It was not a good weekend to be stuck behind a lorry. From Bristol to Cheshire, truckers took to the road, applied the brakes and drove as slowly as possible, in convoy, in a glum protest against soaring diesel prices and a looming increase in fuel tax.

Normally, the green livery of Eddie Stobart would be among the most common sights driving up and down the M6, but not on Saturday, not during the go-slow, anyway. Stobart's lorries did not take part. It was, the company decided, not its battle. It doesn't see the point in demanding a postponement to the 2p fuel escalator tax, the protestors' primary demand.

“Gordon Brown stopping 2p for a year does not solve the issue,” Andrew Tinkler, the chief executive of Stobart Group, said. “We have to get to the bottom of why oil prices are soaring. The whole world has to get together to sort this out.”

But Mr Tinkler does have a solution, he thinks - and the chief executive of Stobart Group is aiming as high as he can in an attempt to put it into place. “I need to talk to the Government about my plan to take 7 per cent of the trucks off the road ... I'm talking to the Department for Transport, but I want to see Gordon Brown himself,” he said. “I understand the pressure he is under with these fuel protests and I think I can help him.”

How? Make the lorries a metre longer, with a second steel axle near the rear of the trailer so that they have the same turning circle as the existing 13.5-metre trailers. And there would be, as a bonus, no need for road widening. Sounds simple, when you say it like that.

If Mr Tinkler is well aware of the threat posed by higher fuel prices - small hauliers will go bust if fuel stays at this level, he believes, and consolidation is inevitable in an industry where margins can be as small as 5 per cent - he is less concerned by the current Shell tanker drivers' strike. Stobart Group has at least a fortnight's worth of diesel put by.

Yet although that approach to business sounds efficient and forward-thinking, that would be slightly to underestimate the Stobart Group. Its mantra, established when Mr Tinkler bought the business in 2004, has been applied rigidly ever since. It is simply this, he says: “Our whole model is about taking waste out of the industry. I hate waste.” Stobart's survival strategy, in an environment in which oil prices have doubled in a year, is ruthlessly to pass on the increases to its customers. Each week, the extra cost of fuel is passed on to businesses such as Coca-Cola, Nestlé, B&Q and Tesco, for whom Stobart transports goods. Had it not done this, Stobart Group's fuel bill would have increased by £27 million in the past year, according to Mr Tinkler. To put this into context, the company's pre-tax profit for 2008 stood at £3.5 million.

The second part of the haulier's business model is to fill up its 1,100 lorries as much as possible. In the past, retailers and manufacturers have contracted dedicated services from hauliers. Stobart offers clients the chance to share trucks with other customers, cutting their bills and the impact on the environment.

“Our whole aim is to reduce empty legs,” Mr Tinkler said. Utilisation is running at 83 per cent, compared with the 50 per cent rates of some competitors. The goal is to get the utilisation rate up to 90 per cent.

Finally, journeys are costed stringently and divided into fixed and variable costings, so a customer can see exactly what its money goes on. If the customer can reduce the time that a Stobart lorry spends at its site, waiting to be filled, it will be rewarded with a cheaper contract.

“It's a pay-as-you-go model, but the secret of turning this business around was to make sure that risk was appropriately allocated,” Mr Tinkler said.

Mr Tinkler's connection with the Stobart family goes back to childhood. He and William Stobart, the chief operating officer and son of Eddie, have known each other since they were 15. Their parents were friends through church in the small Cumbrian town of Kirkby Stephen, where they lived. Their friendship was sealed when they married sisters.

As a teenager, Mr Tinkler washed and painted Stobart trucks for pocket money. In 1987, he set himself up as a joiner with £500. He bought a van and painted joiner/building contractor on the side. His lucky break came on his first job, where he was fitting doors in an old people's home. He was asked by the main contractor if he would take on the building work.

Mr Tinkler was no builder, but, undaunted, he found a couple of builders to help him out, labouring during the day and working on the books at night. The job turned out to be worth £400,000.

From there he developed WA Developments, which focused on civil engineering and railway infrastructure. In 2004, Mr Tinkler and William Stobart bought Eddie Stobart from William's brother, Edward. The company was weeks away from going bust, after posting its first loss in 2001 - in part because of the soaring price of fuel.

Last year, the company listed on the London Stock Exchange after reversing into Westbury Property Fund. In March, further loose ends were tied up when Mr Tinkler and Mr Stobart sold the loss-making WA Developments to Stobart Group for £10million. At the same time Stobart bought Irlam Group, a rival, for £59.9 million. It has also taken an option to buy Carlisle airport, also owned by Mr Tinkler and Mr Stobart, for £15 million.

