FM Conway - Going the Extra Mile

Going the Extra Mile

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF ANGELA YEOMAN

The O&K walking crusher at Foster Yeoman’s Torr works. Foster Yeoman was a great ally at a challenging time for us. Their attitude of trust and co-operation was a model to me of the benefits of working with a family company.

told me, ‘Jim wouldn’t dare to tell the gang: they’d have killed him. He wouldn’t come back until the load was actually coming in. Then he’d appear, walking casually through the gates with the load.’ And we got to know the people in the office at Frome, too. Cash was really short, so paying for the asphalt was skin-of-the-teeth stuff. They would phone at the end of the month when the account was due. As often as not, I hadn’t had time to put the invoice in; so I’d have to ask for a couple more weeks. They’d say: ‘Yeah. No problem.’ Then they’d phone a week later to ask if I’d put the invoice in, and I’d tell them I was waiting for the money. And when it arrived, I’d call back to tell them the money was on its way. That was how business was done. It taught me a real lesson about trust, and the importance of knowing who you’re dealing with. That’s one of the great advantages of working with a family business. The work at the schools, and the total dedication and commitment of the gangs, saved us. At last, we could pay off our debts, and even put some money in the bank. But it also led to something else, which was just as good. Through the contacts we made on that job, I learned that the Term Contract for the Borough of Merton (the long-term contract for highway maintenance) was coming up for tender. So, just after Christmas, at the beginning of 1979, I put in a tender for the Merton Term Contract. And then I got married.

Kim and myself on our wedding day. We somehow manage to look cool, calm, and collected – but it was baking hot outside!

42