Decade of growth
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Expansion and partnership opportunities are the name of the game at ATE Truck & Trailer Sales
Words: Pip Dunn The past decade has been good to ATE Truck and Trailer Sales. After continual growth, and a successful rebranding, the company wants more staff and more partner companies to join it at its 14-acre site in Wolverhampton.
ATE was started in 2000 by commercial director Allan Evans and MD James Jenkins. It sells quality used trucks and trailers, has an annual turnover of £13m and expects to substantially increase that in the next three years.
The company stocks 550-800 trucks and trailers, ranging from curtainsiders, fridges, flats, skeletals, boxvans, 7.5-, 18and 26-tonne rigid trucks to a complete range of tractor units, especially anything that is three to five years old. It recently acquired 127 ex-Sainsbury MAN TGAs 440 XL 6x2 Euro-4s. While such stock will generate the best returns, having the buying power to take on such a huge fleet means the price per unit is lower and this can be passed on. More ‘prestige’ units, however, also pass through the door on a regular basis.
Trailers with drum brakes sell well. “There is a big demand,” says Jenkins. “We also have a separate site of eight acres for storage of trailers for export.” Exports to Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe account for 40% of ATE’s trade.
Buyers can expect a good level of vehicle presentation as standard, including all livery removal, inspection and full valet. On top of this, ATE offers a full range of refurbishments and conversions on site, as well as warranty and finance packages.
Its extensive workshops include an 18m low-bake spray oven, two shot-blast bays, an extensive paintshop, a fabrication bay, three service and MoT preparation bays, a truck wash and two valet bays. There is even a spare parts supplier on site, so if a bulb or mudguard is damaged, a replacement can be sourced without delay.
Job vacancies
The company currently employs 41 staff, but is looking for more. It wants to recruit a truck service engineer, commercial vehicle sales person, and operations/junior sales assistant. “There are vacancies here,” says Evans.
However, its real expansion will come from developing the site and bringing in third-party businesses that will dovetail with what ATE already offers customers to provide a more extensive range of services.
Evans says: “We want businesses to join our success. We have the space to expand the operation and a constant stream of work available. We are looking for specialists to work in partnership with us in running a bodyshop, paint shop and a repair shop.
“We have also looked at opening an ATF test lane and we want someone to run that for us too. Our aim is to also offer a range of refurbished trailers from stock rather than a customer having to wait two to three weeks for delivery.” ATE is also looking to sell new trailers and is in talks with manufacturers.
Richard Perry, fleet purchasing and marketing, is in charge of sourcing stock. “We will buy anything on merit – we are not afraid to buy anything if we think we can sell it, there’s a market for everything,” he says.
Euro-3 stock is becoming harder to shift and commands a lower price, but that does not mean it’s obsolete. Evans says: “While we look for Euro-4 and above, we still consider Euro-3.” Including export, ATE sells more than 2,500 vehicles a year. Has the recession affected business? “Not really,” says Evans. “We always react to the marketplace we ensure we have the equipment that people want to buy.” Prices range from £5,000 to £50,000 for a tractor unit and from £2,500 to £20,000 for a trailer, while a really good fridge unit could command as much as £30,000.
The MANs are competitively priced at around £20,000, depending on mileage. Some of them have relatively impressive odometer readings in the 400,000km range, although others are as high as 700,000km.
So if you are considering other premises, moving to a bigger site or starting a new venture with a winning team, you could do a lot worse than considering ATE as your new business partner. n
MOTORSPORT CONNECTIONS
ATE is also leading the way in the world of motorsport. Its long-standing partnership with the Jenkins Motorsport truck racing team paid dividends last year when David Jenkins was crowned 2011 Delphi British Truck Racing Champion in his Silver MAN with an impressive nine wins from 14 races. The company works closely with the family-run Jenkins Motorsport Team, bringing a professional presence to truck racing.