Flowers of York

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS OLD TIME LORRIES, COMPANIES AND DRIVERS (INTERACT
1

Hi, I recently travelled past the depot of an old employer “Flowers of York” transport. I worked there when they ran an Asda contract.

Purely out of Interest could anyone shed some light as to what has happened to this company recently?

Thanks.

2

scania_york:
Hi, I recently travelled past the depot of an old employer “Flowers of York” transport. I worked there when they ran an Asda contract.

Purely out of Interest could anyone shed some light as to what has happened to this company recently?

Thanks.

Didn’t Flowers just disappear into all the TDG rationalisation, where all the old individual company names were discarded?

3

I thought Flowers was running as an Independant these days?. I remember a few years ago they also did truck hire etc?

Could be wrong though.

4

I worked at Flowers from 71-78, firstly as a warehouseman and then as a driver. When I started for them it was run by the old man himself Billy Bridge, but he sold out to TDG soon after 71. His son Jimmy Bridge took on the roll as managing director for a while and nothing really changed. But in the mid 70s a chap called Glynn Samuals took over and things started to change big style. The first casualty was the old transport manager Jack Kilvington who was well liked by his drivers, I think that might have been his problem as far as GS was concerned.The next thing to go was all of the 8 leggers and they were replaced with artics and no longer did we run back empty from anywhere. Where you had a name you became a number in a short space of time a lot of the old hands left myself included. Flowers had mixed fortunes after that for a number of years and not all of them bad! But I think by the 90s they were wound up with the warehouses being taken over by RSH storage and the transport yard and garage premises being taken into the ownership of Quinns transport.
Hope thats of some help, regards doublereduction.

5

Back in the ‘80s, i did some agency driving @ Flowers (thro’ Manpower in York) had a 17t Merc boxvan with t’lift. Used to do Addis housewares stuff (plastic wash-up bowls/bins) to ASDA stores in Notts/derbys … also sweets to cash/carrys - can’t remember the manufacturer.
Flowers had several big w/houses, and used to do all the order picking for these sweets. I recall there was a MASSIVE fire at one time … also later they were in “receivership” - i actually had a Keyfuels card - Co. name was on the card as “Flowers trspt in Administration”.