Lucas Freight / JW
Lucas & Co. 1928 - 2004
In 1928, John Walter Lucas,
a son of the renowned Capt. John Lucas, purchased a small import /
export business operating from the Albert Pier with a regular trade to
/ from St. Malo. The type of general cargo that was carried included
such diverse commodities as fresh eggs and gloves.
John A. de Garis joined the
new company as a young man and when John W. Lucas died in 1929 after a
period of illness he took over the "reins" and became the active
partner with JW's son Harold, a civil servant.
At about this time the
Agency was acquired for ships belonging to William Muller & Co.
of Rotterdam which brought regular consignments of glass and flower
bulbs from Antwerp for the horticultural industry. This traffic was
later transported to Rotterdam and a regular general cargo service was
established between Rotterdam, Guernsey, Jersey and Bordeaux in France
on a fortnightly basis.
The Second World War
intervened and afterwards the service recommenced carrying thousands of
tonnes of wines, foodstuffs, horticultural equipment and various other
general cargo.
The company also acted as
Ships Agents for bulk cargoes of grain, timber, peat, cement and also
exported tar, a by-product of the Gas Company.
An insurance department
covered cargoes and expanded into vehicles, boats and household
policies.
In 1955, after the death of
Harold Lucas, John A. de Garis acquired JW Lucas & Co. and
continued to trade with the name that was so well known
internationally.
Then in 1959 he was joined
by his son John N. de Garis and the business continued to fulfil its
important roles.
The business progressed and
in1978 the company moved to their present much larger warehouse and
offices on the St. Julian's Emplacement at the White Rock, St. Peter
Port.
During the 1970's and 80's
ownership of the Dutch shipping line changed several times and was
eventually acquired by Allied Coasters Ltd. of Guernsey who took over
the Rotterdam agency.
JW Lucas & Co's
freight forwarding connections continued to grow and expand to include
transhipment through the major UK ports of Felixstowe, Tilbury,
Thamesport and Southampton as well as Rotterdam and St. Malo.
John de Garis senior was
still active in the business at the age of 95 until shortly before his
death in 2001 after 73 years of service he was then succeeded by John
N. de Garis.
In to the 21st Century JW
Lucas & Co. continues to provide many services within the
shipping industry as Ships Agents, Customs Clearance Agents,
Warehousing and Distributors, at all times using the experience of many
years to the advantage of their clientele.
At the end of 2003, John
N. de Garis retired and in January 2004 Adam and his wife Denise took
up the reins. At the same time Robert Lowery (Rob) started;
unfortunately his learning curve was very steep as Denise gave birth to
a beautiful daughter, Sidney on the 3rd February 2004. |
Lucas Freight / JW
Lucas & Co. 2004 - date
A couple of years down the
line, it was evident with the ever increasing work load that an
additional member of staff was required. In June 2006, Sally
Elliott joined the ranks. Sally has worked within the
shipping world before and has brought with her, new experience and
knowledge adding to that of Adam & Rob and generally Lucas
Freight Ltd.
At the end of 2006, Art
Osborne, our Storeman / Driver, retired leaving his duties to Adam
& Rob which enables them to keep 'hands on' with all aspects of
the business.
From January 2004 through
to August 2007 Denise continued to provide her services on a part-time
basis, looking after Lucas Freight's accounts; however when her (and
Adam's) second child was born on the 18th October 2007, has remained a
Mummy at home.
In
2008 we bought a new van, a LWB High Top Fiat Ducato which was
utilised with a full three pallets collecting from a client
daily.
Also there was a new forklift to the company, an electric, zero
mast
height Lansing 2.5t - this is like having a Rolls Royce compared to the
'old smoker' we did have (which is still being used today within
the
horticultural industry locally)...
In the Summer of 2010 we had new offices
built within our warehouse (with a new phone system and computers)
which
replaced those constructed way back in the 1970's. It's clean
&
warm when it needs to be (very rare we need to switch the heating on as
its so well insulated) and cool when it needs to be (with the aid of
air-con). Lovely! Thanks Mr. Landlord!
In 2010 a photographic festival was
started by Jean-Christophe Godet & Chris Humber.... The Guernsey
Photography Festival
- for 2010, 2011 & 2012 Lucas Freight sponsored some of the
International & Local Logistics. As Adam is a keen
amatuer, he
exhibited his own exhibition within the 2011 festival showing 20 images
of St. Peter Port Harbour entitled Harbour Life
The
end of 2012 saw the demise of Condor Logistics, we wish all of the
staff the best of luck for the future - some have already taken up
positions within other operators and some have changed trades
completely - It was a massive shock and all thanks the loss of LVCR
- If it hadn't been Condor it could have easily been any of the other
large operators. It all just seems a little unfair that its ONLY
the
Channel Islands that have lost this provision, any other NON EU country
can still ship in to the UK under LVCR. However, what is done is
done,
we carry on!
Our traffic will change but our service levels will remain...
Lucas Freight continues to
offer honest and reliable services and as always "Our job
satisfaction comes from knowing that our clients are satisfied!
"
This being our 85th year of trading we
continue to look forward to
providing many more years of service, which we are sure to do with the
support of our satisfied Clients, Customers and Friends.
updated 01/01-2013
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