These moves have formed the basis of what Mr Tinkler says will be Britain's leading multimodal logistics company. Eddie Stobart no longer wants to be just the king of the road, but the king of rail, water and the airways as well.

There are ambitious plans to develop The Port of Weston at Runcorn. Stobart Group is now the harbour master and has the go-ahead to develop the site. By connecting it to the Manchester Ship Canal, Stobart believes that it can begin to develop a viable inshore freight-shipping business. The company already has a rail service, powered by Eddie the Engine, primarily used by Tesco, which transports goods from the Midlands to Scotland five days a week. It is in negotiations with Network Rail to open up more dedicated rail freight routes, which would be shared, like its lorries, between customers.

The group is considering financing options to bring these projects to life and, despite the credit crunch, is confident that investors will be keen.

“It's all about reducing our carbon footprint,” Mr Tinkler said. “We have to get our customers interested, but if oil remains at these levels I can't see how they wouldn't be.” For a man who admits that he flies around the country a couple of times a week in a private jet to see his staff, it could be argued that he is laying the carbon footprint stuff on a bit thick. Does he really believe in going green?

He looked slightly embarrassed at the question. “I hate waste,” he said. “I try to turn the lights off as much as anyone, but you can't turn them all off then trip over and kill yourself.” And, he admitted, he does drive a gas-guzzling, four-wheel-drive Mercedes. “I travel so much I have to be comfortable. But I will be paying a higher licence on that.”

Mr Tinkler, with his stylish suits and Dolce & Gabanna shoes, is not a typical trucker. Indeed, he looks a bit of a dandy - but he comes from a church-going family and is closely involved with his local community. Stobart Group sponsors local sports teams and sports events - from rallying and motorcycling to football and rugby league - and Mr Tinkler has put £2 million of his own money into two city academies in Carlisle.

“I was never much good at school, but I realise now education is so important. I want to show those kids that they can get on and go to university and be entrepreneurs, if that's what they want. You have to develop your foundation. The more you can give back to where your roots are, the more you can get people to work for you.”

Those roots remain in Cumbria, where the Stobart story began with the eponymous family firm. A generation on, they maintain the link with England's North West that keeps Eddie Stobart's green lorries heading along the M6.

CV

Born: July 1963

Educated: Kirkby Stephen Grammar School

Family: Separated, two teenage children

Career: Started as a joiner in 1987. WA Tinkler Building Contractors became WA Developments in 1993. The civil engineering firm added railway infrastructure to its activities in 1997. In February 2004, WA Developments acquired Eddie Stobart and Mr Tinkler became chairman. In October, 2007 Eddie Stobart acquired Westbury Property Fund through a reverse takeover and Mr Tinkler became chief executive of the listed company

The leader questioned

If you could change one thing in the financial and commercial environment, what would it be?
Someone has to get control of the oil. Politicians have to step in all over the world because inflation will cripple the world's economy

Who is or was your mentor?
No one, really. I've copied some things from some people

Does money motivate you?
No - it's nice to have, but it is all about the satisfaction of your job

What was the most important event in your working life?
When we took over the Stobart business, which was losing £10.5 million a year, and had to turn it around

What gadget must you have?
Mobile phone or e-mail

What does leadership mean to you?
It's about directing people, risk-assessing the direction they're taking, but letting them get on with the job they've been given

Which business person do you most admire?
Sir Richard Branson

How do you relax?
I own four racehorses, which train at Darlington. I follow our rally drivers, Carlisle United FC and Widnes Vikings, which Stobart sponsor. I'm interested in fashion and I have my own style. Having the right clothes gives you confidence

Behind the story: who was Eddie?

Eddie Stobart, a strongly Christian Carlisle man, began the family firm in the 1950s as an agricultural business in Cumbria.

By the 1970s the company had expanded into haulage and began to build a profile as Britain’s leading independent. The haulage company passed into the hands of Edward Stobart, the third of Eddie’s four children. By 2002, with more than 1,000 lorries on the road, the company was facing problems because of the high cost of fuel. It posted its first loss and in November 2003, Edward sold it to his younger brother William, who later sold the business to WA Developments, a rail infrastructure group.

William remains chief operating officer. The tradition of giving lorries female names continues today. The first four Eddie Stobart owned were named after singers — Twiggy, Tammy (Wynette), Dolly (Parton) and Suzi (Quatro).

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