Mezeron & Steam Packet Master Thread

[Blade Runner]

I expect cheekyboy will have late papers tomorrow too !

 

He should buy an iPad and give up on dead trees.

 

Maybe a daft question and I am prepared to be ridiculed! Why cant the papers be printed locally? We have the IOM Newspapers so what is stopping them doing it (after contract negotiation). Would seem more 21st Century to me? Shipping/ flying such a bulky/ heavy low cost product every day seems wrong on all sorts of levels to me.

Nice idea but where do they get the paper from?

 

The Forestry Board or what ever they call themselves now have a lot of trees that only seem to produce fence posts for the Forestry Board!! and farmers i.e. low value products not building timber. I have no idea what it would cost to set up a small paper mill but that could be an answer?

[cheeky boy]

I expect cheekyboy will have late papers tomorrow too !

 

He should buy an iPad and give up on dead trees.

 

Maybe a daft question and I am prepared to be ridiculed! Why cant the papers be printed locally? We have the IOM Newspapers so what is stopping them doing it (after contract negotiation). Would seem more 21st Century to me? Shipping/ flying such a bulky/ heavy low cost product every day seems wrong on all sorts of levels to me.

Nice idea but where do they get the paper from?

 

 

It could be printed on the reams of redundant letterheaded paper created when the govt. departments re brand themselves

[metisse]

I expect cheekyboy will have late papers tomorrow too !

 

He should buy an iPad and give up on dead trees.

 

Maybe a daft question and I am prepared to be ridiculed! Why cant the papers be printed locally? We have the IOM Newspapers so what is stopping them doing it (after contract negotiation). Would seem more 21st Century to me? Shipping/ flying such a bulky/ heavy low cost product every day seems wrong on all sorts of levels to me.

Nice idea but where do they get the paper from?

 

The Forestry Board or what ever they call themselves now have a lot of trees that only seem to produce fence posts for the Forestry Board!! and farmers i.e. low value products not building timber. I have no idea what it would cost to set up a small paper mill but that could be an answer?

 

A paper mill for the islands news papers?

You were correct it was a daft question.

[manshimajin]

Lost Login I understad that if we were all offered an open ended choice we could go round in circles. But MW has been making noises about reduced frequency of service to frighten politicians (probably primarily) and passengers. I am not at all convinced that this is the end of the world and given the decisions that need to be made surely MW would be well advised to check out what people think. As I have said a number of times, the challenge for MW is to see competition as an opportunity not some diabolic threat. Running more effective services that allow the current very low utilisation figures to be improved may be one of the ways of addressing this. Why not ask the people who use the boats? It seems like a much more constructive approach to me than simply scaring the public and politicians by his unfortunate bad mouthing of some local businesses and his competitor.

 

I think that Chris Robertshaw is right to be saying It is unfortunate that opinion is becoming polarized on here because everyone wants the same thing - the best for the Isle of Man. However I think that the fundamental reason opinion is being polarised is to a large extent down to Mark Woodward's comments which seem to have angered a lot of people by their focus on threat rather than constructive discussion of the fuure - after all as shown on the thread he did tell Tynwald in 2008 that the IOMSPC did have competition for freight. What has changed?

Edited November 7, 2010 by manshimajin

[taz8130]

http://www.manxradio.com/newsread.aspx?id=48436

 

Packet boss says 'sorry' to supermarket chain

 

The Steam Packet has issued an apology to Shoprite over comments made by the ferry company's chief executive, Mark Woodward.

 

In statement, Mr Woodward describes the supermarket chain as 'a valuable and committed customer of the Steam Packet Company'.

 

And he apologises for any misleading impression given that Shoprite was not committed to supporting the Island's economy.

 

The apology follows a comment in the local press in which Mr Woodward quoted Shoprite's motto and questioned whether the firm was really 'Manx to the Max', which the supermarket chain objected to strongly.

 

Shoprite says it is doing business with both the Packet and its freight competitor Mezeron, using seven different hauliers to bring goods to the Island.

 

The statement concludes by saying the Steam Packet recognises 'the significant contribution Shoprite makes to the Island's economy', by employing around 600 Manx workers and supporting Manx domiciled businesses.

 

Oh dear, it would seem that MW is really on course to win back that freight he lost. First, he tells them he has been overcharging them to pay for passenger services, then he questions their ethics.

 

Shall we start taking bets now on how long he will last?

 

#PR-FAIL.

 

 

The more Woodward speaks, the more he reminds me of Tony Hayward during the BP fiasco. Hopefully he will meet the same end - employmentwise

 

With regards to the Graylaw - Stobart connection, Graylaw are based in Skelmersdale and Stobart have recently opened a massive state-of-the-art 528,000 sq ft chilled food facility 25 miles away in Widnes, handling Tesco's products.

