Waverley forges ahead after Hemel depot fire
Drinks wholesaler WaverleyTBS is confident that the devastating Hemel Hempstead oil depot fire will not hit profits for last year.
Managing director Jeff Jamet told the Morning Advertiser: "Despite the fire, we were still able to supply all our customers and we had a very good Christmas."
Praising the "Dunkirk spirit" of his 150 staff and the "fantastic support" from suppliers such as Fuller's, Carlsberg, Diageo and Coca-Cola, Jamet said WaverleyTBS was back in action for its customers within 48 hours of the fire, which erupted at 6am on Sunday 11 December. He added: "Some pubs did not get their orders when they wanted them, but everyone was very understanding."
The Punchbowl Park depot at Hemel was one of the firm's two crucial hub sites, servicing 20 WaverleyTBS depots in the south of England.
"We had £16m worth of stock at the Hemel site and we were able to replace it very quickly from our suppliers. By the Wednesday, we had a new fully operational depot in Luton," said Jamet.
"The senior management team [and I] moved into some old ScotCo offices in Staines by 2pm on the day of the fire, and we worked through the night and well into Monday organising the Luton depot and the relocation of staff. Our whole team worked incredibly hard right up until Christmas. We just felt we couldn't let our customers down."
Amazingly, the stock at Hemel survived the fire. Though 34 trucks and the building itself were destroyed, the shrink-wrapped goods were found in perfect condition and after being thoroughly checked, are now circulating to customers.
The Hemel depot will be out of action for at least nine months, and WaverleyTBS may never actually return.
The fire marked a dramatic end to an otherwise excellent year at the company, its first in the new integrated form. Turnover for its 36,000 accounts rose 11% to £500m, with profits "on target" but not being disclosed at this stage.
Beer volumes from January 2005 to October were up 5.6% (market down 2.5%). Cask was down 1% (market down 7%). Wine was up 6% (market down 2%). Soft drinks were up 11% (market up 5%).
"We've proved ourselves as a very credible wholesaler," said Jamet. "We're engaged with all the players in the marketplace - and have over 8,000 stock key units. And while we're owned by ScotCo, we are very independent in all we do and supply."
Depot explosion aside, the only fly in the ointment has been slower-than-hoped-for integration between Waverley's and Beer Seller's sales computer systems. The £3m SAP software package, which was meant to be fully operational by last September, is now due to be complete by 1 May. Two thousand accounts still overlap.
Yet if that dimension of integration remains incomplete, Jamet says the fire has sealed the two former companies' cultures as one. "No deaths at the site was miraculous. And the one silver lining for the business is that it has fully cemented us together into one company."
