We had another great weekend in the sunshine in Shepton Mallet! Unfortunately we didn't come home with any prizes, but it was great to see our trucks looking at their best, and to chat to a lot of other hauliers.
We were however lucky enough to meet Alex Debogorski and Lisa Kelly from Ice Road Truckers! Thanks to Paddy and everyone at Iveco for the heads up!
We will shortly have a vacancy for a fully qualified HGV Technician to join our team.
We're looking for someone enthusiastic and dedicated, with plenty of initiative and a conscientious approach to their work.
Due to the requirement of the technician to present vehicles for MOT, applicants must also hold a full and current HGV C+E (class 1) license.
If you're interested please get in touch via the 'Contact' tab above, or call us on 01256 862702 and we'll send you out an application form. Closing date for applications is Friday 15th July 2011.
This evening a convoy of six of our finest will head off for the Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet to attend the annual Truckfest South West Event!
We've been going for about six years now, it's a great event and we'd love to see you there. For more info please click here.
We're entered in the Best Kept Fleet competition, wish us luck! Our RC truck demonstration will be happening across the weekend too.
Hope to see you there!
Us at Truckfest Southwest 2009
We continue to monitor the fuel pricing situation closely, and would like to share the following update from Quentin Wilson, via FairFuelUK:
'Tuesday's debate in the Commons on fuel prices had plenty of MPs attending, lots of strong cross-party support and even the Minister acknowledged that the nation was hurting. The best thing of all was watching party divisions melting away and the broad agreement that something needs to be done, urgently. Robert Halfon MP, who arranged the debate, proposed a freeze on all future duty rises, an inquiry into the transparency of pump pricing and a mechanism to control duty when oil surges in price. Nobody disagreed with his proposals and he was regularly interrupted by MPs from all over the country reporting that their constituents are suffering real hardship. FairFuelUK continues to push the fuel duty monster onto Westminster's radar. We're not going to let the issue go away, nor are we going to let the government blame everything on the oi... Read More...
Following the roaring sucess of last year's London to Brighton for the British Heart Foundation, our team of intrepid cyclists known as The Red Fox Squadron have chosen the Isle of Wight off-road 75km bike ride as this year's charity challenge! The ride is on Saturday, 18th June.
Whilst the London to Brighton is a real test of pace, the Isle of Wight ride is completely off-road, making it an enormous challenge of strength and endurance. 75km off road - not something these long distance drivers are used to!
For more information on the fantastic work that the BHF does, please visit their site by clicking here.
We're really grateful to everyone who helped us raise over £1,200 last year, and please don't be offended by us asking again. We all understand that in the current economic climate the pressure on everyone's wallets has only gone up. If you have a spare couple of quid though, we'd really appreciate it!
This year's riders are Matt Hunt, Roy Cuthbert, John Mallion, Darren Morgan, David Morgan and Malcolm Sinclair.&n...
We had a great day at the Thornycroft Society’s Basingstoke Festival of Transport – it was fantastic to talk to so many people, and our Truck Driver’s Challenge was a real success, despite the wind causing hurricane conditions on the track! Congratulations to everyone who won a prize.
Thanks to everyone who came out to see us, and to the Thornycroft Society for making us so welcome – we even had the Mayor and Mayoress of Basingstoke presenting the day’s prizes from our stand! We’ve also been invited to take part in the Hampshire Road Run on the 21st of August, keep your eye out for us .
Read More...
We're delighted to announce that we will once again be attending the Thornycroft Society's Basingstoke Festival of Transport 2011!
The festival takes place in the War Memorial Park, Basingstoke on Sunday, May 8th. For more info, click here.
We'll be taking our rigid vehicle and two of our new Topline Scanias.
Weather permitting, this event will also see the introduction of our Truck Driver's Challenge - have you got what it takes? Come try our brand new remote control trucks - we're holding competitions for over 18's and under 18's, and fastest lap times in the morning and the afternoon will win prizes!
We're really grateful to everyone who has signed the petition for fairer fuel, but the issue still continues.... Please see below for an update from Quentin Wilson, from FairFuel UK. If you haven't signed up yet, please do so. We're continuing to campaign!
The FairFuelUK Update from Quentin Willson
Thank you for signing the FairFuelUK campaign petition. You were one of the 140,000 that helped us force the scrapping of the 5p fuel duty rise and made George Osborne become the first Chancellor for a decade to reduce duty. YOU MADE THAT HAPPEN. Believe it or not, prices would have been 6p even more on the increasing levels we have been seeing since the Budget. So, while we managed to get the government's undivided attention to the Budget day, they have failed us since.
The miserable 1p reduction in duty was swallowed up overnight and proved that tinkering round the edges and making empty political gestures achieves nothing. In fact I'd say the government made themselves look very foolish during the budget. Fuel d...
Unfortunately due to vandalism in our village we currently have no telephone lines, and only sporadic access to emails. We have reported the issue and hope be back to normal service as soon as possible, although we are aware that it took 3 days to fix the problem the last time this happened.
Our fax line (01256 862190) is still working, and we will be checking our webmail as frequently as possible. Please send us a message via fax or email (using the contact tab above) and we will get back to you as soon as possible. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
We've now closed for applicants for our driving vacancy. Thanks to everyone who applied, we'll be in touch shortly.
If you haven't yet applied and wish to, we will keep completed application forms on file for up to six months, and will contact you should any further work become available. Drop us an email via the Contact tab or call on 01256 862702.
We are delighted to announce that our investment and replacement program continues with the purchase of a Scania R480 tractor unit. This vehicle replaces one of our more senior tractor units that we retired last year.
