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Onwards and upwards
Page 60
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Nigel Base, the new managing director at Commercial Vehicle Auctions, has the task of introducing a step change in its approach to remarketing products.
Words: Kevin Swallow / Images: Tom Cunningham Commercial Vehicle Auctions, a name synonymous with the independent auction circuit, has battled the big corporate set-ups with their numerous sites for late-year, run-of-the-mill and export stock for the best part of 20 years.
The appointment of Nigel Base as managing director is important, because he comes from the outside. As a mechanical engineer by trade, he has spent his career in the CV industry (see panel).
"I saw the ad [for the post] and applied. It didn't say who it was for, but I put it against my CV and said, 'bloody hell, that's me'. I had no experience of auctions. For me, it v Matt Brookes was [at the start] ground zero," he says. recognises that there His remit is simple: growth. "We are working on a are opportunities for business plan," he says, "and a sales and marketing plan commercial growth, to take what we've got — a business that has been around even in today's restricted since 1988— and push it to another level. economic climate The next level "We have a good business model why not take it further? We're working on how we're going to do that," he adds.
Like other businesses, CVA knows it can't survive in the current climate on a diet of heavy commercials alone. Matt Brookes, general manager, engineered a move into vans last year, and transferred sales of both trucks and vans to a fortnightly calendar.
"Traditionally, the company has been heavy trucks," says Base, "and there is scope for organic growth there by just marketing ourselves better. We started 12 months ago in van sales and are [now] established in the marketplace we see significant growth there.
"Similarly, with plant and construction equipment we want to take it and develop it — we've taken a guy on for that, Geoff Horsfall. He came from within at Ballyvesey Holdings. So they are the two big growth areas: vans and plants.
"We need to be cleverer at what we do. The auction industry suffers from an image problem. Looking from the outside, it's the rough and ready end of the market.
"[As an industry] we suffer from an image problem because of the market, and I want to move us away from that, into a company that is recognised, that can deal with the big corporates... I want it to be a mainstream company, part of the business process, not somewhere where you just get rid of something.
"CVA sells late-ticket products, and we want to do more of it, we want to be a mainstream selling tool, rather than a last resort," he says.
Always opportunities His arrival comes at a time when the market is suffering from the credit crunch and rising fuel prices, but he remains optimistic. "The market has slowed down, but not massively — it not a recession, but a necessary correction. There are always growth opportunities.
"I would argue the best time to grab opportunities is when things are difficult. It's very easy to entrench yourselves and reduce your costs. You shouldn't do that, you have to get out there and keep investing and making it happen, and then when the market turns up you're ready," he concludes. •