New driving force at TJ

A waste management specialist in the South has signalled the next chapter of growth with an enlarged board of directors and the launch of two new services.

Three senior figures have been promoted within the TJ Group to oversee the expanding company, which has 120 staff, a fleet of 80 trucks and 3,000 business customers across Hampshire, Dorset, Sussex and Surrey.

Operations director John Gosling has become managing director, slotting in to the previous role of founder Terry Higgins, who is now group chairman.

Neil Glazebrook, previously transport manager, is director of TJ Transport and Jamie Higgins, who was operations manager, is director of TJ Transport and TJ Waste & Recycling.

The senior management change comes as TJ unveils two new services – general haulage and night work for road improvement schemes.

Terry said: “John, Neil and Jamie have worked tirelessly in helping to build up the TJ Group, ensuring that our customers, from blue-chip companies to the local builder down the street with one of our skips, receive a market-leading service.

“They are also adept at developing new revenue opportunities to maximise the operational capacity of our fleet of 80 trucks.

“Given their loyalty, appetite for graft, industry knowledge and understanding of the business, underlined by the launch of general haulage and night work, the directorships signal the next stage of our growth.”

Previously the board of directors comprised Terry, who founded the company in 1995 with a portable cabin, a telephone and a book of contacts, and John.

TJ has acquired five articulated trucks for its new general haulage service, working for a number of hauliers who require a helping hand to fulfil customer demand; the vehicles carry ship containers – called ‘boxes’ in the logistics industry.

In a separate development, the company is supplying 15 vehicles to transport aggregates to and from road improvement sites during nights, including at the A3, A31, A34 and up to the M25.

Meanwhile TJ, which recently signed a three-year partnership deal with Portsmouth Football Club, has been supplying recycling and general waste bins for a range of public events.

The company, headquartered at Charity Farm, Wickham, is also supplying 1,100-litre Euro Bins for the Portsmouth International Kite Festival this weekend (August 24-26) and for the Great South Run in Portsmouth on October 26-27.

TJ operates four materials recovery and recycling facilities in Winchester, Portsmouth, Havant and Yapton, West Sussex, where recyclable materials from workplaces and the public events are processed.

Materials for recycling include aluminum cans, paper, cardboard, plastic, fluorescent tubes and obsolete IT equipment. Upwards of 70% of office and commercial waste are recycled in some cases.

There is also a fifth site, a concrete crushing facility at Portfield, Chichester, where TJ recently invested £200,000 in a new crusher to meet intensive industry demand for recycled aggregates. All five sites are licensed by the Environment Agency.

Earlier this summer TJ invested £750,000 in new haulage vehicles, creating 10 jobs after being awarded a major contract to transport aggregates, such as gravel and sand, on behalf of a multi-national carrier.

In a related development, through new-appointment commercial manager Steve Grant, the company has diversified into the buying and selling of aggregates for the construction industry in southern England.

At the core of TJ’s operations, along with the staff, are its fleet of liveried vehicles, from skip loaders, grab lorries, tippers and tractor units to tipper and ejector trailers.

Terry said: “We are at the forefront of an industry that is, at long last, being recognised as an innovator and one benefiting the environment, not diminishing it.”

Britain’s waste management sector reportedly contributes £5.5 billion to the economy, employing 140,000 people.

According to government figures, the cost of dealing with general and commercial waste typically accounts for 4% of a company’s turnover.