The Group’s foundations can be traced to the original business of J&J Ward Ltd, founded 50 years ago by Jim and June Ward, parents of current Group board director Michael Ward who is proud to carry on his parents’ legacy.
From these foundations, through acquisition and organic growth, the Group now comprises four trading subsidiaries with more acquisitions planned in the foreseeable future.
The Group companies are as follows :-
J&J Ward Ltd
D H Pearson Ltd
Hare Bulk Haulage Ltd
Horsley Bulk Transport Ltd
From Ward’s humble beginnings, concentrating on the collection and delivery of largely agricultural products needed by or produced by Yorkshire Dales farmers, the Group has grown to become one of Britain’s leading carriers of an impressively wide range of dry bulk products.
The conventional tipper fleet operated by the Group companies still carries the widest range of products associated with agriculture but the range of other products is too diverse now to list. Amongst the blue chip customers who have contracted to utilise the fleet is Cleveland Potash, a subsidiary of publicly quoted Israeli Chemicals, a world leader in chemical production, for whom salt and fertilisers are carried in significant volumes. The Group was chosen to carry their products on its ability to plan the complex collection and delivery process in order to provide a first-class service.
A more recent trend towards utilising walking floor trailers in preference to conventional tippers to carry certain dry bulk products has led to considerable investment being made by the Group in this equipment, which has seen the number of walking floor trailers quickly increase to 40. Another blue chip customer, Suez, has awarded several contracts to carry waste materials of all kinds to the Group, utilising these specialist trailers. The Group is winning contracts from similarly impressive customers for the use of this fleet for which a considerable capital commitment to the continuing expansion of the walking floor fleet is being made.
The Group is now remarkably flexible and can handle an extensive range of diverse products. It is also willing to commit capital to provide any particularly specialised equipment required by customers.
At all levels the paramount objective of the Group is to meet the service requirements of all our customers for whom the Group delivers dry bulk products throughout Britain, daily.
Group Head Office is situated at the new headquarters in Patrick Brompton near Bedale in North Yorkshire.
The purpose-built centre provides the facilities to control all operations centrally by tracking vehicles and maintaining control through communication with drivers and customers at all times. Michael Ward and Paul Tolmie exercise control over all operations and customer relationships daily.
All subsidiary and Group accounting functions are based at Head Office.
