In the world of haulage, it’s about as glamorous as it gets.
The annual calendar from truck makers Scania is a glossy production that’s in the same league as the legendary one from Pirelli – but without the scantily clad young women.
Among the companies being featured in next year’s calendar is Williams Haulage, the firm that’s responsible for transporting the products of Europe’s biggest trailer manufacturer, Ifor Williams Trailers.
The internationally renowned photographer, Bryan Winstanley, has already started on the 2012 calendar.
He chose the windswept but beautiful Berwyn Mountains as a backdrop for the picture with a Scania lorry from Williams Haulage that was loaded up with horseboxes from Ifor Williams Trailers.
Huw Williams, the Operations Director of Williams Haulage, was at the wheel of one of their brand new Scania trucks for the shoot.
Appropriately, the company will be celebrating their 40th anniversary next year when the calendar comes out.
Their 25 vehicles travel a total of three million miles every year and they also manage the global distribution for Ifor Williams Trailers.
That’s a big job because the trailer firm has distributors across mainland Europe and as far afield as Australia and New Zealand.
Huw Williams said: “We’ve got a strong relationship with Scania and this is a fantastic opportunity to go in their pan-Europe calendar for 2012. It’s a real feather in our cap.
“We have just bought three new vehicles from them which have been configured specifically to transport trailers.
“It’s a 12 metres long, twin axle vehicle and can carry a payload of 15 tonnes. It has a13-litre engine and a 12 speed automatic gearbox which helps in terms of fuel efficiency – . that’s a huge saving at the current climate with fuel prices.
“Bryan is a very talented photographer and as you’d expect he’s also a perfectionist so we’re all looking forward to seeing the finished shot in the calendar.
Manchester based Bryan specialises in photographing heavy vehicles and has travelled all over the world to do so in places like Africa and the Middle East.
“A lot of people think of trucks as being just oily greasy things but I’m in the business of trying to portray them as business machines that are we as a human species totally rely on to get things from A to B.
“If you want a packet of soap powder or a pot of jam or a trailer, it won’t exist if we don’t have the means to transport them,
“The difficulty with that is that nine times out of 10 I’ve got something that is 52 feet long, eight and a half foot wide, and weighs several tonnes – so I’ve got to be very mindful of health and safety, traffic on the road.
“It’s not easy to park a 50 foot vehicle exactly where I want it to be with a panoramic view as a backdrop.
“In terms of location, the Berwyn Mountains are pretty dramatic. In today’s marketing scenario, the average take for looking at a photograph is probably less than three seconds and then you turn the page.
“If you can keep them looking for five seconds or more then I consider my job well done.”
Williams Haulage buy their Scania lorries from Deeside Truck Services, based in Alltami, near Mold, and their Area Manager, Emma Jacobs, was helping out the shoot.
She said:”There is a huge amount of planning and effort that goes into a calendar like this but it’s worth it because the Scania calendars are brilliant.”
Andrew Reece-Jones, the Design Engineering Manager at Ifor Williams Trailers, said: “We are delighted that Williams Haulage are being featured in the Scania Calendar and we too are looking forward immensely to seeing the finished product.”
