Halesowen Bevan group expanding its workshop fleet

From a fleet of just six, the company will be operating 20 of the distinctive workshop vans by the end of this month, under the director of Bevan's aftercare manager Simon Dryburgh.

He has just been promoted to take over from Roy Shelton, who has become the company's first business development manager.

As well as Bevan's range of dry freight box, curtainside and platform bodies, Roy is focused on selling temperature-controlled bodywork for rigid trucks following the company's announcement in January that it had entered a strategic partnership with specialist manufacturer Schmitz Cargobull.

He is managing several key accounts but is also charged with winning business from operators that have not previously used Bevan's services.

Simon, meanwhile, has taken up his new position at Bevan's headquarters in Amber Way, having spent nearly 10 years working as general manager for one of its main competitors.

He began his career 25 years ago as a technical apprentice with Metro Cammell, working on trains, and his CV also includes a 13-year stint with another well-known commercial vehicle bodybuilder.

Alongside its manufacturing operations Bevan has forged a reputation for top-quality repair and maintenance services, operating a team of mobile technicians offering cover across Britain. As well as maintaining and repairing truck and van bodies of all makes and types, they look after tail-lifts, cranes, shutter doors and other ancillary equipment fitted to customers' vehicles.

Bevan's new Nissan NV400 service vans – their striking liveries designed and applied by the company's own graphics division – are racked out to carry the tools and equipment its technicians need to work on vehicles at customers' own locations.

"By the end of July we'll have 20 new vans on the road," says Simon. "That's six more than we were running previously, and reflects rapidly growing demand for our aftercare services.

"Even operators who choose to buy their bodies from our competitors often rely on us to maintain them.

"I'm determined to build on the strong foundations already in place to further improve our response times and parts availability, and develop the 'cradle to grave' support packages that will make us the industry's undisputed number one for aftercare."

"Although my background is in engineering, my previous role with Bevan included an element of aftercare sales," said Roy.

He has been with the company since 2010 and added:?"We're getting a lot of enquiries for our refrigerated bodywork and it's the opportunity to build this new arm of our business that I find really exciting."