring the store experience to those living outside London and the UK. Together, Japan Centre Food Hall and Japan Centre Online have big plans for the future and part of that includes a strong fleet. In order to increase their fleet size to distribute their products to restaurants and shops across the UK, Japan Centre was looking to update their fleet to comply with new legislation.
Quayside Wholesale distributes over 45,000 cases of frozen and grocery products every week from their purpose-built warehouse in Gateshead. They pride themselves on supplying the best products at the best price backed up by a quick and efficient delivery service and, as such, their vehicles need to be tough to last the pace. Gray & Adams have been working with Quayside for over a decade and the ongoing relationship has been strengthened through excellent after-care service, with Quayside now on their third fleet of Gray & Adams’ products. With a demand for durability, Gray & Adams manufacture high quality and reliable rigid vehicles that Quayside can trust.
Working alongside his support team at Cordwallis Group, a family-owned business with several big brand truck franchises covering London & Thames Valley, Japan Centre’s Tomohiro Nakayama who already had 4 Isuzu vehicles decided to add a 13.5 tonne Isuzu fridge vehicle to his fleet. He made the call to work with Gray & Adams having seen another of Gray & Adams’ rigid fridge bodies that were purpose built for Reynolds Catering Supplies.
For Quayside, Gray & Adams’ rigids have proved invaluable. The high quality of the Gray & Adams product is exemplified by one incident where their vehicle tipped off the road, knocking down a dry-stone wall in the process. During this incident the rigid only lost one corner cap and had surface scratches to the livery, whilst the chassis cab suffered a considerable amount of damage. Within the rigid, there was just one broken case with minimal product loss, exemplifying the quality of the vehicle and saving Quayside the huge potential cost of repairs and replacing the product inside.
Our brief was therefore to create a bespoke vehicle body to go on their 13.5 tonne Isuzu F135.240 rigid air suspension truck. With a bespoke specification to be developed with consideration to Japan Centre’s business needs and impeccable standards. The highly detailed specification included air suspension as well as top mounted refrigeration to support the weight on the Isuzu truck chassis and VWS axle weigh equipment to allow their driver to ensure the vehicle is never overloaded. The vehicle was also fitted with a FORS Gold standard safety system by Exeros and a Verizon Tracking system.
“We really appreciate the effort that Gray & Adams put into maintaining a great working relationship. Having visited the factory in Dunfermline, the entire team provided us with a fantastic insight into the business, which was a really nice touch. In terms of product quality, you can’t get a better body. Prior to upgrading our fleet this year, our existing vehicles were seven years old and still in pristine condition due to the fantastic colour impregnation process used by Gray & Adams. They hadn’t needed any major work done since the day they were delivered.”
“The real added value for Japan Centre has been Gray & Adams’ aftersales care and customer liaison expertise. We have enjoyed working collaboratively with both Gray & Adams and Cordwallis to get the specification exactly right. We have had a brilliant customer service experience and the overall quality of the finished product is first class. Communication from the team at Gray & Adams has made this project a real pleasure, from having changed the specifications without losing sight of overall finish of vehicle to offering alternatives to ensure the body is exactly what the customer wants as a finished product, we couldn’t be happier.”
DARREN NICHOLSON TRANSPORT MANAGER, QUAYSIDE
TOMOHIRO NAKAYAMA, HEAD OF LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS, JAPAN CENTRE
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John M Munro
Kinship
John M Munro is a leading fresh meat supplier based in the Highlands of Scotland. Operating since 1922, the 5th generation family business prides themselves on the quality of their produce, supplying meat to the UK’s most exclusive restaurants.
Part of the SH Pratt Group, Kinship Logistics specialises in temperature-controlled distribution to a large customer base throughout the UK and Northern Europe. Kinship Logistics has had a relationship with Gray & Adams for over 20 years and has recently ordered several trailers as they prepare for their growth with SH Pratt’s newest venture, Halo, a new added value and storage facility at Port of London Gateway.
When their old supplier went out of business, Munro’s were looking for a manufacturer to match the quality of trailer that they had become used to. Choosing to go with the quality and reputation of Gray & Adams, they have now been customers for the past ten years. Upon the delivery of their two new vehicles at the beginning of next year, all of their vehicles will be built by Gray & Adams.
Kinship’s success has led them to experience rapid growth and required several new trailers to support this development as well as their new partnership with Halo at London Gateway. With an established and long-standing relationship with Gray & Adams, Kinship Logistics wanted the UK’s leading temperature controlled trailer manufacturer to develop a bespoke solution, which would support their growth.
Operating in the same geographical region means that if there have been any small issues with a trailer, Gray & Adams has often been able to carry out repairs within the same day, hugely minimising any downtime.
Gray& Adams and Kinship Logistics work collaboratively to ensure a reliable and high quality product. This builds on excellent working relationships to ensure a strong partnership approach and a sustainable platform for future opportunities.
