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Blueprint: The Official Newsletter of Langdon Group Ltd Issue No. 10 The Official Newsletter of Langdon Group Ltd Issue No. 16 December 2008 Blueprint: The Official Newsletter of Langdon Group Ltd Issue No. 16 ALL CHANGE IN SCOTLAND Page 4 Page 1 After a very long association with the Darnley depot now operated by DHL/EXEL we have decided to set up our own operation in Glasgow (GLA) at the TDG depot situated just off the M8 Motorway. Senior TDG staff are working closely with directors and managers at Langdons planning the start-up of this operation which is scheduled for late January 2009. TDG will provide temporary storage facilites for chilled and frozen transit pallets, parking and dedicated office accommodation as they do at Peterborough and Luton. A successful recruitment campaign is well underway and we are very pleased to announce the appointment of Malcolm Wilde, who has joined the Company in the position of General Manager (Scotland). Malcolm’s key responsibilities will include overseeing the operation and b u s i n e s s development, which will be of particular importance as we begin to accumulate new business from Scotland and address a longstanding imbalance of traffic. Managing Director Arran Osman has identified Scotland as a major growth area for CHILLNET and he is convinced that the only way to secure our position in that territory and to grow our market share is to do our own thing. Full Depot Details Langdon Industries Ltd, C/O TDG 350, Renfrew Rd, Shieldhall, GLASGOW G51 4SP Tel: 0141 440 5230 Fax: 0141 445 4780 e-mail: [email protected] OFFICE ROMANCE LEADS TO MARRIAGE Sidney James Hannon (Jimmy) We were saddened to hear about the death (in October) of former long- serving Langdons employee Jimmy Hannon. Jimmy started work in 1954 as one of the first drivers with Tone Vale Transport (owned by the Langdon family and later becoming Langdon Industries Ltd.) doing the demanding London run on a regular basis. When Langdons moved to the Walford Cross (Taunton) site in 1980 Jimmy became the warehouseman handling all manner of goods, including paper reels with a clamp truck. Famously he was one of the few employees who knew how to start up and drive the ancient smoke belching Foden yard shunter known as Gertrude. Apart from a short break in service in 1970 Jimmy continued to work for Langdons until his retirement in August 1992. He was a company man through and through and had a great interest in Langdons’ history and he provided some material to Bob Holder who wrote the “Taunton Cider and Langdons” history book published in 2000. Jimmy leaves a Wife - Sylvia, Daughter - Jenny and two Grandchildren - Amber and Connor. Congratulations to Kate Jones and James Lacey who met at Langdons, Bridgwater and were married on Friday 4th April at Taunton Registry Office. Thanks to one of the guests (Sheila Burnett) for this lovely picture of the bride and groom and we wish them every happiness for the future. Mike Donoghue Announces His Retirement If you have been reading Bob Holder’s book, you will know that Mike started his career in the cash and carry trade, moving on to working in public cold storage and after a spell with Bejam he became the General Manager of the transport division at Frigoscandia. He became managing director at Langdons in 1980 when the Head Office was in a rented warehouse at Norton Fitzwarren. The following year he supervised the move to the Walford Cross (Taunton) site where Langdons would operate from until 2007. In 1986 Mike led a management buyout team which aquired the business from the former owners and throughout the late 80’s and 90’s he transformed Langdons from a regional haulier into a national temperature controlled logistics service provider. As a keen golfer, gardener and tireless charity fund raiser, Mike has plenty of interests to keep him busy in retirement. Everyone that worked or dealt with Mike recognises what a likeable man he is and so we wish him well in his well earned retirement. Mike will stand down as Chairman on 31st December 2008 to be succeeded in that position by Simon Holder.

Blueprint: The Official Newsletter of Langdon Group … · Blueprint: The Official Newsletter of Langdon Group Ltd Issue No. 10 The Official Newsletter of Langdon Group Ltd Issue

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Page 1: Blueprint: The Official Newsletter of Langdon Group … · Blueprint: The Official Newsletter of Langdon Group Ltd Issue No. 10 The Official Newsletter of Langdon Group Ltd Issue

B l u e p r i n t : T h e O f f i c i a l N e w s l e t t e r o f L a n g d o n G r o u p L t d I s s u e N o . 1 0

T h e O f f i c i a l N e w s l e t t e r o f L a n g d o n G r o u p L t d I s s u e N o . 1 6 D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 8

B l u e p r i n t : T h e O f f i c i a l N e w s l e t t e r o f L a n g d o n G r o u p L t d I s s u e N o . 1 6

ALL CHANGE IN SCOTLAND

P a g e 4 P a g e 1

After a very long association with the Darnley depot

now operated by DHL/EXEL we have decided to

set up our own operation in Glasgow (GLA) at the

TDG depot situated just off the M8 Motorway.

Senior TDG staff are working closely with directors

and managers at Langdons planning the start-up of

this operation which is scheduled for late January

2009. TDG will provide temporary storage facilites

for chilled and frozen transit pallets, parking and

dedicated office accommodation as they do at

Peterborough and Luton.