Edited November 7, 2010 by taz8130

[pongo]

It could be printed on the reams of redundant letterheaded paper created when the govt. departments re brand themselves

 

Paper will be a thing of the past once the excellent IOM govt backed 'e-habitant' scheme comes on stream.

[Lost Login]

As I have said a number of times, the challenge for MW is to see competition as an opportunity not some diabolic threat.

 

What they say publically and privately may be different, but I do think the SP and its owners do see the competition as an opportunity. An opportunity to put pressure on and possibly get some things changed in their favour. That is good business practice although probably unpalatable to many of us as users of the business.

[gilf_uk]

......after all as shown on the thread he did tell Tynwald in 2008 that the IOMSPC did have competition for freight. What has changed?

 

Indeed. What has changed is that, he was boasting in the select committee that they had increased their market share from 70% to 80% of the freight market. Now the competition has fought back and gained market share back from IOMSPC, and he doesn't like that. It's unfair. Or more likely, because it's decimated their business plan and the loss of business means they are now unable to service the parent company's debt.

 

And yes, it has polarized opinion on here - but while MW is still in charge, the IOMSPC is fighting a losing PR battle.

[Max Power]

As I have said a number of times, the challenge for MW is to see competition as an opportunity not some diabolic threat.

 

What they say publically and privately may be different, but I do think the SP and its owners do see the competition as an opportunity. An opportunity to put pressure on and possibly get some things changed in their favour. That is good business practice although probably unpalatable to many of us as users of the business.

This would be fine if our government didn't have the negotiating skills of Chamberlain!

[manshimajin]

As I have said a number of times, the challenge for MW is to see competition as an opportunity not some diabolic threat.

 

What they say in public and privately may be different, but I do think the SP and its owners do see the competition as an opportunity. An opportunity to put pressure on and possibly get some things changed in their favour. That is good business practice although probably unpalatable to many of us as users of the business.

LL what they are saying pubically is IMO stupid and ill thought through and absolutely not good business practice (and I say this from a point of view of having managed a large service business).I sincerely hope that they are looking privately at business opportunities to get out of the hole they are digging for themselves. But it is bad business practice to try and throw dirt at your competitors and at your past customers - unless there are grounds that really stack up. Even then one shouldn't try to create a Goliath v. David scenario. When you mess up you should come out and admit it and say what you are doing to fix things.

 

Just consider the 'messages' and impressions that MW is putting out:

 

1. MW was happy to make positive statements when the IOMSPC was winnng the freight battle. When a competitor outsmarts him he cries 'foul',
   
2. He has attacked the ownership and crewing of Mezeron ships - by doing this he is drawing attention to the foreign ownership of the IOMSPC and the foreign crewing when it means cheaper wage bills,
   
3. H has made very public the fact that the IOMSPC were screwing freight traffic charges to subsidise passengers - this highlights slack management
   
4. He has tried to criticise local companies for using Mezeron - and is then forced to apologise
   
5. He has tried to creae a 'scare' on pricing - but he has not been specific about this
   
6. He blames a lot on the UA - but didn't the IOMSPC sign the Agreement and furthermore seek an extension to 2026? MW seems to be saying we like it when it suits us but grumble about it when it does not conform precisely to what we want it to do
   
7. He has drawn attention both to what appeas to be high profits (I am just going on what is said on this thread) and also to the large debt that the IOMSPC has been made to carry (by its foreign owners?)
   
8. He has probably done a lot to undermine a sense of pride and loyalty towards the IOMSPC
   

 

That IMO is not a list of positives and good business communication...

Edited November 7, 2010 by manshimajin

[badlad]

anyone remember this

http://www2.iomtoday.co.uk/pdfs/Revenue%20and%20Profit.pdf

[Blade Runner]

[it could be printed on the reams of redundant letterheaded paper created when the govt. departments re brand themselves

 

Thats the kind of lateral thinking that I like.

[metisse]

anyone remember this

http://www2.iomtoday.co.uk/pdfs/Revenue%20and%20Profit.pdf

But those figures are from 2006 when the island was in the middle of a massive building boom with most of the materials and vehicles plant coming on the packet ships. not quite the same scenario now is it?

[gazza]

anyone remember this

http://www2.iomtoday.co.uk/pdfs/Revenue%20and%20Profit.pdf

 

36% profit when the avarage is 13%.

 

yes i see there hard done by

[Blade Runner]

anyone remember this

http://www2.iomtoday.co.uk/pdfs/Revenue%20and%20Profit.pdf

But those figures are from 2006 when the island was in the middle of a massive building boom with most of the materials and vehicles plant coming on the packet ships. not quite the same scenario now is it?

 

I think you will find that most of the islands building materials have been brought in via Mezaron in Ramsey for a long time now. Bulky stuff that does not really require careful transport like the IOMSP provides.