Advertisement £3m investment plans - let’s raise the roof
TRANSPORT firm WH Barley is preparing to begin a £3 million investment in its premises in Milton Keynes.
Chairman Peter Barber has
unveiled plans to create more storage space by raising the roof to 12 metres high at the firm’s Old Wolverton premises, increasing capacity from 6,000 to 15,000 pallets. “We need more storage space,” he
says. “The investment we are making is quite significant and we need it so we can continue to grow.” In 1970 Peter founded the
company, named after his grandfather who sold fruit and vegetables in Wolverton in the 19th century. WH Barley remains family-run
today with Peter’s daughter Emma Collins now a director of the company and Peter has overseen its development from a fleet of three vehicles to 45 vehicles ranging from 7.5-tonne to 44-tonne serving customers around the UK. The company specialises in
haulage, distribution and storage, working with many businesses, handling thousands of pallets for storage and distribution throughout the UK on a daily basis. The investment reflects the
importance to WH Barley of being in Milton Keynes. The firm has chosen not to compete directly with the large national logistics companies that have made Milton Keynes their home. Instead, it will concentrate on the more local customers. “There is no doubt that being in Milton Keynes has been a help to us,” says Peter. “We have grown as the city has grown and we have picked up new business as more companies come in. Because of its location, we are ideally placed to get all over the country and that makes us very efficient operators. “We want to help Milton Keynes
grow too by bringing more jobs to the area and more local workers will generate work elsewhere.” Peter is also a champion of the
industry at national level. He is immediate past chairman of the Road Haulage Association, the industry’s national body, and has led the lobbying on the major issues affecting hauliers: fuel prices, health and safety, skills and apprenticeships. Finding suitably skilled and experienced drivers is also a challenge in a competitive local recruitment market. “This is always a headache because Milton Keynes is a
Peter Barber Photo: JAR Photography
busy area for transport and distribution,” says Peter. Like many employers, he believes
that apprenticeships may be the answer. The RHA has an apprenticeship scheme for drivers, warehouse and office staff . “There is plenty of jobs now so
young people can start work without having £30,000-£40,000 of debt round their necks when they finish
university or college,” says Peter. The price of fuel is always an issue
for hauliers, one on which the RHA lobbies loudly. Pressure from members also led to the government introducing a tax on foreign lorries entering the UK, just as UK lorries pay when they drive in mainland Europe.
“That makes it a much more level playing field,” says Peter.
W H Barley (Transport & Storage) Ltd W H Barley (Transport & Storage) Ltd
Supporting industry in the Milton Keynes area for over 50 years
Sales DDI: 01908 628149 Main Tel: 01908 227222 Fax: 01908 227370 Email:
info@whbarley.co.uk Web:
www.whbarley.co.uk
16 Business
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