UK Hose replacement specialist Hydraquip goes national
Hydraulic hose replacement specialist Hydraquip invests in new vans to extend national coverage and enhance local service.
Hydraquip, the UK’s largest independent provider of emergency on-site hydraulic hose replacements, has continued the expansion of its mobile service vehicle fleet.
The company has purchased four new Mercedes Sprinter vans from Crawley-based dealer and long-term supplier Rossetts. The new vans are fully equipped to Hydraquip’s exacting standards and are stocked with hoses, fittings and couplings that are purpose-matched to the needs of customers. The new vehicles will be pressed into service at Hydraquip depots in Scotland and the North West and South West of England and East Anglia.
2020 Vision
During 2016, Hydraquip added 36 new vans to its national fleet. It will exceed that number during 2017 and is on schedule to achieve its “2020 Vision” of having 200 vans on the road by the year 2020.
“We are an ambitious company,” states Service Director Jay MacBain. “It is our intention to become the UK market leader in emergency on-site hose replacements. That will mean more vans, more depots and more engineers.” MacBain reports that the purchase of the new vans is merely the latest significant investment for a company that is enjoying an unprecedented period of growth across the UK.
Hydraquip recently relocated its Thurrock depot to a better premises, and has multiple depots planned for the coming years. The company also remains on a recruitment drive, bringing in experienced hydraulic hose specialists and training new engineers within the fastest-growing hydraulic hose replacement company in the country.
Fully-Loaded
Supplied by authorised Mercedes commercial vehicle dealer Rossetts – a company that has been supplying Hydraquip since 2000 – the new vans were selected and specified to meet the needs of customers whilst providing the company’s engineers with the best possible working environment.
“Our staff are our single biggest asset. They are the public face of Hydraquip. It is important that they are comfortable and – above all – safe when they’re in their vehicles,” MacBain continues “In our opinion, the Mercedes Sprinter van is the best commercial vehicle available. It comes with Bluetooth connectivity as standard so the engineers can communicate hands-free and listen to their own music. On the most recent vehicles, we have specified air conditioning to keep the engineers comfortable even on hot, sunny days. Our engineers love their vehicles and, as a result, they take great care of them. Despite often challenging operating conditions, we aim to ensure that every Hydraquip van arrives on site clean, tidy and ready to solve a customer’s problems.”
Solving Problems
That desire to resolve customer problems quickly is also evident in the rear of the vans. Each vehicle is equipped a full-line of state-of-the-art hose cutting and swaging equipment to allow bespoke hose assemblies to be produced on-site to minimise customer downtime. This equipment is backed by a comprehensive stock of hose, fittings and ferrules that is matched to identified customer needs.
“We monitor all hose and assembly sales electronically so that we can monitor trends in demand and then adjust the holding on each van – and in each depot – to match,” MacBain explains.
To provide customers with even greater peace of mind, Hydraquip stocks high quality Manuli Rockmaster hose that is 10x more abrasion resistant than hoses on offer from Hydraquip’s competitors. “Our customers often operate in applications such as construction, demolition and waste handling that are a hostile environment for a hydraulic hose,” MacBain explains. “We offer Manuli Rockmaster hose as standard to ensure a rapid replacement or repair and to provide the customer with a longer life for further reductions in downtime.”
