27th August 2009
Grocontinental Drivers Clock Up 140 Years
Four Whitchurch-based drivers at international distribution and storage company, Grocontinental, have clocked up over 140 years on the road between them.
Continental drivers Paul Crowther (38 years’ service) of Tilstock, Brian Evans (36 years) of Crewe, Len Guest (35 years) of Wem and Eric Edwards (32 years) of Ellesmere each cover around 160,000 km per year across Europe in temperature-controlled vehicles, delivering and collecting foodstuffs for major manufacturers, principally in Germany, Holland and Belgium.
To mark the truckers’ milestone, Grocontinental has invested £½ million (half a million) in four new MAN TGX 440 trucks with Gray & Adams refrigerated trailers which will be handed over to the four drivers.
The new vehicles will be personalised with the names of the drivers painted on the cabs.
Ray Grocott, Grocontinental’s chairman said: ‘Employee loyalty and long service have long been at the heart of our business. We are proud to have four drivers who have been with us for so long. They are the backbone of our business and we are greatly indebted to them.
‘They have seen Grocontinental grow from a small family haulage business to a large international company and it’s good timing that we are able to handover our latest investment in the new vehicles to the four of them.’
The longest-serving driver Paul Crowther, who joined the company in 1970, said:
‘I think it’s unusual these days for people to stay with businesses as long as we four have. We are still all enjoying our time here and look forward to taking charge of the new trucks. When we are driving across Europe, these trucks are our homes. The design and features of the new vehicles are a long way away from the vehicles we drove in the 1970s.’
The four drivers have cumulatively taken charge of 43 new trucks during their time with the company.
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