Gray & Adams is now the only supplier of refrigerated vehicle bodies to Munro’s, who operates their vehicles for around five years after which point the Gray & Adams’ trailers are almost as good as new. Over the years, Munro’s has experienced very few issues with their products and, as the vehicles hold their value, they are able to be sold on adding further commercial value to their operations.
Together, we have developed a high quality, reliable and efficient dual temperature controlled trailer with Banksman lighting, Haldex soft docking system and a ThermoKing refrigeration unit to the exact specifications.
The quality and workmanship of Gray & Adams’ trailers translates into the look of the vehicles. Munro’s want to convey the quality of their produce across all areas of the business and therefore using top end Gray & Adams’ equipment is aligned with it’s brand image.
Kinship is looking for these trailers to support its growth in London Gateway and its mission to cut waste, costs and time to market, enabling increased freshness for customers with a more sustainable supply chain. Having hit the brief, Gray & Adams’ products are supporting the successful delivery of Kinship Logistics’ growth ambitions.
“The service received from Gray & Adams over the years has been tremendous. As a small business, we feel they appreciate us just as much as the larger operators, which is a nice feeling. They have taken the time to get to know our business and we’ve had the same point of contact for ten years. Gray & Adams’ products are the best value for money and they do a top notch job.”
“Having known Gray & Adams for over 20 years, we have extremely high levels of trust in their engineering expertise and innovative approach as they have always provided us with first class customer service and high quality, reliable and efficient products.” HOWARD GILL, MANAGING DIRECTOR, SH PRATT
CHARLIE MUNRO MANAGING DIRECTOR, JOHN M MUNRO
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Warburtons: an interview with Steven Gray We caught up with Steven Gray, National Transport Manager at Warburtons to discuss their relationship with Gray & Adams and some current industry trends.
How long has Warburtons been working with Gray & Adams? There has been a relationship between Warburtons and Gray & Adams since long before I joined the business around five years ago. We operate 130 trailers, all of which are manufactured by Gray & Adams. How do you feel the Warburtons business aligns to the Gray & Adams business? The driving force behind the Warburtons brand is quality, which is a value we share with Gray & Adams. We are both family businesses that are focused on our products and their longevity. What are the key innovations in the industry in 2019 from your perspective? As operators strive for sustainability, alternative fuels (such as biomethane) and electric vehicles are becoming more prominent across the industry. When it comes to carbon reducing technology in our vehicles, Gray & Adams has worked with us on various trailer designs that have brought about a further 8% in fuel efficiency due to improved aerodynamics. What challenges do you see the industry facing at the moment? There is an increasing level of control required in the commercial vehicle industry, with more stringent levels of legislation and airtight regulations.
For example, the implementation of clean air zones came as a challenge for our operations in highly polluted areas. As a family owned business, Warburtons invests heavily in its distribution fleet, enabling us to stay ahead of the curve and ensuring we are well positioned to meet the correct UK legislative and regulatory requirements. How does the fleet at Warburtons benefit the company, outwith the obvious logistical requirements? The Warburtons brand is important to us and the technical quality of the Gray & Adams trailers reflects in the overall look of the product. The trailers are brilliant pieces of equipment and they look great on the road, which is consistent with our brand image. As well as this, we run our trailers for 10-15 years to get the maximum return on investment, and because of the built-in quality of Gray & Adams’ vehicles, that’s not a stretch. We could source cheaper trailers but, apart from the odd scratch or bump, our Gray & Adams’ trailers look pretty much brand new, even after 10 years – we feel you can’t get that level of durable quality anywhere else. What value does Gray & Adams add to Warburtons customers? The big thing for us is that we transport bread and baked goods that we must keep at the correct temperature to provide our customers with the freshest, best quality product. We could use a standard
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box trailer for this, but we choose to use Gray & Adams’ insulated trailers as the quality and insulation allow us to transport our bread at the ideal temperature to ensure it hits the shelves in the best possible condition for our customers. How does Warburtons ensure it always stays at the forefront of industry innovation? One of the ways we do this is through membership of industry bodies. Warburtons is a member of several trade organisations including the Freight Transport Association, and we are a contributing member of their Logistics Emissions Reduction Scheme. Our business also invests heavily in its people and, therefore, our distribution management personnel regularly attend training on new developments and processes in the industry, which helps to keep us informed and ahead of industry trends. How important is sustainability when considering the specifications of your fleet? Sustainability is massively important. It is becoming a higher and higher priority when looking at the specifications of vehicles. At Warburtons we have previously incorporated a “boat tail design” at the rear of the trailer which helps increase fuel efficiency. This design originated from the Centre of Sustainable Road Freight and, when we took this to Gray & Adams, they were more than
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happy to work with us to incorporate it into our own specifications. What sets Gray & Adams apart from competitors is they really make an effort to tailor their products to specific customer requirements with all products designed and built to match our needs. We have, and continue to, conduct trials with several manufacturers of new technologies such as electric, LNG & CNG vehicles. We have a long history of working with sustainable alternative fuel technology. We operated our first electric vehicle as far back as 2009 and we also operated a fleet of duel fuel CNG vehicles around the same time. Although the technology wasn’t as
refined or efficient back then, operating these vehicles gave us invaluable experience, so we now have the data on how best to implement this type of tech in our operations. Are there any other key drivers that will impact how your fleet evolves moving forwards? Potential changes to the nature of our operations. For example, we now transport other 3rd party products as well as our own, which has had a considerable impact on the volume of product we are moving each day and this, in turn, has given us the opportunity to rethink the type of vehicle we require.
