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In just four weeks Midlands Iveco dealer Guest Trucks doubled the number of its dealerships by acquiring TC Harrison and taking on a new site.
Words: Kevin Swallow
Guest Trucks new dealership in Leicester is close to the M69 intersection with the MI. in premises built in 2002 for a former coach dealer. Robert Spittle. divisional managing director, explains the move: "We took over the Iveco franchise in Leicester from Chattields. and Guest Trucks has a location in Coventry, so if you look at those two areas together we think it works quite well. There are very good connections between the two.
"The site has two very big pits. a drivethrough workshop, and its location makes it very accessible. Most of the modern industry in Leicester is within 10 minutes of here."
Guest Trucks in Leicester has taken on five technicians as part of a 12-strong workforce, which includes supervisors, parts and two sales people.
Spittle has budgeted for eight technicians before the end of the year but, as with any new business, has been careful not to overstretch its capabilities ."It was key that we had trained staff, the right tooling, communication systems. and parts stock. I have been cautious not to open it and make a load of promises from the start that we would be unable to keep," he says.
Leicester already had an established customer base developed by ChadicIds, and there were operators and own-account businesses Guest Trucks previously dealt with.
Guest Trucks was originally based in Birmingham. Coventry. West Bromwich and Wolverhampton. and the recent transfer of TC Harrison's Kew dealership adds three more sites in Boston. Cambridge and Peterborough.
Many opportunities
Leicester offers plenty of areas to target; the municipal marketplace. distribution. the 7.5tonne market and a strong van market. Spittle is optimistic that in the next 12 months the dealership can go to the next level.
"The challenge we have as a dealership for service and sales is that we sit pretty much across all the competition. We have got to demonstrate to the entire marketplace that we can compete with car dealers selling light CVs and match Scania on trucks and that we have the service that meets operators' needs.
"Service is quickly going to find its level. We are gaining service customers all the time, so it will get to a position where the market knows it is there and is competitive. Parts will continually evolve and we have a parts rep dedicated to this area now."
Guest Trucks already has two vans working out of Leicester and that will grow to three in the near future. "We held up to £1m-worth of parts stock with 50% of that in West Bromwich. With the new sites that will grow to £1.2m but we can distribute that stock better across the sites with the main hubs at West Bromwich, Leicester and Peterborough.
"We will now hold 35% in West Bromwich and 25% in two other hub locations, with the rest spread across the other sites." •