Peter Elson meets Mal Fleet, managing director of Fleet Removals

FRED FLEET has gone down in history as the Titanic look-out who spotted the infamous iceberg which sank the world’s biggest ship in 1912.

His distant cousin, Mal Fleet, is also in the shipping business, as managing director of Fleet Removals, and would love to know more about Fred, who survived the sinking.

In an amazing coincidence, stored in Fleet’s Knowsley warehouse are the archives of Liverpool Central Library, while it is refurbished.

Among those records are thought to be the documents recording Fred Fleet’s forgotten, orphaned early life.

While there are no icebergs lurking in Prescot and Knowsley, there have been other business obstacles for Fleet Removals to avoid.

The company specialises in removals, domestic and corporate, home and abroad.

By diversifying into the storage business in a big way, Fleet Removals has ridden the recession.

“Initially, it was hard to fill, but it’s turned out to be a timely move, just before the recession hit domestic removals and is 80% full,” said Fleet.

“The key to surviving a recession is always to have a second option – especially if in domestic removals and the house market fails.

“We’ve been through three difficult economic times. My ambition is make it pay and pay the wages.

“We can store anything non-perishable or non-hazardous in our 48,000 sq ft warehouse in Knowsley Business Park. It’s bigger than our previous 28,000 sq ft one in Prescot, which we moved from three years ago,” said Fleet.

In there lie personal effects, public records, archives, palletised stock and library stock.

The company has 35 staff who were kept on during the recession, but it had to let go three staff on temporary contracts last week.

It is a family affair. Fleet’s wife Hayley (I) does accounts and pay-roll; daughter Ashley and niece Hayley (II) run sales and administration; nephew Terry is transport manager.

Long-term employees Alan Glover, company accountant, and John McCormick, sales manager, are almost part of the family.

Son Mal (III), 21, is an apprentice pipe-fitter. Fleet said: “He wants a self-made career. The door is open to him, but he must decide.

“However,” chuckled Fleet, “ I’ve got high hopes for Ashley’s son, Richie, who’s four.”

Such intense merging of work and family life doesn’t bother him.