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Finally, your thoughts about the overall service and aftercare received from the Gray & Adams team. Fantastic. I can’t fault them in any shape or form. What comes through from Gray & Adams and sets them apart from the competition is the pride that they take in their own product. Also, the bespoke nature of their service – they don’t just churn out boxes, they understand what we want to use the vehicle for and tailor the product to our needs, with a quality that can’t be beaten.
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S.Wilson Transport keeps it local with delivery from Gray & Adams S.Wilson Transport provides refrigerated courier services for a number of longstanding contracts as well as specialising in emergency and last minute deliveries. Operating from Doncaster, they are available 24 hours, 7 days a week for national and international delivery services. Having recently decided to add heavier freight vehicles to their fleet, S.Wilson Transport approached Gray & Adams’ Doncaster branch for a temperature-controlled rigid having come across good quality Gray & Adams products in the past. The brief was an economical rigid with a temperature range of -25°C to +25°C. S.Wilson Transport will be donating 5p for every mile covered with their new Gray & Adams temperature controlled rigid to the British Legion. Having raised £346 in the first five weeks they have already handed that over and received a message of thanks. Now into the next quarter, S.Wilson is already looking to add further value, with plans to assign a different charity to every new vehicle they put on the road.
“We were extremely happy with the rigid from Gray & Adams and the service we received throughout the purchase was great. We were in need of a quick turnaround and Gray & Adams were able to accommodate this with no problems. We like that they are a local manufacturer and are looking to use them again in the future.” STEPHEN WILSON S. WILSON TRANSPORT
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Making tracks: Alanna Sinclair What is your position at Gray & Adams and what does your role entail? I’m a draughtsperson, and produce the drawings that are used to make our trailers. What attracted you to a career in this industry? At school, my favourite subject was Graphic Design and I had an interest in engineering. I didn’t want to go to university so when the role of apprentice draughtsperson was available, it suited me perfectly. What would you say are the top technical skills required by someone in a role like yours? Being able to understand and produce technical drawings using AutoCAD is the most important skill, as well as being able to understand how components fit together. What are the 3 best things about working at Gray & Adams? My colleagues, being put through my qualifications at college and having a good work-life balance. What advice would you give to a young person considering a career like yours? You don’t have to go to university to have a successful career in engineering or the manufacturing industry. Apprenticeships are just as good, if not better, as they give you work experience as well as the qualifications. What is it like being a female draughtsperson in a predominantly male industry? Being a female in a male dominant environment is not any different to working in a female dominant environment, everyone here is treated the same so it doesn’t feel any different.
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Gray & Adams (Ireland) golf day
Bidfood Transport Awards success
October saw some friendly competition in the form of a golf day between Gray & Adams (Ireland) and Musgrave Belfast. We were able to get one name on the winner’s board with Archie Brown coming third. In second place was Michael Topping from Musgrave and in first place was Colin Cronie, also from Musgrave. Everyone had a great time and the weather stayed on our side with sunshine for most of the day – a rarity for late October!
We were delighted to receive the 2019 Bidfood Supplier of the Year Award on October 31st in Nottingham. On behalf of Gray & Adams, members of our Dunfermline team, Bryan Easton and Kyle Morrice, were on hand to collect the award. Bidfood (previously Booker Foodservice and 3663 Foodservice) has been using Gray & Adams as their supplier of choice for their refrigerated vehicles since 1981 and has awarded us with their ‘supplier of the year’ award four times. Calvin Morrice, Managing Director, Gray & Adams (Dunfermline) shared the following message:
Good luck Ian
“We are absolutely delighted to receive this prestigious award. This kind of recognition from our industry peers is highly sought after and is testament to our continued focus on customer service excellence, industry-leading aftersales care and the best quality temperature controlled vehicles in the business.
Our Group Engineering Manager, Ian Smith has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Scottish Ex-forces in Business Awards 2019. The awards, which take place in Glasgow on December 3rd, are striving to highlight the skill-sets of ex-military employees and their applicability to high-level roles in the business world. Good luck Ian from everyone at Gray & Adams!
Well done to everyone involved in supplying Bidfood with panel vans from Belfast, trailers from Fraserburgh, rigids from Dunfermline and repairs and aftersales from Doncaster. Thanks to you all for making this happen.”
Peterhead Relay For Life Thank you to everyone who took part in this year’s Peterhead Relay For Life back in July. As a community, we helped raise an incredible £165,945.13 for Cancer Research UK. Over the years, this brilliant event in Peterhead has raised over £2 million to help beat cancer and we look forward to continuing our support in the future.
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