If u look on the back of any Hovis wagon…there is always a sign advertising for drivers…but when u look at the clapped out wagon being driven…u wonder…how the hell do they expect anyone to be interested…■■?..surely they can invest in some new or fairly new wagons…with the amount they charge for a loaf…i bet all the directors cruise around in Bentleys…SHOCKING BUSINESS!!! 
Hovis have alway’s had run down trucks,and their trailers ain’t much better.They have a depot across the road from us at the Eurocentral near Mossend and as far as i’m aware from a driver that used to work for us ( now with hovis) they have lost 60 ppl between warehouse & drivers. What does that say about them. 
The reason they run old wagons is probably down to the fact that, like most of the big bakeries, they are not actually making vast profits.
The reason for this is the supermarkets and their 10p loaves. Most of the big bakeries agreed to do budget stuff for supermarkets instead of sticking to doing their own brands which is where the profit breally is.
I used to drive for Allied Bakeries in Sheffield and regularly used to work out the value of a load and it always made me wonder how they could make it pay after paying the transport costs, manufacturing costs etc.
About a year after I left, it shut down!
I think British Bakeries have the oldest trucks I’ve driven. And the first time I had an Eaton Twin Splitter was a BB ERF, going into London. And it was my first ever artic shift. Talk about baptism of fire…
MrFlibble:
I think British Bakeries have the oldest trucks I’ve driven. And the first time I had an Eaton Twin Splitter was a BB ERF, going into London. And it was my first ever artic shift. Talk about baptism of fire…
yep and they run the Hovis trucks too 
David5l:
MrFlibble:
I think British Bakeries have the oldest trucks I’ve driven. And the first time I had an Eaton Twin Splitter was a BB ERF, going into London. And it was my first ever artic shift. Talk about baptism of fire…yep and they run the Hovis trucks too
I know - it was a Hovis truck I was driving…
Majority of the rigids at the Bradford bakery are 04 plate or newer.There is the odd oldie thrown in,but at other bakeries of their’s that I’ve visited,their motors have seen better days.
Ken.
Judging by the way many of them drive i’m not surprised their wagons look rough. 
The 18tonner that does the villages round here isnt even liveried, just plain white, with a smallish ‘drivers wanted’ sticker on the back has a phone number but no mention of the company.
I guess the other thing that puts people off is the starting at like 4am everyday.
dennisw1:
I guess the other thing that puts people off is the starting at like 4am everyday.
Not as bad as it sounds as most bread men are done for 11am!
well there is that, i guess it just depends whether you are a morning person.
I used to phone in the bread returns when i worked for Tesco, when you phoned Allied Bakeries, you had a polite lady answer saying something like “hello allied bakeries, how can i help…”
When you phoned British Bakeries, you used to hear “ello, hang on mate, let me get some paper or something” then you heard the mug of coffee be put down and some russling of papers. “hang on mate, i’ll go and get the bloke who does all this stuff…”
Always came across as a really profesional company
killsville:
I used to drive for Allied Bakeries in Sheffield … … About a year after I left, it shut down!
Didn’t they relocate further down the country somewhere? Coventry area maybe? 
One of the drivers I work with also used to drive for Allied Bakeries in Sheffield (was it Attercliffe area?), I’ll ask him when I start back on monday. He too lives in Mexborough.
killsville:
Not as bad as it sounds as most bread men are done for 11am!
I’m usually done for around 10am 
(from a 2.30am start)
I used to work for allied bakeries out of woodley near reading a few years back and all the vehicles they had were at least ten years old. Don’t know what they are like now. Had to leave them in the end as the distribution manager tried to stop my leave that I had to take because I was moving house you know nothing important thats what he told me. Fortunately the TM was an ex serviceman like me plus he started of as a driver when demobbed so I had his backing all the way. The final straw was when I got back the DM had stopped my pay as he had told the pay office I had taken unauthorised holiday so I lost it and threw him down two flights of stairs as I left. TM got me out of the kak on that one as well and got my money back. I wish my current TM was like him
who the hell work’s as a hovis driver?
the kid who used to free wheel is bike down golden hill in shaftsbury,
he’s grown up now.
last year while I was on agy day work
I regularly went into the rank hovis flour mill at rotheham, (ex tank freight) the transport was run by Ex-hell, most of the stuff we delivered was bagged flour to factorys across the north of england (3 - 4 drops) inc kiplings at stoke, british bakeries (inc wigan & bradford) and most of the morrisons RDC`s for their in-store bakeries, and small family run bakeries
I gotta agree though, most of their (RH) wagons are aboslute crap, I`ve seen better shunters
mark croft:
who the hell work’s as a hovis driver?the kid who used to free wheel is bike down golden hill in shaftsbury,
he’s grown up now.
Now he goes down there in an 18tonner and isnt bothered about the scrapes he puts on the wagon
Yeti:
Didn’t they relocate further down the country somewhere? Coventry area maybe?
I think the majority of the business went to Turners at Nottingham.
Yeti:
One of the drivers I work with also used to drive for Allied Bakeries in Sheffield (was it Attercliffe area?), I’ll ask him when I start back on monday. He too lives in Mexborough.
The bakery was at Hillsborough opposite the football ground on Penistone Road. I only worked there for about 15 months back in 1994/95. I probably wouldn’t recognise any of the other drivers there at that time now!
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dennisw1:
mark croft:
who the hell work’s as a hovis driver?the kid who used to free wheel is bike down golden hill in shaftsbury,
he’s grown up now.
Now he goes down there in an 18tonner and isnt bothered about the scrapes he puts on the wagon
i take you aint seen the bottom of this hill? 18k bike would be to fast,unless he used a big bungey tied to the loaf at the top to strap himself to?
certainly would save walking back up
they are starting to pick up some new LFs but the money isnt worth working for. eastleigh were paying around £325 a week but thats 6 days starting at 0330 every morning. i couldnt be doing with that 
talking of supermarket bread, who do you think makes it? british bakeries supply a lot of the bread for the supermarkets. tesco, sainsburys, co op etc all have their own branded bread dropped off the back of a HOVIS/MOTHERS PRIDE truck 
i would rather have an easy life/decent take home than a shiny motor…
i done a shift on agency one sunday running out of garrets green birmingham…had a old r reg volvo …ive never seen so many nails in all my life…shocking