Company Information...
Leavesley Container Services, a trading division of J T Leavesley (Alrewas) Ltd, have operated a Container Sales, Container Rental and offered Conversion of Containers at their Branston Depot since 1986. Prior to this the container business was operated from within the Leavesley International surplus stock depot at Alrewas.
The business evolved out of the Surplus Stock trading activities of Leavesley International when Freightliner disposed of their early fleet of 27ft long aluminium bodied freight containers, to comply with the new ISO standard sizes introduced in the late 1960’s. These containers had replaced the earlier wooden railway wagons, with sliding doors and convex roof sections, some of which can still be seen in use in the 21st century!
In the early 1970’s the freight container industry was still very much in its infancy, and there was not much of an after-market for freight containers which the shipping lines no longer needed. This opportunity was recognised, and very soon Leavesley became a supplier of second hand containers to customers around the , many of whom were already surplus stock customers. In this period virtually all the container units were sold as standard ‘box’ containers to satisfy storage requirements of one sort or another. The container rental business came about to satisfy demand from customers who only had a temporary storage problem, and needed containers for just a few months. The conversion business evolved in a similar way, a customer asked if we could install an extra door in the side of a container, and maybe a window. The workshop at Leavesley International were accustomed to doing all sorts of modifications to Ex Military vehicles, and this minor container conversion was easily dealt with, eventually leading the way to far more complex conversions and modifications.
By the early eighties the container business was becoming too big to share a depot with the surplus stock business, and the decision was made to seek separate premises. A suitable site became available at nearby Branston, on a former sand and gravel quarry site. Leavesley Containers occupied what had been the stock holding yard and the former quarry ‘pit’ was allowed to flood and has since become a popular nature area with various leisure activities co-ordinated by the local council. The site at Branston is adjacent to the A38, which offers easy access, together with convenient links to the
