A company with the x factor... and much more besides

Irish Trucker travelled to Ballymoney in a vain attempt to identify the secret ingredient that keeps R Barkley & Sons ahead of the chasing pack.

The most striking thing about the success story of R Barkley & Sons is how unspectacular it is. This particular story is straight forward, direct and effective, its simple lesson obviating the need for plot twists, sensationalism or exaggeration. The moral is this: if you are persistent, professional and thorough, if you’re prepared to work hard and stick with it for the long haul (pun intentional), then you will succeed. After this, the degree of that success depends on a number of variables, one of which is luck, therefore beyond one’s immediate control (although it is true that to a certain extent we can create our own luck). If one bases a business on sound principles of integrity, reliability, honesty and determination, they will almost invariably write a story worthy of repetition.

Then of course, there is the x factor, the secret, unidentifiable ingredient which differentiates a great firm from a good one. We know the x factor is there but we just can’t put a finger on it. Coupled with the above-mentioned easily-recognisable formula, it makes for an unstoppable combination.

What is this x factor exactly? It’s a natural part of the make-up of a company or individual which renders them exceptionally adept at what they do. At R Barkley & Sons, they possess it in abundance.

It oozes through every nook and cranny of the Ballymoney company, seemingly seeping into the very fabric of the place. It’s there. I know it is. I can feel it, sense it, can almost touch it. It tantalises me, but damned if I can find it. Sorry. The mystery remains unsolved.

It’s probably just as well, though. I can’t help thinking that it’s an innate part of the company’s character which shouldn’t be isolated. Once separated from the other key characteristics of a firm, it would probably become ineffective.

R Barkley & Sons has the x factor, no doubt. But it has a lot more besides. It is built on principles of good service and quality workmanship. It has always been like this, going right back to its inception in 1963. The company was established back then by Richard Barkley, father of current owners Kenneth and Brian.

The company services a pot-pourri of clients. Rather than specialising in one area of the market, the warehousing and distribution experts at R Barkley have chosen to specialise in all areas of the market! They provide a very general, wide-ranging haulage service, their versatility reflected in the variety of the company fleet.

At the Ballymoney depot, refrigerated units rub shoulders with lowloaders who in turn hold court with tautliners. They’ve certainly come a long way in 38 years.

Kenneth reflects on the development of the company: “When my dad started out, he was mainly involved in collecting livestock. At the weekends, he distributed coal. The business has just built up from that and we’ve branched into all the different lines. Today, we do refrigerated work, flat work, lowloader work and also have tautliners.”

In relation to the flat and lowloader work, R Barkley & Sons moves agricultural machinery for virtually all the main dealers. Indeed, approximately 50% of tractors coming into the Republic of Ireland are carried by R Barkley & Sons.

In total, the company boasts a fleet of 27 tractor units and 50 trailers, covering all of Ireland (25% of the work is in the Republic) and all of England, while a small percentage of pick-ups/deliveries are carried out on the continent.

R Barkley & Sons has impressive storage space, its warehousing facilities encompassing some 20,000 square feet, all dry storage. “We’re a bit too far from the city to consider doing major storage but we do provide the service to local factories and retailers etc,” notes Brian.

Transporting everything from heavy duty agricultural machinery to foodstuffs and a wide range of dry goods, the R Barkley fleet comes complete with company name and livery, all decked out in the firm’s trademark blue and red colours.

Brian and Kenneth are happy with the size of the company at present. Brian points out that he likes to always have 25-30 units on the go. He feels that they are close to optimum size right now but admits that, while they aren’t aggressively seeking new contracts, “if the right work came along, we would certainly consider it.”

If you are interested in doing business with this vibrant County Antrim based distributor, contact Transport Manager John Foot on 028 27663301.

With a little more support from Westminister, R Barkley & Sons could be even more efficient. As Kenneth notes: “We are paying too much for our fuel. They did move to cut the tax but we still need a substantial reduction in the price of fuel. By having fuel prices so high in the North, they are only really stabbing themselves in the foot because many hauliers are filling up south of the border, which means the British government is actually losing revenue.”

The Barkleys always keep a new fleet, vehicles ranging in age from three years down. All but two of the tractor units are Leyland Dafs, purchased from TBF Thompson in Belfast, although Brian admits to being equally impressed by the cost effectiveness and low diesel consumption of the ERF he bought from Lambe Commercials. The trailers are mainly Montacons and SDCs.

Not unlike anybody else in the industry, Kenneth describes good drivers as “hard to get and hard to keep” but says he is delighted with the staff on his books at the moment. As well as drivers and office staff, the company employs a team of four mechanics who look after all the servicing, maintenance, repairs etc. from the company’s own workshop.

Any new plans for the future? says Brian: “Not really. We’ll just keep plugging away with what we’re doing now. There could be a new depot in the pipeline at some stage but that’s a long way off at the moment. We’ll keep trying to get the right price for each job and do it to the best of our ability and give a great service.”

Of course, the x factor alone is no good - it only works in conjunction with hard graft and vision. R Barkley & Sons has the lot.
In conjunction with Mark Lomax and Mark Fenny, Barkleys has just set up a Manchester base. Mark Lomax and Mark Fenny have over 30 years experience between them with a leading North West Groupage Operator in the UK and they provide Barkleys with vital local knowledge in Manchester.

The new depot will provide a groupage, next-day, and 2/3 day service for the North west of England, also operating to Yorkshire, the west Midlands, Merseyside and Lancashire. It will operate a small fleet from Escort vans up to 16-tonners, doing both part loads and full loads.

Working from secure premises in the centre of Manchester and using experienced multidrop and bulk drivers, this new service from Barkleys is the ideal way of eliminating the middleman.

Office: 0161 2238180
Mark Lomax: 0774 0603653
Mark Fenny: 0774 0603654