News

Rotherham firm E Pawson & Son has become one of the biggest haulage companies in the region after its purchase of South Yorkshire rival Mill Transport.

The acquisition will help Pawson diversify from its current market of food and drink, says MD Stephen Pawson.

"Mill Transport has a good fit to take out some of the peaks and troughs in Pawson's business. It means we can utilise the fleet and sweat the assets of both businesses,"  Pawson says, adding that the acquisition "has opened us up to a completely new customer base".

Pawson will take on all of Mill's customers, which are predominantly from the construction sector, including Hepworth Building Products.

The purchase takes Pawson's fleet to 230 vehicles. Pawson says the firm plans to "grow the business". He tells MT that Mill's directors will have no part in the new operation and that "minimal" redundancies will take place.

Mill Transport was the subject of a public inquiry this week for drivers' hours offences, but escaped with a formal warning for both the operators and the 41 drivers involved, with Pawson noting: "It went very well for us".

North-eastern traffic commissioner Tom Macartney says: "Remedial action had been taken so a formal warning seemed appropriate. No drivers' hours offence is minor and they looked to be serious on paper but once the detail was explored it was clear that there were very good reasons for it  - not least that it was let down by its tachograph analysis bureau at the time.

"Pawson has introduced all its own procedures and taken the firm to the standard that a firm like Pawson would expect. It has really tried hard to get it right and has spent heavily on a number of systems," Macartney says.