Twenty five years ago, on August 1st 1990, Neil Dowson collected his first load as an owner driver. The load of wheat was delivered to Rank Hovis McDougall in Hull. Since then Neil has grown the transport business he founded, C. Neil Dowson Ltd, to the point where it operates 26 trucks, 18 of which are Volvo FH 6×2 tractor units. The company now specialises in container haulage.
To celebrate the occasion of the company’s 25th anniversary, C. Neil Dowson Ltd., has purchased a new Volvo FH-500 tractor unit from Crossroads Truck & Bus Ltd. at Stallingborough. This is the second new-series FH to enter service with the C. Neil Dowson fleet, which is based, appropriately for a Volvo operator, at Scandinavian Way, Immingham.
In recognition of his long service with the company, the 25th anniversary FH has been allocated to driver Allan Welch, who has been with C. Neil Dowson Ltd., for 19 years.
Allan, who drove a ‘Classic’ FH before, declares himself ‘totally smitten’ with the Globetrotter-cabbed FH which is equipped with I-Shift automated transmission, leather upholstery, roof mounted light bar and polished Durabrite wheels, together with a special paint job that incorporates a 25th Anniversary logo.
Neil Dowson Ltd., owner Neil Dowson had been driving trucks for a living for 8 years before he became an owner operator. For several years, he was engaged primarily on bulk grain transport, before moving to concentrate on container haulage out of Immingham. The business now focuses on container haulage, including fridge and tank containers. The new FH is expected to cover around 140,000Kms a year.
Neil’s first Volvo was an M-plate FH12-380, 6×2 tractor unit. This vehicle was operated at 44 tonnes GCW on intermodal duties transporting shipping containers between port and rail-head.
The company keeps its trucks for up to seven years and Neil Dowson reports that the good service on parts he receives from Crossroads at Stallingborough, product reliability and good fuel economy ‘in the high eights’, are key factors in why he continues purchasing Volvo trucks. He also praises Crossroads’ sales team member Keith Ottley as someone who is ‘very good to deal with.’
