SERVICE
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— in Three
Continents
By ASHLEY TAYLOR, A.M.I.R.T.E. IF you were to buy Americanmade equipment, you would no doubt be more than mildly surprised if a few months after its acquisition, a smart van of transAtlantic design with United States registration plates drew up and out stepped an engineer straight from the factory to ask whether he could service your purchase. Yet this is the kind of service that buyers of roller shutters manufactured by G. Brady and Co., Ltd., Manchester, have come to expect.
Whether they are in Canada, the United States or Africa, users of these shutters have had this experience. The result is that not only have sales of Brady shutters increased, but British vehicle exports have benefited. '
Overseas Mileage-50,000 In Britain, the concern maintb.ins a service system with a fleet of light vans,which depart from the usual runs to perform specific journeys in
overseas territories This accounts for an annual mileage of 50,000. Extensive rounds have been made since the overseas service tours were instituted in 1946. Places as far apart as Montreal and Cape Town, Ottawa and Bloemfontein, New York and Johannesburg, London (Ontario) and East London, Takoradi and Toronto havie received visits from Brady service vans.
At the moment, a Commer, 8-cwt. van bearing the inscription "North American Service Unit No. 2" is touring Canada. It is not due to return to Britain until Christmas. Five years ago, the first vehicle was sent to Canada. At that time, relatively little business was done in the Dominion, but this first servicing mission broke new ground.
The arrival of a service unit in any area, naturally, gives an impression of world-wide courage. Foreign buyers are usually anxious to tell their friends that the team has come all the way from England to service the British equipment which they have purchased.. Although the activities of the service units are confined to fitting and maintenance work, there is, no doubt that their presence in any. market is a potent sales factor.
The Brady shutter is of the nonrattling type with detachable laths and fittings which are interchangeable from left to right. All components are standardized, and so the service teams' work is greatly simplified. Standard Brady equipment is in extensive use in various places abroad, not only on road vehicles, but also at service stations, garages, railway and dock sheds and in factories.
Where new shutters are to be erected the necessary components are first sent ahead and then the crew undertaking the tour follows. In the case of trans-Atlantic journeys, they usually travel direct from Manchester Docks with their vehicles. The crews have a. set programme for the itinerary and call on all customers en route. At the outset they receive a full book of travel tickets and a circular letter of credit enabling the driver in charge to draw from banks en route the necessary cash to meet living and travelling expenses.
Each van is fitted with block-randtackle lifting gear, vices and other equipment, together with electric drills and the necessary resistances for rectifying the varying currents encountered, .A full supply of all spare parts that are likely to he required is -also carried. With this equipment, shutters fitted to anything from the small van to the giant units on a Canada-Mexico service can be dealt with.
Mention has already been made of the employment of Brady shutters in large buildings,. These have included a number of notable installations. For example, 12 electrically operated shutters were supplied for the Customs House at Lacolle, 17 large electrically operated shutters were fitted in the garage of a Toronto store, and a single-aperture roller shutter -at the Canadian Car and Foundry factory, measuring 42 ft. by 18ft., is another example. Bus stations, aircraft repair _hangars and hotels are among other establishments thus equipped.
• In some cases, Canadian operators, have fleets of over 40 vehicles which are equipped with shutters, and the service crew will work through the whole fleet, starting with -those immediately available and continuing with the
remainder as they return to base. Where the work involves a halt for a day or more, the opportunity is often taken to arrange for the Brady van to be cleaned and serviced.
Service Co-operation Calls are invariably made at the depots of dealers handling the make of van being used, whenever this is convenient. Full co-operation is enjoyed from the vehicle manufacturers and in the case of one Austin van, The initial servicing was performed in Canada. and the charges rebated by the British organization.
The Brady service fleet consists of 25 vans of Austin, Commer and Fordson manufacture, with 25 trailers specially built to the company's design, mostly by Messrs. J. and W. Tonge, of Sale. The vans are the object of much curiosity and critical examination when overseas, and are, therefore, specially finished according to the market in which they will be touring.
There may, of course, be a jump of anything up to 400 miles between one group of established customers and the next, but all the while the vans are representing Britain and its motor industry. A striking design means that even such an interlude as a visit to a drive-in .cinerna attracts .enormous attention, and for that reason the company has even gone to the extent of using real gold-leaf instead of gold paint in the van livery. The theme is prestige for Britain as well as for the company.
It is not only the overseas buyer who enjoys genuine service, for the maintenance scheme continuously covers the whole of England, Scotland and Wales. Eire is included in the overseas service area. Eight vans work a region administered from London, two from Birmingham, two from Glasgow, and the remainder from the Manchester headquarters.
In this way complete coverage is ensured of the entire list of Brady customers. Although standard components are employed in the shutters, the types of installation are legion. Apart from their use in buildings, Brady shutters have been fitted in every conceivable position on commercial vehicles, including, in the case of large vehicles, below frame level.
Routine Inspection
After shutters have been fitted, routine inspection and service follow automatically, and afterwards the Learns are on call to meet the users' requirements. As with the vans employed overseas, the Brady drivers arrange for washing and greasing to take place at local garages or distributors while they are engaged on the more lengthy jobs. Thus they are able to give their entire attention to their own particular duties, at the same time being sure that their vehicles are being kept in first-class order.
Some critics might say that the overseas tours of the service teams are simply wasting the country's money. In fact, not only does the Treasury gain from the tale of service abroad, but vehicle manufacturers can testify to the excellent effect which the appearance of these vans in distant countries has on their overseas sales