Want to know what ha­p­p­ens to trainspotters when they grow up? If Perton pensioner Gordon Hawkes is anything to go by they graduate to spotting Eddie Stobart lorries.

Gordon, aged 65, is one of the army of “Stobart spotters” who keep tabs on the firm’s fleet of nearly 2,000 trucks. He’s been a fully paid up member of the Official Eddie Stobart Members Club for five years – but only has a few dozen trucks ticked off.

“The trouble is, often when I see them I haven’t got my book with me, and by the time you pull off the motorway you’ve forgotten which one it was.”

Gordon, of Athelstan Grove, decided to join the club because he liked the way Stobart trucks always stand out on the road. “Their lorries are clean and the drivers are always polite too.”

There’s a further attraction as he collects model vehicles – and can get club discounts by being a member.

The fact that Gordon and 15,000 others like him regularly pay a £15 yearly subscription fee to the club is a testament to the popularity of the Eddie Stobart brand.

Fanatical

It is Britain’s best-known haulage company, with 40 depots, hundreds of trucks, and more than 5,000 staff. Any regular road user should be familiar with the firm’s green and red trucks, each carrying a different girl’s name on the front.

The company was set up in 1970 when northerner Eddie Stobart, a man renowned for fanatical attention to detail, expanded his agricultural business into the field of haulage.

The firm built its reputation on going the extra mile for its customers in order to ensure deliveries arrive on time. Its vehicles are usually immaculate and its courteous drivers are requested to wear ties.

And perhaps it is this courteous, professional approach that so appeals to fans of the brand. The other key part of the firm’s cult appeal is the way it personalises its fleet by naming its lorries.

Mr Stobart himself started the trend for naming trucks in the mid 1970s. The first four lorries were named after the 1960s supermodel Twiggy, and singers Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette and Suzi Quatro.

These trucks soon began to build up a cult following of ‘spotters’ – and not just in the UK either. The Stobart fan club has members from as far afield as Australia and the USA.

Celebrities known to be fans of the brand include Boyzone’s Ronan Keating and Shane Lynch, DJ Johnnie Walker, and TV personalities Jim Bowen and Keith Chegwin, and Jools Holland was made an honorary member after performing a show sponsored by the firm at its Carlisle base earlier this year.

Eddie ‘spotters’ get a card, badge, calendar, truck list, and subscription to ‘Spot On’ magazine when they join the fan club.

Members can send pictures of themselves with lorries to the club’s website and some are inspired to pen tributes and even poems about their hobby.

A range of Stobart-themed merchandise is on offer ranging from keyrings and lorry models to more ‘eccentric’ items.

According to Andrew Kidd, who manages the fan club, lorry-styled slippers decked out in the firm’s green and red livery are a popular item.

The club has sold an amazing 4,000 pairs of Stobart lorry slippers at £12 a pop and is about to order a fresh batch. “I think they are popular as Christmas presents,” says Andrew.

One of the benefits of being a club member is the ability to suggest a name for one of the firm’s trucks.

But this year, as part of the company’s 40th anniversary celebrations, this is being extended to members of the public. They do, however, have to engage in some spotting first themselves.

A number of un-named Stobart trucks are touring the country with a big pink question mark on the front instead of a name.

Anyone spotting one of these trucks needs to note the registration number and fleet number and remember where they saw it. They can then contact the firm via its website and enter a draw to name a lorry.

Founder Eddie Stobart sold his stake in 2003 but the firm is going from strength to strength and celebrated its anniversary at Truckfest in Peterborough in May this year. But how many people really know what makes a superbrand like Stobart tick?

Challenges

A six-part documentary for Channel Five will this week give an exclusive insight into what it is like to work for ‘Britain’s largest logistics company’.

The programme, which starts tomorrow night, will follow workers and detail the daily challenges they face in getting deliveries to destinations on time.

Spokesman Glenn Patterson says the key to the organisation is in the planning and the firm uses sophisticated GPS systems to monitor its driving force.

“Each driver is allocated a planner and a planner will look after around 20 drivers and make sure they are travelling by the most efficient route,” he says.

Patterson also concedes there is always a risk that observational documentaries can uncover problems a firm would rather not have aired on national TV. But he adds: “All our drivers are highly trained, have high standards and adhere to the rules.”

As we will no doubt see over the next six weeks. . .

Eddie Stobart: Trucks & Trailers, is on Channel Five, tomorrow at 8pm.

By Peter Carroll