As well as boasting far greater fuel efficiency this new top of the range model produces far lower carbon dioxide emissions, in keeping with our environmental policy.
We once again enlisted the services of Hanbury Riverside, who arranged all the painting and branding. We couldn't recommend them highly enough.
This vehicle is a superb and valuable addition to our fleet. Our longtime customers Box-It UK Limited and Laleham Healthcare have both recently cemented our working relationship with further long-term requirements, and we remain committed to providing an exceptional level of service.
&nb...
We're currently recruiting for an HGV Class 1 (C+E) driver to join our long serving, dedicated staff.
If you're interested please give us a call on 01256 862702 or email us via the Contact tab, and we'll send you an application form. We will be accepting applications until Wednesday 16th March.
As a small family business we are always trying to keep our costs low whilst providing the best possible service. Obviously the most pressing and controversial issue is the cost of fuel.
We have always monitored the cost of fuel closely, and in 2008 participated in the RHA 'Fair Play on Fuel' Rally, where we met with our then-MP, Maria Miller. This was a successful event, and for some time the price of fuel stabilised.
Unfortunately, since then fuel prices have skyrocketed as you will have noticed at the pumps. The Freight Transport Association (FTA) and the Road Haulage Association (RHA) are joining forces with the FairFuelUK Campaign. The campaign aims to have the fuel duty rise planned for April scrapped and fo...
From all of us here at L Hunt & Sons, we would like to wish all our customers, families and friends a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. Thank you for your ongoing support and custom throughout 2010, we look forward to working with you in 2011 and our 115th year of consecutive trading.
With very best wishes
Derrick, Ivan, Gordon, Sandra, Elizabeth, Sarah & Matt Hunt
Thank you to everyone who donated toward Children In Need through our Cake sale yesterday. We raised over £150.00 through your generosity.
Raffle Winners were:
1st Prize BIG Cake - Ivan Hunt
2nd Prize Bara Brith - Tim Beere
We raised more money this year than last, so thank you again to all who sampled our home made delights !
It's not too late to contribute toward Children In Need, you can make a pledge by clicking here.
We are running a Cake Sale to raise money for Children in Need this Friday (19th). We did this last year and completely sold out ! It seems the sight and aroma of our home made goodies is more than enough to release pennies and pounds from pockets far and wide. So if you are passing and feel the temptation of a Cupcake, Muffin, Welsh Cake, Cookie or a slice of Bara Brith and Cheese (Yum!) too much to miss, then drop in, we'd love to see you and your money !
PLUS you could enter our raffle for a big cake and a loaf of Bara Brith. All homemade by our very own Sarah and all for a very worthwhile cause !
A few years ago, Children In Need gave funding to the Speakeasy Advocacy in Basingstoke allowing them to fund a Young People's Advocate for 2008-11. Sarah volunteered with their Internet Explorers group for a few years. Internet Explorers is really important – it’s a social group for teenagers with Aspergers, and does brilliant work. It means... Read More...
Company Director, Ivan Hunt, is to retire from the day to day operations of the business in January 2011 following 45 years of service. Ivan follows older brother Gordon Hunt, who retired from the business in July 2009 and Ivan's wife, Elizabeth, who retired in 2007. Ivan will leave Derrick Hunt as Managing Director of L Hunt & Sons, with support from Matthew and Sarah, Derrick's son and daughter who have managerial roles within the company.
Ivan's contribution toward the growth and continued success of L Hunt & Sons has been pheonominal. From the year Ivan started with the family firm as a driver at the age ... Read More...
As part of our ongoing investment into the business, we have recently purchased two Scania R480 tractor units to replace two of our senior fleet. These new top of the range units, offer greater fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions than their predecessors and are another step closer to achieving our environmental objective.
The units were completley stripped and repainted by Hanbury Riverside who also carried out the branding and decals. They have been finished to the highest standard. The livery gives the trucks real curb appeal and is a moving example of our brand values.
Derrick Hunt said 'These new tractor units were a significant investment for us, but demonstrate the air of positivity within our business as well as our continued commitment for growth and the future of L Hunt & Sons. It was also an opportunity for us to promote our established d... Read More...
A team from L Hunt & Sons took part in the annual London to Brighton Bike Ride today to raise money for charity. Nearly 30,000 cyclists took part in the ride which is thought to be Europe's largest charity cycling event. Last year, the event raised £4.1m for The British Heart Foundation.
Team Hunt started the 54 mile (87km) journey from Clapham Common in south London, making their way (at varying speeds) toward the coast at Brighton. The team completed the ride in a respectable 6 hours, which would have been 4hr 30mins if not for a hold up due to an unfortunate casualty (not one of ours).
We are very pleased to announce the release of our new web presence and brand strategy. As part of our on going investment into our business, we commissioned local brand and marketing communications specialists, Tim Beere and Luke Stratton, to design and build us a new website. Built to the very latest web standards, it has been built from the ground up to meet the changing needs and requirements of our business, being totally scaleable and manageable in house. The site utilises some powerful tools that will help us grow our business including a Forum, Social and Business Networking functionality as well as being completley search engine optimised.
Far exceeding the brief set, Tim brought us his wealth of expertise and creativity from a career in International brand management, devising a differentiating brand strategy for us that really captures the essence of our business. I don't think there is anything quite like it in our industry, it really sets us apart. It is so much more than a slogan, it is a way of working and a culture we embrace here at L Hunt & Sons, it transcends everything we do.
Tim said 'It has ...