Dawsongroup marks 50th year of operations
Independent rental and contract hire specialist Dawsongroup truck and trailer is enjoying its 50th year of operations, having begun as an extension of a transport company started in 1935 by AEH Dawson, father of current chairman Peter Dawson.
In 1974, the decision was made to move into vehicle rental, later expanding into contract hire and leasing. As Peter Dawson put it some years ago, “We no longer run our own haulage business, preferring to support those brave enough to do so in these fiercely competitive times with cost and use-effective rental and leasing assets.”
Still a family-run business, today Dawsongroup truck and trailer has a fleet of some 13,000 modern trucks and trailers available for fleets of all sizes, from one- and two-truck operators up to blue chip companies with thousands of vehicles.
John Fletcher, managing director of the truck and trailer business (pictured, right) summarised the Dawsongroup approach.
“At its most basic level, hire is a very useful mechanism for any operator to have to hand to meet unexpected changes to their fleet: be that replacing a vehicle under repair, meeting demands of a new contract or assessing a new route which needs to be better understood ahead of any major capital investment,” he said.
“Hire gives a level of flexibility that helps operators work their core fleet harder and more profitably, comfortable in the knowledge they have most of their likely fleet eventualities covered.”
There is of course much more to hire than just being the helping hand in emergencies, says the company; investment in fleet is a huge capital commitment, and operators need to be certain their fleet can earn its keep, particularly at a time when a new vehicle is likely to cost a minimum of 35 per cent more than the asset it will replace. Couple this to used values at an all-time low and the cost of borrowing the highest it has been in 15 years.
Fletcher continued: “Hire plays its part here, for sure. It lets operators shift older assets off the fleet before they are crippled by the punitive costs and inevitable shortages in technical resource required to keep them on the road: not to mention side-stepping the huge capital commitment to replace them.
“Hire is a fixed monthly cost, and in the case of Dawsongroup includes all service, repair and maintenance – right down to the wiper blades!”
Paring back the core fleet and supplementing with hire equipment certainly gives an operator the flexibility and confidence to face the growing economic headwinds, says Dawsongroup – knowing that, in a crisis, at least a proportion of fleet can be handed back, no questions.
Then, as recovery and growth occurs, those same operators will be equally able to spool up quickly, adding hire fleet to augment new demand. With less cash and borrowing facilities tied up in fleet, this gives a further level of agility to capitalise on opportunities as they arise, the firm contends.
“Whatever your own views and previous thoughts on hire might be, right now is the time to challenge them,” said John Fletcher, “because forking out for new vehicles simply doesn’t look like the right thing to do.
“And, though it sounds like heresy, the most basic truth is that operators don’t need to be involved in vehicle ownership anymore, when what makes their returns is purely vehicle usership.
“At Dawsongroup truck and trailer we have spent an awful lot of time and experience creating what we call today our ‘Smarter Asset Strategy’. At its heart, alongside the operational diagnostic abilities our experience brings to bear, we have a full portfolio of contract hire, leasing and rental options to meet operator needs – with either ‘vanilla’ or fully liveried truck and trailers, according to customer needs and length of hire.”
The argument is particularly persuasive, says the company, when servicing, MOT, repair, inspections, and other areas in which Dawsongroup’s involvement can ease the operator’s fleet management burden, are taken into account.
Should a vehicle be out of action through no fault of the operator, a nationwide network of some 23 branches is ready with replacement vehicles as needed.
Recent deliveries include the addition of four Iveco Daily 7.2t vehicles to the fleet of Carnevale, the family-run manufacturer, importer and national distributor of ambient and temperature-controlled Italian food and drink products.
Supplied on contract hire by Dawsongroup truck and trailer, the 180 BHP Daily vehicles are all 4×2 Euro 6/CAZ-compliant, with Carrier Xarios 6 fridges on temperature controlled single compartment Paneltex bodies, allowing a 3.1t payload.
They also feature 8-speed auto gearboxes, rear barn doors and Ratcliff Palfinger tuck-away tail lifts.
Carnevale was formed 1966 when two young brothers, Carmine and Giovanni Carnevale, from Capracotta in Southern Italy, established the company and began manufacturing and selling mozzarella and ricotta in central London.
Today, Carnevale’s wide range of premium products is distributed across the UK from its six depots through its own 84-strong multi-temperature fleet that includes 26t, 7.5t and 3.5t vehicles.
The company remains a family-run business, with many of the family’s second generation now supporting the growth of the operation which has become a leader in the field.
The move to contract hire through Dawsongroup, according to Carnevale transport manager, Ben Ayrton, “gives us the opportunity both of trialling these Iveco Daily 7.2T vehicles and seeing how the Dawsongroup service and maintenance contract can help support our operations.”
He continued: “We are still in the infancy of the contract, but the vehicles are out working and service experience so far has been very responsive when needed. The vehicles provided by Dawsongroup were all customised to our specific business needs which is making a huge difference.”
