We’re Winter Ready

With a 5,000 tonne reserve of rock salt ready to tackle the artic conditions, 24 drivers from Midlands Expressway Limited are on standby and raring to go as weather reports predict an imminent sub-zero spell.

Covering the three lanes and hard shoulder along our 27-mile stretch, five gritters and six vehicles holding snow ploughs will be treating the road with round-the-clock care. Depending on conditions, our drivers are capable of spreading between 8g – 40g of salt per square metre across the whole of the road in an impressive one hour and forty minutes, meaning we’re able to keep roads moving in any weather.

To ensure vehicles are working effectively, our team monitors a bespoke weather forecast three times a day to put the perfect plans in place, making the M6toll as safe as it can be. We also have a consultant forecaster at the end of a phone to offer advice whenever needed.

Our commitment to keeping roads open isn’t just limited to M6toll users– whenever whiteout conditions ensure, we’re ready to lend a helping hand to our partnering agencies. Highways England gritters can access their routes via the M6toll and we’re always ready to share our supply of salt at the Weeford site when needed.

James Hodson, Director of Motorway Operations and Facilities for M6toll, commented: “With ice and snow forecast to hit the Midlands in the coming weeks, we’re fully equipped and prepared to make a swift response. We continue to be as dedicated as ever to helping drivers reach their destination on time, every time, however still urge all road users to be extremely vigilant in these challenging conditions.”

You can Find Out More on the M6toll Here. Alternatively, check out Another Blog Post Here.

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M6toll 15 faces – Neil Cottam, General Manager, Ocado

As the M6toll celebrates 15 years of stress-free, congestion-less motoring, we’ve been speaking to the faces behind the wheels; those business commuters and individuals who rely on the M6toll to reach their destination ‘on time, every time’.

We nipped out of the office and grabbed some time with Neil, who heads up delivery for Ocado, the nation’s favourite online supermarket (a gong it’s won seven year on the spin). Based out of Dordon, it couldn’t be better placed to make full use of the M6toll, and in 2017 it was clocking up nearly 1,500 trips a month on our motorway.

Hi Neil, thanks for speaking to us. How long has Ocado been using the M6toll?

We started using the road in 2005 when our Manchester distribution centre opened – we used the road as a connector for our Manchester to Hatfield deliveries. Then we opened our location in Dordon, near Tamworth, and we couldn’t really be closer to the road.

Why did your business first decide to start using the M6toll?

Our business is hugely time critical. Like most in our sector, we work to the ‘just-in-time’ business model, so with the M6toll being much quicker and substantially more reliable than the M6, it’s very attractive to logistics businesses. We need to get our deliveries made on time, and the toll road ensures this happens.

How often do your team use the M6toll?

With us only closing two days a year, we use it multiple times, every single day. Every journey coming out of Dordon will use the M6toll.

What do you think the best thing about using the road is?

The obvious answers are the lack of congestion along the route, and the huge daily time savings. But for us, the key factor is the reliability. It gives us a certainty around making time critical deliveries that no other road can offer.

Can you think of an occasion in your 12 years as an M6toll motorist when we’ve saved the day?

Every delivery is key and important to Ocado, so the M6toll saves the day, every day. The M6 is generally known as the worst road in the UK, and for us to get off to a good start on the M6toll is vital. Any incidents or traffic further up on the M6 are then mitigated by the time saving on the M6toll – for these reasons, we would never not use it.

What were your challenges as a business before the M6toll?

We’ve always used it – right from the beginning! But sometimes we’ve had to use the other roads for one reason or another and it is never a great experience.

What would be the effects to your business if you stopped using the M6toll?

It would be negative all round! We would have to build more time into trunking our vehicles, which would hit the overall sales of our business as they would have to alter the cut-off time for ordering.

Could you offer some advice to businesses who are weighing up whether to use the road?

Give it a try, it’s horses for courses, but if you are a time critical business where cost is a secondary concern, then it’s a no brainer.

What are your drivers’ opinions on the M6toll versus the other roads in the area? Do they see the benefits which you see as a business?

Even though our drivers have always used our road, they appreciate the benefits as much as we do. In fact, if we ever stopped using the road, they would think we’ve gone mad!

To read another of our 15 faces articles, Click Here.

 

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M6toll’s HerGV winner kick-starts her career with PD Ports

The M6toll’s HerGV initiative to address haulage industry driver shortage, and the proportion of women within HGV driving roles, has reached a milestone point in the campaign as they announce that their competition winner has been offered a full time job opportunity by PD Ports.

M6toll’s HerGV competition was run in conjunction with the Road Haulage Association (RHA) and Pertemps Driver Training, and aimed to encourage more women to seek a career within the HGV industry. M6toll believe that recruiting more women could support their objective to improve the industry’s gender imbalance and increase the number of people seeking a career within the profession.

Emma Walker, the winner of the HerGV campaign said, “Becoming a HGV driver was a dream of mine since I was a little girl and with the help of M6toll, RHA & Pertemps Driver Training, that dream is now a reality.  Before I embarked on this journey I didn’t quite realise how much I would have to do to get my licence.  I am so proud of what I have achieved for myself as well as my family, and I am very much looking forward to hitting the road, thanks to PD Ports, who will be instrumental in my career, moving forwards”.

Jim French, PD Ports’ Portcentric Logistics Director, said: “We’re very pleased to welcome Emma to our transport team at Teesport and delighted to be her employer of choice in what is an incredibly competitive industry.“

Emma Walker’s HerGV prize package was worth over £3,000 and included HGV training from industry leaders, Pertemps Driver Training as well as guidance from some of the most influential women within the HGV industry. Emma Walker has also become a She’s RHA ambassador, with the hope that she will encourage other women to join the haulage industry.

Maxine Estevez, Press Officer at M6toll concluded, “We’re so pleased that Emma has now been given the opportunity to fulfil her dream of becoming a HGV driver. She was a worthy winner of our HerGV campaign, and continues to take steps towards making a positive change within the industry. We hope that she continues to push forwards, and prove that, with a positive attitude and a powerful message, change is possible”.

M6toll have evolved their HerGV campaign over the last 12 months with the addition of their #DrivingForChange movement.  The HerGV #DrivingForChange initiative’s focus for 2018 is to promote positive conversations about how encouraging more women into the profession could contribute to real change, within what is currently a very male dominated industry.

For more information on the HerGV campaign, visit www.her-gv.co.uk

You Can Read Another Article on the M6toll Here.

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