By his own admission Edward Stobart is uncomfortable with the press. It's not that he doesn't see the value of having your name in print, far from it, but he has no time for the posturing and hyperbole many reserve for the fifth estate. Stobart's attitude to business is built on a straightforward ethic of straight talking, hard work and determination. That attitude will stand him in good stead as he begins the task of breathing new life into Boalloy, a company which many thought had finally drawn
its last back in November after a prolonged period of stumbling to its fate.
Stobart's return to road transport, albeit as supplier rather than customer, has taken many pundits by surprise, to put it mildly. However, it's clear Stobart has spotted an opportunity to revitalise this business. He may well have a soft spot for Boalloy - in his haulage days Eddie Stobart was one of its biggest customers. But business is business and what counts is his conviction that the UK road transport sector has a place for products built on the Boalloy values of quality and innovation.
"The Boalloy brand is extremely powerful in the UK market," Stobart tells us. "Looking at the company and speaking to the people involved, I think it's fair to say the business has got tired over the past few years and finally ran out of steam. "But it's not dead. There is a passion and belief in this company which still exists with many associated with the company and we're already seeing that energy
sparking up once again."
Stobart's company, Stratford Commercial Vehicles, bought the Fastruck Bodies company, a subsidiary of Boalloy Holdings, in November. Then, four days before Christmas, it snapped up the Boalloy brand and its assets, though not the business, completing Stobart's foray into the bodybuilding sector. The company, renamed Boalloy Fastruck Bodies, will stay on Boalloy's 13-acre site in Congleton.
Not surprisingly, Stobart isn't saying how much he paid for the business - our question (well, we had to ask), elicits no more than a look of disdain so we move on. But there's an intriguing story behind the deal. "We've been developing a range of horseboxes and we'd signed up Boalloy to build them for us," Stobart explains. "We'd literally just delivered the first chassis for build when we got wind that something was going wrong with the company. When the administrators went in we started negotiations. I think we were the only realistic interested party."
The Stratford 35 Horsebox, a two-horse 3.5-tonne GVW carrier, will be launched at the end of March the 75H 7.5-tonner is planned for later in the year. The concept behind the Stratford brand is pure Boalloy - quality and innovation - and Stobart has ambitious plans for Stratford products covering a range of body types.
"People buying horseboxes have got used to long waiting times and high costs," he adds. "The Stratford range will bring a high quality product at an affordable cost and because we are using a production line, lead times will be considerably shorter than people are currently used to. We'll be adding to the Stratford range over the coming months, and not just horseboxes. Curtainsiders, boxes and a temperature-controlled body are all possible additions.
"There's also a plan in place to look at a complete revision of the product line-up. Bodywork in this country hasn't changed for 20 years or more we'll be speaking to operators and then reviewing our range. I'm confident we can make some big changes which will have a big impact on the market."
There is clearly a mountain to climb for the Boalloy team if they are going to relaunch the business and make it a commercially viable business in a desperately competitive market. But following our discussions with Stobart, both in setting up the interview and during our 45 minutes of one-to-one chat, we reckon you'd be a brave man to bet against him. Stobart brings an engaging simplicity to the business, cutting through the nonsense and delivering a drive and belief which will be invaluable in the coming weeks. The Boalloy business is now open for the business bodies and trailers are rolling off the line. We'll be watching developments with interest.
The marriage of Stobart and Boalloy brings together two of the biggest icons in the road transport sector. Here's the form...
Based in Congleton, the company was formed in the 1970s. In 1983 the then managing director Gerald Broadbent patented the Tautliner body and is widely acknowledged as the inventor of the curtainsider. In 1988 ownership passed from Broadbent and fellow directors Jeff Browning and Brian Abrams to Marling Industries in 1992 the management team led by Gerry Brown and Jim Gibb acquired the company from Marling. In November 2006 Boalloy Industries was bought by JMF, a little known steel fabrication company from Co Antrim, Northern Ireland. Boalloy went into administration on 15 October 2007.
He built up Eddie Stobart Ltd from a local firm delivering fertiliser to the best-known haulier in the UK, running over 1,000 trucks and with a fan club of over 25,000 people. Edward Stobart has been involved with road transport throughout his working life. In 2002 he sold the haulage company to WA Developments since then he has been living in Stratford - theoretically in retirement...
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