I first came into contact with Dave in the second half of the 90’s, when he had been tasked with building up the transport arm of the, then LW van Geest Farms. Working from a small office in the corner of Salvesens, he put mammoth effort into building the business which came to be known as Freshlinc, despite the avowed intent of other operators to strangle the business almost at birth.He did any work which paid. He rang me once with a breakdown; one of our Scania P124’s. ‘He’s on the outskirts of Milan boy’. He was an old school driver, always called me ‘Boy’, and he drove and carried the burden of that business, but he had broad shoulders and was omnipresent. I had, as a supplier to him, occasion to ruin his day more than once; the time an agency driver travelled to Wigan thinking the splitter was the range change. ‘Dear me boy, dear dear me’. In his determination to have the best drivers at Freshlinc, he announced that they would pay the highest wages in the area. And it worked. He had a core of men who would do anything for him, and he engendered that loyalty and commitment from his suppliers too. Many will be there for him at March Crematorium on Tuesday 9th January. Its a shame that after the commitment he put into his work, he could not have had longer to enjoy his retirement. Cheerio boy.
I didn’t know the man but your words have painted a clear picture of that rarity in these days of transport, a good old school guv’nor. May he Rest In Peace.
RIP Dave Condolences to the Family. Sounds as though he was a great boss.
A nice eulogy.
Rest in peace.
It is that ‘old skool’ way of being a Transport & Haulage boss that is probably another of the the biggest losses to this industry. Corporate logistics will never have the understanding and wisdom of a lot of these old guv’ners.
Sorry to read of his passing, I’m sure that the Crem will be packed to the rafters.
Worked with Dave at Russell Davis then Christian Salveson. Great chap with a raft of haulage knowledge.Very sad to hear of his passing my thoughts are with his family at this sad time
RIP guvnor…an oldie but goody…