Spray for an upturn
When business slowed down because of the recession, bosses of a haulage firm used a little bit of Black Country clever thinking to stay afloat.
Hampson Haulage, in Grove Lane, Smethwick, has been a family business specialising in haulage since it was founded in 1982 by managing director Clive Hampson. It has now branched out by valeting cars and offering storage space in order to keep profits healthy until there is an upturn in business.
Director Paul Hampson, said the company employs 13 drivers as well as an operations manager and an accounts worker.
Mr Hampson, said: "We have a number of long established clients and quite a few we have started working with recently.
"At the moment business is fair, but inconsistent, so we are making the best of a bad situation.
"The economy is in downturn, so we have diversified into what we probably wouldn't have considered in the past. We are strong enough to be here and working forwards, and we will wait for the upturn."
Staff are using the jet wash normally reserved for the company's own 15 vehicles to clean customers' cars.
Mr Hampson added: "Another thing we are doing is clearing out the stores area within the depot and doing some storage. It is really making more utilisation of what we have.
"It is really a case of we have got a driver that hasn't got a vehicle to drive, so we are utilising them, which is then paying their wages and overheads."
