Bodybuile
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Ordering the body and equipment at the same time as the chassis might seem like simple common sense, but bodybuilders regularly complain of customers who wait until the chassis is nearly ready for delivery. The more notice you give, the faster the bodybuilder can process the chassis when it does arrive.
Don-Bur, for example, has just built 20 bodies for electrical retailer Comet in two weeks because it was able to pre-plan the production. Similarly, Cartwright can complete bodies for customers such as TNT and Parcetforce quickly because it knows when chassis will arrive se It can allocate production space.
And remember, ancillary equipment has to be supplied and fitted too: "There's a perception that tail-lift makers can slot orders in at a moment's notice," says David Browning, joint managing director of tail-life manufacturer Ray Smith Group. "That's no longer the case—and even if it were, we need to order materials."
Chassis-mounted cantilever lifts are more complicated for bodybuilders to lit than body-mounted columnlifts, Browning adds, because minor modifications might be needed. However, pre-assembled electric and hydraulic packages have slashed installation times. Ratcliff's Quick Fit column lifts simply bolt on to the rear body frame.
Kit bodies are another way to slash lead times. Southfields believes it has resolved the issue of quality by making its all-bolted BusyBody curtainsider kit available to small bodybuilders in the UK as well as the export market. "We're selling our engineering and design technology," says sales and marketing director Jeremy Malpas. "We might lose some sales to rival bodybuilders, but we will recoup that in increased parts sales and by buying more cheaply through higher volumes."
Although the market for refrigerated bodywork on 7.5-tenners is still mainly bespoke, attempts are being made to reduce lead times, which can now be as short as two weeks.
Insulated rigid bodies are self-supporting so they can be pre-built. Gray and Adams is preassembling bodies and body components at its Doncaster Plant. Specifications do vary considerably, but mainly in terms of internal layout and refrigeration equipment.
RVL says previous attempts to standardise refrigerated bodywork have failed but it has slashed chassis turnaround times by introducing a computerised planning system.