With Roselyn Coaches of Cornwall set to celebrate its 70th year in May, Beth Hutson speaks to Managing Director Jonathan Ede on his time in the family business
On leaving school in 1987, Jonathan Ede decided it was time to focus his attention on the family business, having served an apprenticeship at a local haulage company, and worked for Ford’s Travel in Gunnislake as an apprentice, carrying out various duties including driving.
“I came to a point in my life where I felt I had more to offer, so I spoke to my parents about coming to work for my dad at Roselyn Coaches, and I did that in 1987,” he says. “I worked with him until he passed away in 1992.”
The sudden passing of Bryan Ede in July 1992 saw Jonathan pushed quickly into unknown territory, as he and his family members stepped up to run the business and continue his father’s legacy. “It was difficult at the time, because life didn’t stop for us even though my father had died,” he says. “We picked up the pieces with no time to grieve and carried on with the business. That’s what we felt we had to do.”
“It was very difficult to start with, as about six months afterwards we had to do a set of retendering for the school contracts, which was an eye opener. We went from nine tenders to only two, because we were undercut and it was a shock for us. We wondered what we were doing wrong, but we’ve learnt over the years that you’re not always getting it wrong, its just that people believe their prices are better than yours.”
After hitting the ground running following his father’s death, the demands of running a successful coach company in an ever-changing industry have presented numerous challenges over the years. “Our biggest problem with operating in Cornwall is that it’s like we’re in a cul-de-sac,” says Jonathan. “Everything comes in and goes back out again, so it’s quite difficult as an operating centre to actually operate out of.
“Also, some of the changes in work patterns have presented challenges – at one point European work represented 27% of our turnover, now that’s gone down to only about 6%.”
On the subject of growth, Jonathan believes that the industry needs to put more into training initiatives for young people. “As an industry we don’t help ourselves – there are few apprenticeships or anywhere for the drivers to go.
“We set up our own training scheme, where we were able to deliver things that were specific to our business, rather than just the norm. We’ve had one or two that started driving, and now they’re in the office. This is where the industry needs to change – we need to recognise the need to pay younger people a reasonable wage to make them want to come into the industry.”
Despite the challenges of the industry, there’s a lot for Roselyn Coaches to be proud of, and it has been shortlisted for the Coach Tour Operator Award (large fleet) at the upcoming British Coach Tourism Awards. “It’s nice to step back sometimes and see how the business has grown, and it’s great when people are kind enough to tell you ‘your dad would be proud’. You don’t always see your achievements personally,” Jonathan says. “Growing the business, and being able to work for some of the clients that we do, makes you think ‘I’ve made a difference’.”
