‘Armed’ with just a five ton Bedford truck and a great deal of enthusiasm and self-belief, today’s nationwide transport business is started by Jack Richards in Haddenham, Cambridgeshire. It proves to be an unstoppable combination, and from these humble beginnings a multi-million pound transport business is born.
The company, known then simply as JW Richards, offers a nightly service from Cambridgeshire to the Nottingham wholesale fruit and vegetable market.
The company fleet has grown consistently on the back of reliable services, and, to keep up with demand, now numbers well over 40 vehicles. With more and more business hauling produce from Norfolk, the company opens operations at Fakenham in the north of that county and changes its name to Jack Richards & Son, to reflect the widening family involvement. Specifically, Anthony, Jack Richards' son.
The Fakenham operation has continued to grow in importance and volumes and, with Jack soon spending most of his working week there, a decision is taken to manage all the company’s business from this depot. While wholesale produce markets are in decline, due to the increasing impact of supermarkets, more and more produce is going directly to packing stations to be washed, graded and packed before despatch to supermarkets or distribution centres. This results in even more work for the company, which now transports produce from farm to packing station and then onward to the supermarkets.
Curtainside trailers are now increasingly popular, and, with its high quality reputation for service reliability, the company has become the preferred haulier for many blue chip companies across a diverse range of industrial sectors.
Steady development of the company’s services see it expand into the Northwest, supporting customers like Lever Bros and Kellogg’s. A few initial parking spaces in the Warrington area swiftly become a leased two acre site with office and warehouse facilities. The increasing pace of Northwest business sees the company quickly outgrow even this site however, and the first part of what eventually expands into an eight acre site is purchased in Cheshire.
Alongside its focus on nationwide curtainside trailers operations for full-load, contracted haulage, the company now sees a new niche market developing and enters the palletised load business. Palletways, the palletised-load distribution service, is formed in 1994 with the Jack Richards company one of its founding members.
Success of the Palletways venture sees a dedicated warehouse and office complex was developed on the Fakenham site, which has also expanded to meet the demands of the company’s growth as a major national haulier. With offices and workshops all being enlarged and warehousing facilities increased, the Fakenham site grows almost five-fold to cover over seven acres.
Peter Brown is appointed as managing director, bringing Jack Richards & Son Ltd a wealth of successful experience in the transport and logistics industry. The first non-family member of the senior team, Peter quickly settles into his role and, in harness with Jack and Anthony, immediately sets to work opening up new opportunities for the company. As a result, the customer base and volumes handled have grown yet further. To satisfy these demands, the size of fleet and the company’s associated resources have all been grown correspondingly.
New business acquisitions see the haulage fleet grow further with specialist customer livery now taking its place alongside the traditional all-yellow trucks. At the same time, 3.5 tonne and 18 tonne vehicles join the Palletways fleet to maximise load efficiencies.
Investment into specially designed airflow kits also see the haulage fleet maintain high levels of economy and operating efficiency.
Both Fakenham and Northwich all upgraded with the very latest in traffic planning and vehicle tracking software. Jack Richards & Son is now fully-equipped to meet all existing demands and undertake further expansion. New business acquisitions see the fleet grow further with specialist customer livery now taking its place alongside the traditional all-yellow trucks.
