Interviews

The great car adventure – John Harvey part 2

March 12, 2012 Steve Hobson

John Harvey recalls Tibbett & Britten’s (T&B) time in the car industry as a “great adventure”; he does not regret moving into the sector, but wishes T&B had exited sooner as he tells Justin Stanton. Ultimately, the Ford contract forced Harvey to announce T&B’s first profit warning just two days after announcing the annual results in […]

Interview with a legend – John Harvey part 1

March 12, 2012 Steve Hobson

A legend, a pioneer, an inspirational leader – just some of the names John Harvey has been called. Justin Stanton caught up with him for an indepth interview. Just about any aspect of transport, logistics and supply chain management you can think of, Harvey has been there, seen it and done it via his stints […]

Kuehne + Nagel stays on growth track

March 8, 2012 Steve Hobson

Kuehne + Nagel’s acquisition of international groupage specialist RH Freight in March last year caught many in the industry – including Motor Transport it has to be said – by surprise. But it was all part of the Swiss-owned global logistics business’ long term strategy, as Glenn Lindfield, KN’s senior vice president for contract logistics […]

French Connection

February 23, 2012 Motor Transport

Norbert Dentressangle’s acquisitions of Christian Salvesen in 2007 and TDG in 2011 made the French group’s UK logistics operation a £1bn a year business, representing almost a third of group turnover, and silencing critics who had questioned the company’s commitment to the UK. […]

Taking a cool approach to ambient distribution

February 23, 2012 Motor Transport

While Fowler Welch-Coolchain (FWC) has built a successful business in chilled distribution, the company is now looking to expand into bigger – and arguably more profitable – ambient markets. A glance at the business card handed over by Nick Hay – installed as MD in November 2010 – reveals the ‘Coolchain’ has been quietly dropped, […]

Keeping the shelves stocked

February 23, 2012 Motor Transport

Sainsbury’s is Britain’s third largest grocery retailer (behind Tesco and Asda), turning over nearly £23bn in the year to 19 March 2011 and making a pre-tax profit of £827mn. Despite buying 24 stores from the Co-op in 2009 in the north and Midlands, Sainsbury’s stronghold remains the south east of England, and if it is […]

Big game hunter

February 23, 2012 Motor Transport

When Peter Backhouse was appointed CEO of contract hire specialist Fraikin in May 2010, he set out a clear vision of where he wanted the company to be. 18 months on he gives Steve Hobson a progress report. Since his arrival at Fraikin after two years in charge of Bunzl Healthcare and 11 years at […]