A successful recruitment campaign is well

underway and we are very pleased to announce

the appointment of Malcolm Wilde, who has joined

the Company in the

position of General

Manager (Scotland).

Malcolm’s key

responsibilities will

include overseeing

the operation and

b u s i n e s s

development, which

will be of particular importance as we begin to

accumulate new business from Scotland and

address a longstanding imbalance of traffic.

Managing Director Arran Osman has identified

Scotland as a major growth area for CHILLNET and

he is convinced that the only way to secure our

position in that territory and to grow our market

share is to do our own thing.

Full Depot DetailsLangdon Industries Ltd,

C/O TDG

350, Renfrew Rd,

Shieldhall,

GLASGOW G51 4SP

Tel: 0141 440 5230

Fax: 0141 445 4780

e-mail: [email protected]

OFFICE ROMANCE LEADSTO MARRIAGE

Sidney James Hannon (Jimmy)We were saddened to hear about the death (in October) of former long- serving Langdons

employee Jimmy Hannon.

Jimmy started work in 1954 as one of the first drivers with Tone Vale Transport (owned by

the Langdon family and later becoming Langdon Industries Ltd.) doing the demanding

London run on a regular basis. When Langdons moved to the Walford Cross (Taunton) site

in 1980 Jimmy became the warehouseman handling all manner of goods, including paper

reels with a clamp truck. Famously he was one of the few employees who knew how to

start up and drive the ancient smoke belching Foden yard shunter known as Gertrude.

Apart from a short break in service in 1970 Jimmy continued to work for Langdons until his retirement in August

1992.

He was a company man through and through and had a great interest in Langdons’ history and he provided some

material to Bob Holder who wrote the “Taunton Cider and Langdons” history book published in 2000.

Jimmy leaves a Wife - Sylvia, Daughter - Jenny and two Grandchildren - Amber and Connor.

Congratulations to Kate Jones and James Lacey who met at Langdons,

Bridgwater and were married on Friday 4th April at Taunton Registry Office.

Thanks to one of the guests (Sheila Burnett) for this lovely picture of the bride

and groom and we wish them every happiness for the future.

Mike Donoghue Announces His RetirementIf you have been reading Bob Holder’s book, you will know that

Mike started his career in the cash and carry trade, moving on to

working in public cold storage and after a spell with Bejam he

became the General Manager of the transport division at

Frigoscandia.

He became managing director at Langdons in 1980 when the Head

Office was in a rented warehouse at Norton Fitzwarren. The

following year he supervised the move to the Walford Cross

(Taunton) site where Langdons would operate from until 2007.

In 1986 Mike led a management buyout team which aquired the business from the former

owners and throughout the late 80’s and 90’s he transformed Langdons from a regional

haulier into a national temperature controlled logistics service provider.

As a keen golfer, gardener and tireless charity fund raiser, Mike has plenty of interests to keep him busy in retirement.

Everyone that worked or dealt with Mike recognises what a likeable man he is and so we wish him well in his well earned

retirement.

Mike will stand down as Chairman on 31st December 2008 to be succeeded in that position by Simon Holder.

Page 2: Blueprint: The Official Newsletter of Langdon Group … · Blueprint: The Official Newsletter of Langdon Group Ltd Issue No. 10 The Official Newsletter of Langdon Group Ltd Issue

B l u e p r i n t : T h e O f f i c i a l N e w s l e t t e r o f L a n g d o n G r o u p L t d I s s u e N o . 1 6B l u e p r i n t : T h e O f f i c i a l N e w s l e t t e r o f L a n g d o n G r o u p L t d I s s u e N o . 1 6

P a g e 2 P a g e 3

LANGDONS REDUCES THE RISKSIn recent years Langdons has introduced severalinnovations aimed at reducing the risks to employeeswhich can arise from storing and transporting thousands ofpallets of chilled and frozen foodstuffs across the UK everyday. Graham Millard, Fleet Engineer, and Ken Bilsborough,Health & Safety Manager, explain just a few of them.

TRAILER & VEHICLE SAFETY

All Langdons’ trailers introduced into service since 2004have been fitted with Electronic Braking and Roll Stabilityprogrammes; this equipment reduces braking time andhelps to prevent rollovers. As from 1st January 2009 alltractor units entering into service will be equipped withElectronic Stability Control (ESC) which intervenesautomatically in the drive train and braking operation tosupport the driver who might not otherwise be able tosafely steer or brake his vehicle in critical situations.

The European Commission are not proposing to make ESCmandatory on commercial vehicles until 2012 so Langdonsare well ahead in this area of vehicle safety.

Other areas of vehicle and trailer specification whereLangdons exceed the industry norm include fitting:

• Pownall valves to trailers - this device automatically appliesthe trailer park brake in the event that the driver forgets;

• an audible voice park brakealarm which operates in theevent of the driver o p e n i n gthe door with out the park brakeapplied;

• the Mavis Rail, a gantry thatslides across the front of thetrailer allowing the driver toremain at ground level toconnect the air and electricalSusie lines when coupling oruncoupling a trailer.

