Biscuit and snack food manufacturer United Biscuits is looking to take on a number of new subcontractors, including some with longer-semi-trailers, to help service its growing business volumes.

The firm, which recently placed an ad for subcontractors in Motor Transport, distributes over 350 loads a day throughout the UK and is currently looking for hauliers in a range of areas including the south-east, south-west, Midlands, Yorkshire and Scotland.

It is particularly interested in finding some with longer semi-trailers to fit in with its own use of 15.65m LSTs, confirmed head of distribution Rob Wright.

“We want to understand whether there is anyone out there that has got the opportunity for reverse flow [using LSTs],” he explained “We will shortly have 50 in our fleet and those we have are being optimised with full loads in both directions. There may, however, be a partner whom we can provide with further LST loads as a one-way flow, as they are a fairly specialist bit of kit.”

The firm is also looking for subbies with standard trailers, however, and for a number of traction-only contractors, he confirmed.

“We’ve operated the same model now for the last 20-30 years,” said Wright. "Wherever we can optimise our own fleet – loading trucks in both directions on an ongoing basis – we’ll run our own fleet. Wherever we have transport requirements that are effectively one-way, we tend to use contractors. That’s worked well for us over the years.”

Around 40% of UB’s 350 loads a day are handled by its own fleet of 37 units with some 20% being traction-only round trips undertaken by subcontractors using one of the firm’s 250 trailers and the remaining 40% one-way subcontracted trips using contractors’ trailers, said Wright.

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