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Today Preston tomorrow the world!

12th February 2004
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Page 72, 12th February 2004 — Today Preston tomorrow the world!
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Exports are booming at MM Acquisitions — but then so is everything else. Emma Penny visits a dealer whose annual sales figures must

leave the competition green with envy.

Selling up to 1,000 trucks a year would be a dream for most truck dealers — in fact it would be a dream for some manufac turers. But it's a very welcome reality for MM Acquisitions. From its tightly-packed yard in Preston, Lancashire, MM dispatches everything from 7.5-tonners to top-weight tractors to customers throughout the UK.

To keep up with demand the firm recently bought another yard just across the street.And last year the two Ms behind the name, partners John Murphy and Maria Murphy. decided to break into the export trade. Since then MM has sold trucks to operators as far afield as the Caribbean, Congo, Cyprus,Malawi, Malaysia,Mali, Malta, Sri Lanka,Syria,Tanzania,Thailand and Uganda. However, the company's main export market is rather closer to home —Ireland takes 30% of the total.

Some of the latest exports have gone to Iraq; a pair of concrete mixers were sent only two days after Saddam Hussein was found.African safari company Guerba is another export customer; it bought three Mercedes-Benz 1617s for conversion to people carriers. With so much success in the first year of exports it's no surprise that the partners are planning to expand this side of the business. Plans include a website allowing overseas customers to see what's available."I think it will help increase sales," says Maria."We had a call from China just before Christmas from a man who wanted to view our stock on the internet so it's definitely a good move."

Export buyers often come to MM'S premises for their first two or three purchases, but after that they will often trust the company's judgement."A lot of these people come and stay with us and they become friends," she adds.

Naturally, every sale is welcome, but exports do involve a lot of red tape — not least to ensure that the truck the purchaser has bought is the same truck that arrives on the dockside in, say, Mombassa.

The process starts with a full description of the vehicle. MM uses an agency called Cotecna .whose personnel check each truck's chassis and VIN numbers, age, VS, anticorrosion certificates, plated weight and soon.

But MM's partners do not rely exclusively on ontside specialists:a member of staff has been on a three-day course on exporting to ensulre the firm meets all the legal requirements.

"We're trying to develop this market, as any country that's developing will need trucks," Maria points out. "Iraq is a good example — it will need mixers and tippers, for instance. It's a side of the business that has not been greatly profitable to date, but we hope it will improve as it grows."


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