Eastern promise
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Imperial. Commercials is an independent multi-franchise business. Regional director Steve Affleck covers a large part of East Anglia with MAN and Nino brands.
Words / Ima,jes: Steve Banner Steve Affleck has a lot of ground to cover, but at least most of it is flat. As regional director of dealer group Imperial Commercials, he is responsible for its MAN and Hino activities across a swathe of East Anglia. "The area includes Norfolk, the top of Cambridgeshire and bottom of Lincolnshire.he says. "That's so far as MAN is concerned, but it's pretty much the same for Hino.
Imperial uses depots in Peterborough, which employs 30 people, and Norwich. which employs 11. to cover the territory. "We've also got a contracted MAN repairer based just outside Boston," he says. "It's a fairly loose arrangement, but we control it and it's backed by the manufacturer.
Providing customers with the aftersales support they need from just three locations, one of which is run by an independent repairer, is a tall order given the size of the patch and the limitations of its road network. "We'd certainly like to increase our coverage, but we're not going to go signing up workshops for the sake of it," he says.
As it happens, the workshops Imperial runs itself are remarkably busy despite the economic gloom, handling around eight to 10 trucks apiece daily.
-In fact we've recruited three more technicians over the past four or five months to help us cope." he says, "Two are working at Peterborough, the other at Norwich and we're about to recruit one more for each location."
So how come the workshops are doing so well?
"Peterborough in particular is a one-stop-shop." Affleck replies."We've got laser-based wheel alignment equipment, we can sort out air-conditioning problems. we provide a tachograph service, we maintain trailers and we do a lot of all-makes servicing work.
"We're not dependent solely on MANs and Hinos for our workshop income. Remember that Imperial is a big dealer group with some major national accounts, so if one of our national customers puts five DAFs, for the sake of argument, into the Peterborough area, then we'll probably end up looking after them." Imperial runs the biggest group of DAF dealerships in the UK.
Diagnostic tasks
All-makes activity has prompted Peterborough to invest in a Texa universal diagnostic tool. "The last two technicians that joined the dealership have come from a Mercedes-Benz dealership one of them is trained on Renaults too which helps if we need to work on those makes of truck," he says.
Obviously there are sonic diagnostic tasks only a dealer holding the franchise for the vehicle concerned is likely to be able to tackle.
That means calling whoever represents the marque concerned locally for advice. Help is usually forthcoming, if only because the individual on the other end of the phone may need assistance with an MAN or a Hino the clay after.
"If we're stuck on a DAF, however, then we can always ring Imperial's DAF dealership in Derby," he says. With 25 locations nationwide, Imperial also represents Isuzu and from the service viewpoint Renault, as well as a host of van manufacturers.
"We'd like a van franchise in Peterborough, but everybody is represented and well-represented. I have to say here," he says. -The Norwich site wouldn't really lend itself to light commercials."
So far as general service and repair work are concerned, Norwich and Peterborough score because they are price-competitive, he contends.
-Some workshops are still trying to charge £80 to £90 an hour."Affieck says."At Peterborough, we quote £63 an hour. but in reality we're recovering more like £42 to £43: and we're open 18 hours a day during the week. We're open from lam to 12.00 noon on a Saturday too."
Staff attitude
While up-to-date equipment and trained technicians are important, Affleck believes that the reason why the two workshops are so successful is the attitude of the staff.
"We've developed a 'can do and 'say yes' culture." he says; and that has got to be better than finding all sorts of reasons why a difficult repair job just cannot be done.
While the workshops are doing well, parts sales to third parties independent service outlets, in-house workshops and so on are a struggle. Allied( admits.
"The competition is acute. to say the least, and the factors are really making their presence felt.," he says. "However, MAN supports the price of sonic of the items we sell, it has an all-makes parts programme that it is due to be re
launched and we've reduced our margin, although we still have to make a profit, of course."
Imperial runs two parts-vans from Peterborough and one from Norwich. and holds £360,000 worth of stock across the two locations. Sales of new MANs and used ones marketed under the MAN TopUsed programme are handled directly by the manufacturer. "However we employ somebody to sell Hinos," he says.
Hino sales in the UK are still heavily governed by the construction industry; a sector that has struggled during the recession. "Its market simply disappeared," he says.
"liowever. over the past six weeks we've taken orders for two 700 Series eight-wheelers and four 300 Series 7.5-tortners and we're getting strong interest in the 500 Series 18-tonner."Affleck says. So perhaps things are looking up. Operators like Hinos because of their simplicity." he adds."You don't have an ECU controlling your electric window. You have a wire and a switch."
And Euro-5? "We're hoping that there'll be Euro-5 300 Series and 500 Series arriving next year, but we've yet to hear what's going to happen about the 700 Series multi-wheelers," lie replies. m