Working in partnership with The Woodhorn Group

The Woodhorn Group is a family-run range of businesses, committed to achieving excellence. A 1500-acre organic arable and dairy farm is at the heart of the business and the Group operates three licensed recycling sites, enabling significant diversion of green waste from landfill in the South East. Their range of Earth Cycle composts and soil conditioners produce eco-friendly, peat-free products for use by trade and domestic customers. 

Here we talk to Woodhorn’s Commercial Director, Mike Jupp, about the partnership that has grown between TJ and Woodhorn over the years. TJ began working with Woodhorn around 11 years ago, after Mike got in touch with TJ’s Commercial Director, Steve Grant, who he knew from many years ago.

Please tell us about your partnership with TJ…

Around 11 years ago, we became unhappy with the transport provider we were using to undertake our deliveries as they simply weren’t reliable, so we were on the lookout for a new haulage company. At that time, we were also exploring the possibility of expanding our business further afield and wanted to start distributing our topsoil product in Portsmouth and the surrounding areas. I was commuting from home in Fareham to work in Chichester along the A27 and I noticed the TJ lorries on the roads more and more. When I realised that Steve Grant, someone I’d known for many years, worked there, they became the obvious choice.

I called Steve and it turned out that TJ were, at that time, looking for a topsoil provider to partner with and as our soil is regarded as the best in the local area, they were very interested. It was apparent that should we start working together, it would very much be a mutual partnership; we needed their transport and they needed our topsoil, and we thought we could work together to enhance each other’s businesses, which 11 years on, has proved to be the case. 

What initially impressed you about TJ?

The main things that stood out for us about TJ was how immaculate and well-maintained their trucks were. They look great and it gives you real confidence in the level of service they’ll deliver. In addition to that, their drivers are always smart, well-dressed and polite, which makes them a pleasure to deal with. You can tell from the way they manage and maintain their fleet that health and safety is a priority for them – everything about them demonstrates how reputable they are and it gives you a great feel for the company itself.

How do you work together?

We rely on TJ for everything transport-wise, and in return they buy around 8-10,000 tonnes of topsoil per year from us for their client projects. It’s a true partnership, and we’re grateful to TJ as they’ve really enabled us to accelerate our business; we’ve grown eight-fold over the past decade and a lot of that is because TJ has made it possible with their excellent haulage services.

Once we’d partnered with TJ, we realised that we could use the areas that they operate in as target areas for ourselves, so this saw us expanding into Hampshire, serving both Portsmouth and Southampton and the surrounding areas. 

Topsoil is one of the big products we produce, and one of the key ingredients that we use to make it is sand, so when TJ acquired Hythe Quarry, we began using the sand quarried there in our production process. We purchase around 15,000 tonnes of sand from Hythe, which TJ transports to our premises in Chichester. So when they buy the topsoil from us, they’re buying an end product that contains their own raw material!

We also buy between 8 and 10,000 tonnes of other aggregates from them per year as well, which enables us to provide our customers with an all-round aggregate service.

In testament to the strength of our relationship, Steve was instrumental in us expanding our topsoil production into the Southampton area. In December 2022, Steve introduced us to one of his contacts at Mid Hants Quarry in Fawley, where we have subsequently set up a second topsoil production facility. This is great as it has given us a new facility in another county, enabling us to increase our client reach even further.

How have you found the service TJ provides? 

The service in general is very good all round – they’re reliable, they always turn up on time, the vehicles and drivers look the part, they have an excellent health and safety record… I could go on! Steve, Paul and Dan are very quick to provide us with competitive quotes for whatever we need, and they’ve built up good relationships with Tom, Karen and Diane in my sales team. 

The transport team at TJ – Mark, Abbie etc provide a really good service to my sales team too; they prioritise our customers’ needs to ensure an excellent service is delivered, which is great as we can only be as good as the service TJ provides! The way the TJ drivers behave reflects directly on us as they’re the delivery point of contact; the fact that they always deliver on time allows us to remain true to what we’ve promised our customers. They’re an extension of us and we put our complete trust in them. 

tell us about a time TJ went above and beyond for you?

They have gone above and beyond a multitude of times, more times than I can remember! Every year we supply 5,000 tonnes of soil to a customer near Windsor and when they place the order TJ prioritises this, delivering the first loads within 24-48 hours, and completing the entire job within 7 working days. TJ has a network of drivers and subcontractor drivers that they can call upon during busy times, so they always make it work. In turn, our customers think the service is amazing, and thanks to TJ’s reactive work ethos, anything can be achieved!

Another great example is a project we supplied last year; 5,000 tonnes of topsoil was needed for a new sports pitch in Chichester. TJ put loads of trucks on the job and managed to deliver 800 tonnes of soil within a day! Things like that make a big difference to the client and they were very happy with the service as it enabled them to get the job done their end a lot quicker too. 

TJ’s large reliable fleet and excellent logistics management made the job look easy, even though it took 280 lorry movements to get the 5,000 tonnes of soil delivered! This customer was actually their customer initially, but as we were better placed to supply the soil, they passed the client to us to deal with directly, and then we employed them to undertake the haulage, making it a joint venture.

What is it about TJ that particularly appeals to you?

It all starts with what they present outwardly – in other words their great-looking vehicles and smart, professional drivers – it demonstrates the integrity of the company and their ethos. TJ has a continual renewal and maintenance programme for their vehicles and it shows. In addition to that they offer competitive prices, as we do in return. 

There are great relationships running throughout our companies, from Steve and I, to the sales teams, finance teams and so on. Various people from across the whole business order products and services from TJ with confidence. TJ gives us 100% respect and that is felt in every job we work together on. 

Find out more about The Woodhorn Group, the services we provide and other partnerships we’ve formed…