A new refurbishment scheme launched by Smith Brothers & Webb, the UK manufacturer and supplier of vehicle washing systems, is reportedly proving a great success, with refurb sales due to finish with a 70% increase this year.
The new refurbishment programme was introduced 18 months ago for customers in bus, coach, commercial vehicle and rail sectors who were looking to replace their existing model from the company’s renowned Britannia range.
Operators were quick to grasp the advantages of having their old machine taken away and immediately replaced with a freshly refurbished model taken from stock, complete with a 12 month guarantee from Smith Brothers & Webb.
The prospect of saving considerable amounts on capital expenditure, reducing operational costs and swapping Britannia machines with minimal disruption to their services, has proved very popular at a time when operators are continually seeking to cut capital expenditure.
Smith Brothers & Webb is also helping operators to reduce costs while improving their environmental sustainability by manufacturing its own water reclamation systems that recycle up to 90% of the wash water and meet the standards required for ISO 14001.
The new water reclamation system is designed and manufactured in the UK at the company’s factory in Alcester, Warwickshire, as are all its Britannia washing systems. The first is due to be installed for a customer in August.
Harvey Alexander, Chairman, Smith Brothers & Webb, said: “Our customers are delighted with our refurbished Britannia machines which come with all the quality, reliability and engineering expertise that people expect from Smith Brothers & Webb, along with a 12-month guarantee.
“They also appreciate our speedy service – we don’t ask them to wait until their old machine is refurbished, we supply one straight away, so downtime is kept to a minimum and there’s very little inconvenience.
“We want to support our customers and have found there is more demand for refurbishments now because operators are looking for ways to manage their costs. We are keeping up with demand and have recently taken on more apprentices.”
The company’s van fleet too has recently been upgraded to include a dozen long wheel base transporters that can carry more parts than its existing vehicles. This extra capacity will make it easier for its service engineers to increase the first time fix rate as they will have more parts to hand.
Smith Brothers & Webb has an excellent pedigree in the commercial vehicle washing market, having served it for more than 60 years, and flies the flag for the UK by exporting to companies as far afield as Australia, India and Hong Kong.
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