Chilly tips from Vaile
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• South-West bodybuilder Vaile & Company has established a new tipper division, Tudor Vale Tippers.
It is based at Valle's factory at Hazelbury Bryan, Dorset with a sales office in the Midlands, and will be run by former Beacon Tipper managing director Bob Tudor.
Tudor Vale will initially concentrate on steel tipping bodies for the more popular chassis up to 7.5 tonnes, selling them through dealership networks and to large fleets.
Refrigerated
Meanwhile, Vaile is planning to enter the insulated/refrigerated market on rigid vehicles next year, competing with the highquality UK and continental bodybuilders.
In preparation for this, Valle is in the early stages of developing dual-purpose milk float body systems for vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes GVW. They will have cooled compartments that can serve shops and carry out doorstep deliveries.
In addition to its latest parcels van for the B-series chassis-cowl — which Renault will market directly — Valle is at the second prototype stage of an integral version for Ford's Transit chassis cab/van floor. It is also suited to minibus conversion. Adding a shuttered rear end to some makes of 3.5-tonne panel van usually ends up looking like the conversion that it is.
Now Vaile is co-operating with Ford and JR Supplies in developing a moulded GRP cassette-like rear end for the Transit that will blend into the existing outline. These will be fitted out at the Dorset plant for Ford.
In support of one of its core businesses, that of Luton/parcels van conversions, Valle produces its own designs of mouldings. These cover a wide range of chassis including Mercedes, VW, Ford, Leyland Daf and Renault.
Vaile is seeking to expand into all market sectors and intends selling its growing selection of aerodynamic cab and body fittings directly to both bodybuilders and other end users.
These moves all follow a substantial capital investment earlier this year in Vaile by Norman Thompson, a retired former chairman of the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway system who is also experienced in the shipbuilding industry.
Working practices
He is now chairman of the Vaile group, which includes Horsemaster at Wincanton, Wilts, and his appreciation of Japanese working practices is already making itself felt.
Business has to improve first, he says. Valle has BS5750 accreditation, a CAD system and a modern 3,700m2 factory (750m' for the tipper plant) and there
is the capacity to double-shift when the need arises. With green fields on all sides, Vaile has room to grow, In anticipation of that, there are plans to introduce a profitsharing scheme along the lines of the Lewis Partnership.
This decision has been put to and welcomed by the group's 83-strong workforce and will involve everyone from the shop floor to the chairman.
"Bad news always travels upwards very slowly," says Thompson, which is why he stresses the need for even better, open communications and regular consultations between all staff.
Vaile's business has traditionally come from the dealerships and large fleet customers, but Thompson would like the UK to copy the Japanese market.
There, instead of a large number of competing main agents, Mercedes and Ford have one or two main dealers apiece supplying directly to groups of smaller sales and service dealer outlets.
Thompson's son Jeremy, a chartered accountant and formerly an industry and in-line management consultant, is now Vaile group managing director.
This has allowed the Higgins brothers, Eddie (sales director) and Norman (production director) to pursue new business and carry out the day-to-day running of the plant.