Company History
For over 57 years Transport and General Engineering Company Limited (T&G) has concentrated its efforts on meeting the needs of the dedicated tipping sector of the trailer and truck body market.
An example of anticipating the needs of its customers is the way T&G pioneered aluminium tippers. The company built the country’s very first aluminium tipping body and matching three axle tipping trailer back in 1969. This innovation has spurred generations of operators, who were demanding ever greater carrying capacity, to not only consider the then ‘new-fangled’ aluminium product, but to over time embrace aluminium with great gusto – in the process making it a market leader.
In a single stroke, aluminium revolutionised the tipping market, taking a tonne or more off the weight of a conventional steel tipping trailer and truck deck. This advance was considerable even then and over time, and with greater skills and knowledge, these advantages have been pushed to even greater levels.
T&G traces its roots back to 1955, when it was founded by two enterprising men, Ian Stevenson and Bill Box, who had served their time as fitter/turners with Hamilton firm W P Walker Engineering.
The pair set up a general engineering firm, which they successfully carried on until branching out into more specialised trailer manufacturing. The first completed unit, a four wheeler, went out the door in 1959 and the lucky owner had the pleasure of stumping up £900 for the sparkling new two-axle tipping trailer.
From then onwards T&G produced a considerable number of trailers and trucks decks, ranging from steel flat decks for stock trucks, tipping flat decks and bulk bins, to tipping trailers of both the full type and semi varieties with one or two axles. In this period, during the late 1950s, the company remained heavily reliant on steel construction. Not only was T&G building truck and trailer bodies, but the company also successfully manufactured tilt deck transporter trailers and low loaders, a product line which continued through till the 1980s.
When T&G chose to use the aluminium product, it wasn’t without its critics. Plenty of sceptics wondered if it would be strong enough to stand the strains and stresses. However, long before the first aluminium trailer was even considered, T&G founder Ian Stevenson travelled to Australia to inspect and appraise aluminium trailers, taking the time to talk to many owners of aluminium trailers already successfully in use over there.
Using the research gathered in Australia, and their own knowledge and skills already developed from years in the trailer building industry, Ian and Bill were able to convince Mercer-based Roose Industries Ltd to buy the country’s very first aluminium truck body and tip trailer.
Aluminium wasn’t an instant success, but it proved the point that the material was not only suited to this application, it would become a major force in the transport industry. What it did offer over conventional steel construction was obviously the tare weight advantage, but it also came with corrosion improvements as compared to the steel bodies of the era.
During the first few years after aluminium’s initial introduction only a trickle of orders passed through the order book, and build numbers increased through the 1970s. However, as the years passed and the early units proved themselves in service, this trickle turned into a veritable flood, as changing transport regulations bought about the need for even greater carrying capacity.
After a short retirement, sadly Bill Box passed away in June 2012. Ian Stevenson has stepping down from the day to day running of the company to enjoy more time with his wife Ruth.
Mike Stevenson is Managing Director of the company his father founded and he points out he has a very experienced and committed management team that are very proud to continue Ian and Bill’s legacy. A legacy based on traditional valves - product quality, innovation, and customer focus, all of which are very much reflected in the business today.
