Dealer makes its mark
Page 8
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• Leyland Daf has told its dealers to go for the BS5750 quality mark — it aims to be the first manufacturer with its entire dealer network covered by the British Standard.
This week, Billingham-based North East Leyland Daf became the first truck or car distributor to win the certificate. Several other Leyland Daf dealers are currently compiling quality manuals, which are a crucial part of applying for the mark.
NELD boss Bill Beadnell has spent two years and £40,000 on his bid for BS5750, which is already held by several of his customers, including Sadler and Cleveland Tankers.
The certificate covers two NELD depots at BiBingham and Blaydon. Leyland Daf says a Daf dealer on the Continent, Allers, has already become the first dealer in Europe to win the BS-equivalent ISO 9000. Orders for the Leyland Daf quality drive in the UK are believed to have come direct from Daf chief Aart van der Padt.
Leyland Daf has 57 dealers in the UK. Beadnell, who is chairman of Leyland Dafs dealer association, is worried that in the short-term some distributors may find that winning BS5750 is too tough. "The idea is laudable, but the suggestion that 57 can get it without some hiccups may not be possible," he says.
For more details about how Beadnell won BS5750, see next week's CM.