Truck & Crane History
A family with 150 years of transport history…
Sean Donald Preston is the current Managing Director since the loss of his father, Don, in 2008.
The Preston family have been involved with transporting goods by road, originally with horses based around agriculture and are recorded as ploughmen and carters, for as many generations as can be traced. From at least the 19th century they were based around Church Crookham in Hampshire. In 1945 the family relocated to Blackstone in Sussex, just a mile from our current HQ.
In the mid 20th century, as motorised transport grew and agriculture became modernised and workforces were reduced due to mechanisation, Don and his brothers moved out of farming into areas as varied as land clearance, flood management, road transport, brick making, motor mechanics, demolition and quarrying.
Don Preston began his career as a fitter and driver, quickly progressing to operating the largest earth-moving equipment available. He took great pride in his work on diverse infrastructure projects, including the M1 motorway, Spaghetti Junction (M6) and thousands of kilometres of gas storage and transmission pipelines. These projects often involved challenging terrains, such as the rugged mountains and marshlands of Wales.
In addition to these endeavours, Don also contributed to water management projects, notably the Ardingly Reservoir. During the 1960s, he frequently transported machinery weighing over 70 tonnes across Britain’s pre-motorway road network – a challenge he relished.
In 1972, Don purchased his first truck for site work. From the moment Sean could walk, he was either pulling levers or immersed in the oily workings of lorries and machines, following in his father’s footsteps.
In 1991, Don and Sean moved to the site of our current base and focussed on the repair and maintenance of HGVs.
1997 was a big year, as it was when Southdown Engineers Ltd was registered as a limited company and it was also the year we began our long involvement with Jones & Iron Fairy Cranes, plus we put our first beavertail truck with crane on the fleet.
In 2001, we started roadplatehire.co.uk which – under the Southdown umbrella – has become the world’s foremost provider of road crossing and trench plates plus other allied non-mechanical plants.
With our expanding and evolving fleet we have one of the most comprehensive ranges of lorry-loading crane / self-loading / offloading transport businesses in the region.
Starting in 2018 and completing in 2023, we planned and built Southdown Enterprise Park. With acres of secure yard and 12,000 sq/ft of workshops and offices, it’s a superb HQ that we can be proud of.
We now currently operate around 30 trucks, trailers, forklifts and associated support vehicles.
Truck and Crane timeline
In 1991 Don & Sean moved to the site of our current base and focused on the repair & maintenance of HGV’s.
1997 was a big year as it was when Southdown Engineers Ltd was registered as a limited company and it was also the year we began our long involvement with JONES & IRON FAIRY cranes, plus we put our first beavertail truck with crane on the fleet.
In 2001 we started roadplatehire.co.uk which under the Southdown umbrella has become the worlds foremost provider of road crossing & trench plates plus other allied non-mechanical plant.
We have some exciting milestone coming up, check back soon.
Join our satisfied clients and benefit from one of the most comprehensive ranges of lorry loading crane, self-loading, and off-loading transport services in the region.
With around 30 trucks, trailers, forklifts, and support vehicles, we’re equipped to meet all your transport needs.