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Small but mighty: 30
years of rain or shine
When there’s no other option but to make something
work, Hailstone Travel is proof that with hard work
and determination, success can be achieved in spades
Michaela Peacock
Contributor
Running a successful coach operation has its
challenges, and one operator that has faced
its fair share of those – but has come out
the other side fighting – is Wickford-based
Hailstone Travel.
The family-run business has much to
celebrate this year; it’s reached its 30-yearsin
service milestone and has completed its
goal of having a fully Euro 6 fleet. No mean
feat for small independent firms.
We visit the husband-and-wife team and
joint directors, Lawrence and Tina Hailstone,
to find out the secrets behind running the
successful business.
From nothing
There came a time in Lawrence and Tina’s
lives when there was no option but to make
the business work.
It was in 1988 when the firm was
launched. “We never thought about running
a coach firm… we didn’t inherit the business
from parents like some in the industry –
we started from scratch and built it up,”
says Tina, who is also the firm’s Transport
Manager.
Lawrence had been driving services for
wheelchairs users, manually lifting them
into and out of the coach. He later developed
scoliosis and, as a result, was unable to carry
on with the job.
It was then that there was no other
option for the pair but to succeed and make
Hailstone Travel what it is today.
“The rule is to not spread yourself too
thin,” says Tina. “That’s when things start to
go wrong.”
The firm bought one vehicle at first,
a brand-new 16-seater LDV Sherpa. In
hindsight, the pair explain they wish they
| January 2019 | @miniplusmag | @miniplusteam 24 | miniplus magazine
Directors Tina and
Lawrence Hailstone
With the ULEZ,
you’re just moving
one problem to
another area
didn’t buy new at the start, because they
could have saved money by buying an
identical vehicle second-hand.
Fleet investment
Although Lawrence explains that he’s
reluctant to call his fleet “executive”, they
are of luxury standard. He says that it’s
important to make the investment into the
vehicles, stating: “If you start cheap, you end
up cheap”.
All vehicles are Euro 6 standard and none
are older than four years, with 2015 being
the oldest vehicle that Hailstone operates.
Each features a personalised HT (Hailstone
Travel) number plate and all have their own
weather-inspired name:
Cyclone: 34 seater coach
Monsoon: 34 seater coach
Typhoon: 34 seater coach
Twister: 34 seater coach
Breeze: 16-19 seater minibus