Mobile repair package
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TWO NEW IDEAS were launched at Octagon Recovery's show at Leeds this month.
Octagon has put together a package leasing deal for a mobile repair van, which it is offering to its 1,000 plus agents. The van and equipment, which includes welding gear, compressor, air line, generator and bench grinder, are covered by the one deal instead of having to be financed separately.
The cost is £15,250, or £375 a month leased. Many Octagon agents are considering mobile workshops for maintenance contracts with fleet customers who want the work done on their own premises, managing director Bob Clarke said.
NMT Engineering showed a recovery vehicle which moves ballast up to 10 ft forward to keep the front wheels on the ground:
Left: Heavy blocks can be moved forward 10 ft to help keep the front wheels on the ground.
Above left: All-in-one lease deal from Octagon.
Membership certificates will be issued in about three months' time, he said.
Examinations have been agreed, and a number of technical colleges have applied for syllabuses, he said. "Most people we have spoken to feel there is a need for the institute and for further education."
The IVRO has developed from the AVRO, and is intended to raise the standard of individuals involved in vehicle recovery.
A compact exhibition of recovery equipment in the hotel car park gave operators the chance to see most types of equipment .available at present, and there were several innovations on view for the first time.
Hydraulic equipment is now firmly established as favourite at the heavy end. Modern lorry designs mean that axle lifting is the only way to recover a lorry without damaging it.
A more versatile lifting mechanism was shown by independent designer Gordon Jackson, brother of Wreckers International managing director Bill Jackson.
The lifting boom can be moved sideways by hand, making it easier to fix it in position under the axle. The benefit is made possible by using a single, central ram, instead of a twin ram. With other designs, the boom can only be adjusted by moving the whole recovery vehicle, he said.
Mr Jackson has set up a new company, Hydraulic Recovery Vehicles of Bury St Edmunds, to make and sell the equipment, and aim it particularly at operators wanting to fit an hydraulic boom to an existing wrecker to save money.
On show was a new wrecker at the bargain price of £35,000. It has been bought from Wreckers International by Kent operator Addington Motors. Bulldog lifting gear has been fitted to a new Leyland Landmaster chassis cab, which was part of a cancelled export order.
At the lighter recovery end, both hydraulic and more traditional manual equipment remain popular and sales appear to be booming. Dumfries-based Marquiss reports high sales of its fixed-back transporter, with its fitters working overtime four nights a week.
Roger Dyson Recovery Systems moved last month to a 20,000 sq ft workshop in Droitwich, Worcestershire, from premises a quarter that size in Redditch, and also reports high demand for its hydraulic transporter. The firm was showing the prototype of a spectacle frame lift designed to get under cars with low front spoilers.
A new demountable spectacle lift with a full-length subframe from Bro of Sweden was on display for the first time. Municipal authorities are showing strong interest as it is fitted easily to pick-ups, importer Mike Cowan said.
AVRO's conference and exhibition was nearly scaled down dramatically after a nearly disastrous show at Harrogate last spring. But on this year's showing, it has re-established itself as the most important in the recovery calendar.