Making the switch

2nd September 2010, Page 48

2nd September 2010

Page 48

Page 49

Page 48, 2nd September 2010 — Making the switch

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Collett Transport Services, which has taken on a regional lsuzu franchise, has changed its business model from haulier to service and rental provider.

Words: Steve Banner

A company that runs a major spot-hire fleet of municipal vehicles servicing customers nationwide has become one of the latest recruits to the Isuzu Truck network. Based in Berkeley Heath on the A38 in Gloucestershire, Collett Transport Services is representing the manufacturer under the Collett Isuzu Gloucester banner, says director Andy Collett.

"We hope to sell 40 new lsuzus this year and I think that's realistic," he smiles. "We sold two in our first three weeks, so that's an encouraging start."

Collett has come a long way over the past 16 years. Back in 1994 he was an owner-driver hauling aggregates in an eight-wheeler. Trained as a CV technician, he handled all the servicing and repairs it required himself.

When work dried up in the late 1990s, he decided to expand the amount of maintenance work he was doing for other people. "I'd already bought a van and was looking after trucks run by other hauliers, going in and out of the quarries, as well as my own," he recalls.

Eventually, he decided to get out of haulage and concentrate solely on maintenance. "Among A Collett Transport other activities, I got a short-term contract with SITA, and director Andy Collett that got me into municipals," he says.

"While I was there, I picked up on the fact that it was difficult to hire recycling vehicles to replace any that had broken down and were off the road tempoiarily," Collett continues."That was why there was so much pressure on me to get them repaired quickly."

As a consequence, he decided to track down a few used examples, overhaul them and rent them out to councils. Today the rental fleet encompasses refuse collection, as well as recycling vehicles, not to mention hook-loaders and other specialist equipment.

Around 130 trucks are available for hire. "I think that puts us among the top five municipal spot-hire fleets in the country and our next step is likely to be into contract hire," he says. "These days some of the vehicles are brand-new. but I still refurbish second-hand equipment."

Refurbishment and extra maintenance

Refurbishment is a service he also offers to local authorities that want to make their trucks last a little longer. Collett expects this area of activity to grow given the brakes that are being applied to municipal capital expenditure.

-There's also the point that if councils keep their vehicles for longer, they're going to suffer from more breakdowns, which means our spot-hire fleet should benefit,he says. "They'll need extra maintenance as well, and that too is something we can provide."

Now with 40 employees, Collett maintains and repairs mainstream trucks as well as bin wagons in its workshop and runs 15 service vans in addition to offering 24-hour roadside assistance and recovery. It has a depot not far from Wotton-under-Edge in Gloucestershire, as well as at Berkeley Heath. With close ties with Braketech, the firm looks after vehicles for Morrisons and operates out-based facilities at the firm's sites in Droitwich. Swindon and Willand, not far from Tiverton in Devonshire.

As service agent for a host of companies, including Wabco, Knorr-Firemse, Edbro, F'arid and NTM. it employs welders and fabricators as well as fitters.

Having these skills available in-house —"among other things, we make our own hydraulic hoses," he says — means that it can re-body ex spot-hire fleet vehicles, turn them into, say, flatbeds or dropsides and sell them second-hand. -They're typically 03-, 53and 04registered," Collett says.

'Ibis used market experience should stand the company in good stead when disposing of part-exchanges generated by its Isuzu activities.

The opportunity to take on Isuzu presented itself, says Collett, because the manufacturer's coverage in Gloucestershire was sparse. "Isuzu has dealers in Swindon, Bristol and Hereford, hut it didn't have one round here," he says.

He knows the company's products, likes what he sees, and believes a lot of other people in his area will too. "We already run quite a few Isuzus on our hire fleet, so we're familiar with them," he continues. "They're ideal for use as small municipal vehicles because they've got lightweight chassis that can accommodate the heavy bodies that tend to be fitted, but still give you a decent payload."

A further advantage is that they are available with an automated manual gearbox.

"I think lsuzu has got long-term potential in the UK," he says. "I believe that we can grow as it grows."

He also likes the company culture at Isuzu Trucks UK. "It places great emphasis on customer care and so do we," he says.