In recent times we have all become more reliant on hauliers to transport goods during the global pandemic and one which has been kept busy is agriculture hauliers, JL Wilkie, based at Longforgan, near Perth.
This fourth-generation family business is now run by David Wilkie and his son, also David and his wife, Sarah, who do most of the day to day running of the business, whilst David’s brother, Jockie, also helps out in a company which has now been trading for 20 years.
“We purchased a six-wheel lorry for our own transport needs, collecting our grain. However, we were also growing our own potatoes at the time and we soon came to the realisation that it was time to start delivering them too. From there, we knew the haulage was the way forward for us,” said David.
They now no longer grow any potatoes, or cereals, to focus primarily on their haulage business which, as well as transporting potatoes, also hauls timber, hay and fertiliser.
The Wilkie family currently runs 11 Volvo articulated units, with each lorry churning between 120,000-160,000km over the tacho annually.
“The product is exceptional. We work with Volvo based at Perth and the sales team are great to work with. They take our needs and how our business is developing on board. They also undertake all of our maintenance and servicing on all of our trucks and trailers, as we don’t run our own workshop.
“They always seem to manage to pull it out of the bag when they are under pressure even with breakdowns that just appear on them. I can’t highlight just how good they have been with us and that is really why we have continued to go through their door,” added David, adding that the lorries are replaced at four-year intervals.
“The nature of our business is hard going on the machines, so it is crucial we keep our kit new and up to date to keep the reliability there to help minimise breakdowns,” he said.
Their main custom can occur anywhere across the country, though local farms supply a lot of the bread and butter trade. The seed tatties they haul are mainly based in the Aberdeenshire area, but are transported across a wide swathe of the country, so there isn’t much the Wilkies will say ‘no’ to.
“We are quite versatile to different jobs and will always try and find a way to accommodate our customers – after all, they are the future of our company,” said David, who more recently took on a timber job based at Perth to help spread the workload.
“Although transporting timber is not our everyday work, it fits well with what we are already doing. It is just a way for us to develop and expand that little bit further. Timber is not quite as seasonal as potatoes and has no peaks, so it is easier for us to manage,” added David.
On top of this, the team also run a horse livery business, which brings a lot of ‘home-based’ trade for the haulage side as they are currently creating a new riding area. So, between the re-build and the bedding, plus hay deliveries, it keeps the business ticking over.
The summer months tend to be slightly quieter for the team as there are lower volumes of potatoes, however the Wilkies have a strong relationship with other local haulage companies and can provide a range of road transport services throughout the UK to make best use of resources when required.
This year has been one to remember for all, but with coronavirus taking a hit on many industries, the haulage side seems to be thriving. “Covid-19 hasn’t had a huge effect on our company, it has just spread out our work differently with peak workloads coming at unusual times for us,” pointed out David.
“During the first lockdown and with England having been in a second lockdown people still were panic buying, so that kept us busy for a few weeks. It meant sub-contractors came in to help us get through it. We all pulled together and worked as a team,” he added.
The current team consists of nine full time drivers, both male and females, and mainly with an agriculture background. “Getting the ideal driver for farm work can be challenging. They need to show the right attitude and don’t mind getting dirty, preferably with an agriculture background.
“After all it is the drivers that are the face of the company. It takes a special kind of person to do our job.
“If our drivers don’t appear suitably kitted out and with the correct manner, it doesn’t matter how good you keep the kit, or how you manage the business in the office, the business will still crumble. The guys and girls are pivotal and without them, it will fail …” added David
He said the business wasn’t shy about taking on young, or inexperienced people, as everyone has to learn from somewhere – just as long as they have the right attitude, he pointed out. “You can teach ability, but not attitude.”
With the company expanding, it has meant David is more office-based, although he does the occasional driving to help with drivers’ hours as well as managing holidays and weekends. Drivers’ time is all under the control of the Volvo online system. Everything is live and recorded on screen to help manage the team.
“It has been a great management tool to allow us to control our business and engage with our staff. This system is another reason we have a complete Volvo fleet,” said David.
Although the core business has always been around potatoes, in the last five years customers have become larger, which changed the busier times of the years for the business and the team have to cope and adapt to that.
“We can’t sit still as a company. We have got to keep moving forward and looking out for the next opportunity for us,” said David, who has added on international work to the company’s radar because of the uncertainties with Brexit.
“No one knows what the outcome of Brexit will be, so we want to make sure we have every opportunity to try and make as much as we can out of the business and give us more options,” he added.
Another way of developing and satisfying new customers is the recent purchase of two refrigerated curtain trailers. These are set to be on the road by April, as well as three replacement Volvo artics for next year.
“These are more of a requirement for our summer months to keep the temperature of the potatoes controlled. We are trying to improve product quality for our customers so that they will keep them coming to us. We want everything to be in prime conditions.
“We are not sitting on our hands and for us it was really not an option to get these trailers to keep our business moving forward,” added David, who runs curtain-siders, flat and step frame trailers at the moment.
There really doesn’t seem much which will stop the Wilkies, but the client base is the primary focus for the company in that all of their work revolves around them. “We are very customer focused. We have got to listen to their needs and wants and respond accordingly, and conversely our customers look after us well too – there is a great deal of trust on both sides,” said David.
“Although we are never looking to sit still, on Brexit we just have got to see what happens. It would be easy if we could predict what’s going to happen, but given the climate just now, you just wouldn’t know what is around the corner.
“Of course, haulage is always going to be needed, everything has got to move. The way times are going the haulage industry is like to elaborate, more people are buying their goods online and produce always needs to get somewhere from its growth,” concluded David.
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