paul b:
an old mate of mine from my days in construction who’s a site engineer has sugested that we join forces and set up a new company doing site excavation, groundwork and plant hire, not something i’d ever considered going back to but potentially the money that can be earnt makes what you can get running a wagon now,look like pocket money!
Problem is, its the same with diggers as it is with trucks,too many owners chasing too little work at crap rates,even worse now with the housing slow down
Track machines/plant are not pocket money to buy/run etc.
plenty of work this way on, groundworks has always been the best paying job on any site but after twenty odd years at it, i’d really had enough and never thought i’d even consider going back into it.
perhaps at 44 i should be looking for a steady number rather than still chasing my first million, who knows?
What about the Canada thing,are Hoffmans still up there on your list
See H+R seem to be getting as bit more flexible on the amount of time away,maybe 5/6 days away would be more manageable than the normal 10/12
Lethbridge seems to be a bit less of the extremes of weather and the houses are more reasonable price than further North.
hoffmans still looks very good as does bfs but prob the best job offer up to now has been challenger in terms of wages, time away etc, the draw back is no pnp although we would qualify for regular imigration as we have family in ontario it’s obviously a more long winded process. tbh i’d go tomorrow and just take my chances but the wifes got cold feet about the whole idea at the mo and is on my case to try and sort something out here.
the works still there but at the same rates when i was looking at it earlier in the year, fuel is now 10p ltr more, thats not the end of the world but to me the jobs going the wrong way, prob the only way to make decent money is to run 3-4 wagons and drive one yourself but it’s just to big a gamble for me personally, maybe i should’ve done it two years ago but the fact is i now earn something like £200 a week less than i did then for basically doing the same job, which makes it hard to see any long term future in the job.
as for tdg, seems the general consensus is they’ve made a complete pigs ear of it, i know the abs lads have took a big cut in money simply because they can’t knock the loads out like they used to, to much paper work involved before you can pick a load up etc, not all change is for the better.
I am not a O/D but i can perhaps put here a little story of a
german who i can say is a good friend,he statrted out with a
12tn lorry.doing JIT any where and slowly grew to where he si at
present with haveing .6 lorries,ARTICS; 4 Chemicaltankers of his own,
All built to specfications that he wanted ,and has two container
trailers,HE has a varied range of work and as well as his own
customers, he runs for those who will pay the rates he asks
for, being a small, firm, he does not have it easy ,however this is
offset with the fact that due to the very good service he gives
he has no problems at getting work and haveing good rates
as well, IF you can find a niche which no one else can or
will not do,then with hard work a little bit of good fortune
the future looks good, again all trhe best and we hope to see the
somephotos and a dairy perhaps.