AUTOMATIC OIL LEVEL CONTROL SYSTEM

In order to eliminate the risk of employees or contractorsfalling from height when topping-up or checking the oillevel on over-cab fridge units, Langdons approachedGroeneveld to enquire whether their ‘Oilmaster’ automaticoil level control system could be developed to work on theover-cab fridge units fitted to Langdons’ distributionvehicles. Teethingproblems were quicklyovercome and allLangdons’ distributionvehicles built in 2007and 2008 wereequipped with the‘Oilmaster’ system.

REDUCTION IN ACCIDENTS

Langdons’ accident rate per 100 employees has shown areduction of 21.3% over the last 3 years. This is partly dueto improved accident reporting and investigation, and tosome extent due to training of managers and staff.

The total number of accidents at Langdons depots hasreduced by 29.6% since 2007 even though the number ofemployees has risen by 5%. The main accident cause isslips, trips and falls and we have several initiatives aimed atreducing the incidence of S,T&Fs, including:

� trials of different types of safety footwear with improvedanti-slip characteristics and greater comfort

� trial of non-slip coating to trailer and rigid floors

� an improved design of step for safer access into the rearof trailers and rigids

RISK ASSESSMENT BOOKLETS

RA booklets have been issued to drivers and Chillstorestaff at all depots. The booklets are intended to ensure thatemployees who may be affected by the hazards involved ina particular activity have been made aware of theprecautions required to safely carry out those activities

HEALTH & SAFETY TRAINING

Forty seven managers have now successfully attended theprestigious IOSH four-day ‘Managing Safely’ course with anew two-day ‘Supervising Safely’ course being planned for2009. Improvements have also been introduced to thecritically-important area of driver training and employeeinduction. These courses are a key part of Langdons’Health and Safety Plan, which was agreed by the Board ofDirectors in August 2005. The plan sets out a strategy forincreasing ownership of health and safety leading to apositive H&S culture across all levels in Langdons.

Finally, providing a safe place of work with all the benefitsthat brings for both employer and employee is a never-ending process, so the final, recurring piece of the plan isan obvious culture of CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.

Links with Local CollegeImprove TrainingOver the past year Langdonshave been working withBridgwater College and Skillsfor Logistics South West asthey continue to review the training requirements of thebusiness. Skills for Logistics have over the last few yearsestablished the Professional Development Stairway.

The Stairway performs a number of important functions forthe logistics sector:

� It is a career framework for everybody working in thesector, allowing them to see how their future can mapout

� It is a framework for managers to plan which skills theyneed to develop in their staff at all levels in TheStairway, and identify where they need to import newskills into the team

� It offers companies of all sizes a framework or a gameboard on which to base a consistent and transparentprogramme of Continuous Professional Developmentwhich is acknowledged to be a major factor in staffretention.

Langdons have adopted the competencies from within TheStairway as they are industry specific and cover the fullrange of employees within the Company from a newwarehouse operative up to director level.

With this in mind, we have requested Bridgwater College toassist in the formulation of an ongoing training plan whichwe can use going forward to ensure we target the righttype of training for the right employees.

This has started with briefings and training for the Directorsand two management courses which have beensuccessfully run for the managers. The courses covered a

wide aspect of management training and placed emphasison Motivation, Leadership, Teamwork andCommunication, this was followed by the Managers havingto complete a management report on a subject within theirarea of responsibility. We have seen some excellent resultsfrom these courses and are in the process of reviewing themanagement reports to implement any that can benefit theCompany. Further to these courses we have identified thatalthough we have some exceptionally efficient CustomerService Employees we did not have any formal training thatwas consistent throughout the Company for a veryimportant function within our business. Some goodbackground work had been achieved and a set ofCustomer Services Standard Operating Procedures hadbeen written and regular meetings were being held. To addto this we again used Bridgwater College to provide aCustomer Service Course that covered the subject in awider sense and tried to tailor the course to Langdons inparticular. The first customer service course was run in Julythis year and it enabled all depots to have employees fromthe Customer Services Department which ranged fromManagers, Supervisors and Operators to be formallytrained. The course went very well and the participantsmanaged to complete a complaints procedure which isnow being viewed by senior management. We also openedthis course up to the Customer Services department ofDavid Price Food Services a Chillnet Partner who hassimilar customer service needs, three members of staffattended and gave some excellent feedback. Thesecourses along with the health and safety training arrangedby the Health and Safety Department have seen aconsiderable investment in our employees, this willcontinue with these courses being rolled out to the rest ofthe Company on a needs basis.

COLIN SNAPE

Two more staff celebrate25 year service awards

Paul (Wurzel) Whitehead receives hispresentation from Arran Osman

Your editor Rob Swindellshas a good laugh withformer Chairman BobHolder.