BJ AND THE BEAR FAN NEIL YATES HAS ALWAYS ENJOYED RUNNING US-BUILT RECOVERY TRUCKS BUT HAS RATHER RELUCTANTLY BEGUN BUYING MORE OF THEIR EUROPEAN COUNTERPARTS OVER RECENT YEARS. ON SCENE FINDS OUT WHY.
One of the best known and most easily recognisable fleets in the UK is that of Neil Yates Recovery (NYR) from Kent. Its striking red and white livery has adorned all types of recovery vehicles and equipment over the years.
Right from the start back in 1988, when he built his first recovery vehicle in his spare time after finishing his apprenticeship, founder Neil Yates was determined his equipment would stand out from the crowd. And his childhood fascination with American trucks fuelled his ambition to run trucks that turned heads. Like many of his generation, he was brought up on US TV programme BJ and The Bear, which was about an owner-driver with a red and white Kenworth K100 Aerodyne who got involved in all manner of unlikely events while pounding the interstates with his pet chimpanzee – all a rather more exciting proposition to a youngster like Neil than the UK equivalent of doing a night trunk to Manchester in an Atkinson Borderer!
RECOVERING DAMAGED BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLES THAT MAY BE BLAZING UNCONTROLLABLY AND COULD REIGNITE EVEN WHEN THE FIRE IS OUT IS A SUBSTANTIAL CHALLENGE. BUT EV COOL TUBS AND AAA ROAD RESCUE HAVE DEVISED A CLEVER SOLUTION TO DEAL WITH THE ISSUE, AS ON SCENE REPORTS.
The number of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) on our roads is set to increase as we approach the deadlines by which sales of most petrol and diesel vehicles must cease. And as it does, the problem of how to deal with intense battery fires will also grow.
When an electric vehicle catches fire, it presents a huge challenge to the fire services dealing with the blaze and the recovery companies tasked with clearing up the mess. Yet few in a position of authority seem willing to acknowledge it.
The key issue is that the lithium-ion batteries used by the majority of manufacturers have a propensity to burst into flame if any of the individual cells that make up each battery pack or module are damaged as a result of a road accident, or if dirt or other foreign bodies find their way into them. And the resulting fire develops very quickly, as stored energy escapes in an uncontrolled fashion.
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WANT TO KNOW HOW TO GROW A RECOVERY BUSINESS? YORKSHIRE RESCUE STARTED SMALL WITH JUST ONE SECOND-HAND SPEC LIFT TO ITS NAME. BUT 18 YEARS LATER, IT'S GOT 82 VEHICLES AND IS STILL RAPIDLY EXPANDING.
Eighteen years ago, Andrew Alderson was working for a tyre fitting business. His family had a history in the motor trade, buying and selling cars, but he was looking for a new direction. A used Transit spec lift recovery vehicle caught his eye and Yorkshire Rescue was formed. “I used up all of my savings to buy that Transit and paint it up,” says Andrew. “The first couple of years were really hard, but then I got a contract for a local Ford dealer, bought a second truck and took on a driver. It’s just grown from there.”
With typical Yorkshire modesty, that is something of an understatement. Operating throughout Yorkshire and the north-west, the company currently operates 82 vehicles in its extensive recovery fleet. That includes service vans, slide-beds, specialist off-road recovery vehicles and two lowloaders. Yorkshire Rescue also operates eight heavy truck recovery vehicles, including 4-wheel, 6-wheel and 8-wheel tow trucks.
ROGER’S TRUCK SERVICES IS BECOMING A WELL-KNOWN NAME IN AND AROUND CHESHIRE. TO GET THE COMPANY TO WHERE IT IS TODAY HAS TAKEN A LOT OF HARD WORK AND SACRIFICE, BUT IT HAS ALL BEEN WORTH IT, AS ITS OWNER TELLS ON SCENE.
Runcorn-based Roger’s Truck Services (RTS) has grown over the past decade from humble beginnings. Roger started RTS by himself with just a second-hand van, but today, it has a fleet of 18 vehicles and employs 24 people. Roger is ambitious and has got to this point with a lot of hard work and by providing a quality service to customers. But as the business has grown, so has the administration.
“Running the office is the difficult part,” Roger admits. “The breakdowns, recovery and transport jobs are the easy part, but unfortunately it’s difficult to sustain a constant rhythm with everything else going on and running the business.”
To help with this situation, Roger has recently employed an operations manager, Andrew Langdon. “Andrew is basically going to be running the business, which will allow me more time to build it up,” Roger says. “I prefer being called out and dealing with live situations, and I thrive on a challenge.
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ON SCENE MEETS DEBBY SAUNDERS, THE FORCE OF NATURE BEHIND SAUNDERS GARAGE, TO FIND OUT HOW THE FIRM BALANCES ITS RECOVERY AND GARAGE OPERATIONS AND HOW SHE MANAGES TO FIT SO MUCH INTO HER WORKING DAY.
Debby Saunders of Saunders Garage is a self-confessed nightmare to pin down. The daughter of John Saunders, who founded the firm with his brother Ted, she’s a real force of nature.
Longer-term readers may recognise the company name as Saunders featured in our article about smart motorway safety in late 2022. A stone’s throw from junction 10 of the A1(M) near Baldock, the small town of Stotfold where the company is located was a village when the Saunders brothers started their business over 45 years ago. Their parents owned a three-acre site in Arlesey Road, which is now Saunders’ police storage compound. John and Ted originally set up as a motor parts firm in Letchworth and Biggleswade, selling to local people in the 1970s. “They had the opportunity to buy the garage, which is in Astwick Road, later that decade,” Debby tells us. “
LM RECOVERY HAS A 'CAN-DO' MENTALITY THAT HAS HELPED IT GO FROM A SINGLE VEHICLE TO A FULL FLEET OF RECOVERY TRUCKS, A HAULAGE DIVISION AND A NEW CUSTOM-BUILT SITE WITH WORKSHOPS IN JUST EIGHT YEARS, SERVICING, REPAIRING AND REFURBISHING ALL OF ITS OWN VEHICLES ALONG THE WAY. ON SCENE REPORTS.
LM Recovery owner Scott Anthony has always been interested in trucks and equipment, enjoying trips to the Royal Highland Show and Truckfest as a youngster. He left school and served his time as a spray painter at Jaguar Land Rover and progressed to become body shop manager. His ambition was always to get on the road, though, and when he put himself through his Class C rigid licence he was able to land a job with M8 Recovery, starting out with a 7.5-tonner and progressing through to heavier recovery work, gaining his C+E artic licence in the process.
After making the decision to set up a business himself he established LM Recovery, buying a Mitsubishi Canter 7.5-tonne recovery truck. “It was pretty tired by the time I bought it, but we got six months out of it and it got things started,” he states.
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