What's left?
 

A few years ago you could drive up any motorway and the trucks you saw pretty much all had a distinctive livery telling you which company they were running under. BRS, Eurolane, TNT, Stobbarts or whatever. Now, I haven't been back to the UK for a while but was talking to a friend who came out here and he was saying that nowadays there are as many European trucks on British roads as there are British trucks. Is that right? What British companies are left?

Think the French/Belgian company "Norbert Dentrasang" has a few on British roads now

:D:D:D
He's also known as "Nobrot Dressingtable" billy.Norbert Dentrassangle I heard was a relative or good friend of the French Minister of Transport and I think had a big depot at Le Havre.He started operating in the UK years ago and is a big performer still as far as I know.
As far as purely British companies are concerned then Wincanton,Eddie Stobart,Turners of Soham are three I can think of.Any more will come to me eventually - memories going.
I think the biggest operator in the UK now is DHL - an offshoot of Lufthansa.somebody will correct me I'm sure.Oh,another big Deutschlander operating over here is Willi Betz,how could I forget him.

Now,where did I put that glass?:)

Mandator: Shhhhhhh! it was a "dressingtable" i went over with. we went across on the ferry and came back through the tunnel.
No names, no packdrill but it was a day i will remember always. what an impressive rig that was. not so fast but loads of power and comfort. dropped one gear climbing up out of dover on that motorway bank. with the two of us aboard we even managed to brew tea on the way up the motorway. and the cab was so quiet we were chatting all the way.
8/9 years ago now, but what a day out for me

I think DHL belongs to the German Post Office. Here in Scotland we have WH Malcolm,Pollock Scottrans, AA Craib, Highland Haulage, MacPhersons of Aberlour all are fairly big operators.There are several others but there names escape me just now.
In Skye probaly our biggest haulier is Skye Transport formerly MacRae(Crossall). Other frequent visiting companies are DR MacLeod, MacAskill(Stornoway) and Hebrides Haulage.
Every Sunday 2 of Harry Lawsons tankers pass through on their way to Uig to catch the ferry to Lochmaddy.

On the subject of Harry Lawson, I had 6 of his artics into the warehouse I run in late July/August with pallets of new furniture for a development of student accomodation down here in Exeter. The drivers were diplomats in their trade(and Lawson's) and made the process of tipping them a good experience. Looked as though they were well maintained vehicles too.

Harry Lawsons tanker comes to Scrabster and fuels up the ferry to Orkney

Over here we have Gwynedd Shipping which is a big operator.

BTW, I have noticed one or two Eddie Stobart wagons on the motorway with foreign number plates (Belgian, I think.) Has he got a depo over there, or ????

Belgian is one. Polish is another. Not sure if he has depots in those countries, but guess it's very likely.

One in Belgium

http://www.eddiestobart.co.uk/Servic...pe/Lokeren.php

Even fewer now

Land transport Company Insolvencies

49 in 2007 and 103 in 2008

http://www.roadtransport.com/Article...h-quarter.html
http://www.roadtransport.com/Article...s-trading.html
http://www.roadtransport.com/Article...yer-found.html
http://www.roadtransport.com/Article...istration.html
http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/otherin...0902/index.htm

Swains are still running, used to like seeing their old Leylands years ago, and Mansell Davies, running tankers from Pembrokshire.
And Rawcliffe are still in Stockport I think.
Andy.

Clitheroe, Lancs-based bulk tipper operator Barnes & Tipping has collapsed into adminsitration

http://www.roadtransport.com/Article...goes-bust.html

norbert dentrassangle have a fleet of uk registered renault premiums at kiln farm in milton keynes. MK11 they took over the contract to deliver all currys and pc world items from there. it used to be owned by tesco but sold it off.

another big one in snelshall west in milton keynes is turners they go everywhere and deliver cadburys products from there. they can be seen going to the M1 and south to M25 if you follow one back from the motorways there, it would take you back to MK.

corby chilled distribution used to run out from aldcester, newark and corby, but the head of the company didnt want to do it anymore, and sold it off and its contracts to innavate logistics(blue orange trucks) usually volvo fh12 6x2 tractor twin steers. the boss of corby chilled was in scania HQ sorting out the rest of what he ows them as they used to get their fleet serviced by a scania workshop in bleak hall allso MK.

H E Payne opperate out of kingston delivering allsorts of chilled foods, yeardsley also come from there but their head office is in middleton greater manchester. colina logistics also operate out of kingston and deliver everything from muller yogurts.

http://www.krone-trailer.com/en/index/news_en_207.html more news on companies growth.

Corby chilled also had a depot in Heywood Manchester, which ran under Innovate after the take over. Innovate were bought out by Eddie Stobart, who now runs Stobart chilled from the Heywood depot.

Browns(Thursby) no longer running, any idea what went wrong here--remember when Fred Brown operated from his house just outside of Thursby in 1960s but I think another firm took the business over in the 70s but ran under the Brown logo.

Bibbt Distribution, part of the bibby Line group, and for whom I used to work, are buying operators out. They recently bought Taylor's of Martley. This last week or two (25/08/2011) I heard that they'd bought Atchinson Topeka (of Worcester(?))
I think Bibby (Delivering Excellence) must be one of the biggest firms, in road transport, now.

I remember when Bibby were agricultural feed millers.

Was there any connection with the song 'Atchinson Topeka and Santa Fe' and the haulage company?

It's a different Bibby. This one is the shipping family, from Liverpool.
http://www.bibbyline.co.uk/
http://www.bibbylinegroup.co.uk/
http://www.bibbydist.co.uk/

Ah - thanks.