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Read more...Powered access rental company AFI-Uplift ("AFI") has chosen ATS Euromaster to supply and service the...

Powered access rental company AFI-Uplift ("AFI") has chosen ATS Euromaster to supply and service the tyres across its fleet of nearly 4,400 assets, in a deal worth more than £120,000 a year.

Decision-makers at AFI – which has 18 depots throughout the UK, a 90-strong commercial vehicle fleet and 4,300 access machines – chose ATS Euromaster largely in a bid to work with a company whose health and safety values and standards matched its own.  

As a provider of powered access platforms used for working at height, AFI is conscious of the importance of health and safety, and is currently undergoing various ISO (International Organization for Standardisation) accreditations, the most recent being an accreditation in health and safety management.

AFI’s Transport Manager, Paul Shipman, says: “We wanted to find a tyre service provider whose approach to health and safety complemented our own, as anything that helps to ensure that our machines are as safe to use as possible is very important to us. ATS Euromaster, with its impressive list of accreditations, was exactly what we were looking for.”

Earlier this year ATS Euromaster became the first national tyre specialist to receive accreditations from SAFEcontractor and CHAS (Contractors Health and Safety Scheme). It also has ISO accreditation 9001 Quality Management System standard – and holds the Royal Warrant as the official supplier of tyres to Her Majesty the Queen.

AFI’s contract with ATS Euromaster will see its commercial vehicles fitted with a mixture of tyre brands, namely Taurus, Aeolus, Pirelli and Vacu-Lug remoulds.

Services covered in the contract include tyre repair and pressure maintenance; wheel balancing and alignment, to ensure the tyres and wheels across both the transport and machinery fleet are kept in optimum condition for maximum safety; and a rapid response, free-phone emergency call-out service.

Fleet management information will be available to staff at head office and each of AFI’s depots across the UK via ATS Euromaster’s Web Reporter system, enabling managers to monitor and analyse all aspects of their tyre spend.

“ATS Euromaster will effectively manage our tyres for us,” says Shipman. “This ‘one-stop shop’ approach is another valuable asset to the contract, as it leaves us free to focus on core business without having the extra burden of worrying about our tyres.”

AFI-Uplift supplies powered access platforms to customers in various industries, in particular construction and maintenance. Its machine fleet includes scissor lifts, boom lifts, mast lifts and push-around vertical lifts. These vary in height, from 4 m to 44 m, and are available both for hire and for sale.

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Read more...Leicester City Council has appointed ATS Euromaster to supply and service the tyres across its fleet...

Leicester City Council has appointed ATS Euromaster to supply and service the tyres across its fleet of 883 vehicles, which ranges from civic limousines to 32-tonne refuse collection trucks, and includes over 600 vehicles plated at 3.5 tonnes or below.

The new contract will see the fleet supplied with a range of Avon, Taurus, Kumho and Encore tyres and follows a ten year period which saw the council’s tyre needs met by a local independent service provider.

Leicester City Council Fleet Manager Stephen Kerry says: “With ATS Euromaster we can enjoy access to an extensive network of service centres across the UK, which ensures we get the best possible back-up when we send a bus or coach on a journey outside of the Leicester area.

“ATS Euromaster’s wide-ranging expertise also means its staff are as skilled at working on cars and vans as they are on heavy trucks.  Plus they’re used to servicing the tyres on all manner of specialist municipal equipment, such as loading shovels, mobile access platforms and compact sweepers,” he adds.

Key to ATS Euromaster’s ability to support a major local authority fleet is its accreditation by the Contractors Health and Safety Scheme (CHAS) - a government-backed initiative for health and safety pre-qualification.  It gives organisations such as Leicester City Council the confidence that ATS Euromaster will meet a nationally recognised and accepted threshold standard, with ATS Euromaster being the first national tyre supplier to be accredited by CHAS.

Another major benefit for the council is access to ATS Euromaster’s free-phone rapid response service, which ensures its commercial vehicle drivers can request emergency assistance at the roadside in the event of a tyre-related breakdown.  Indeed, across the UK in 2009, ATS Euromaster arrived at the scene of a call-out in an average of just 71 minutes – 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Kerry adds: “The fleet’s performance is paramount to the council, as it supports a huge number of our key services, such as meals on wheels, special educational needs transport, social care transport, cleansing, civil engineering, plus the ongoing maintenance of our many parks and green spaces.

“This means that getting the maximum performance out of the fleet, including its tyres, really does matter – and the council welcomes the support of ATS Euromaster, and the expertise it can provide.”

Amongst the more diverse vehicles found within Leicester City Council’s fleet are two mobile libraries, together with various agricultural and construction vehicles.  It also operates a dedicated refuse collection and recycling fleet, highways maintenance vehicles, skiploaders, sweepers, tankers, gritters and over 140 MPVs, minibuses and welfare buses.

ATS Euromaster’s nationwide network of 378 fast-fit centres includes both a car/van and dedicated truck facility in Leicester, supported by further sites throughout the local area. This includes long-established centres in Loughborough, Hinckley, Melton Mowbray and Market Harborough.  Leicester City Council also enjoys access to ATS Euromaster’s fleet of mobile service vans – the largest of its type in the country – which carry out on-site tyre fitment at council depots.

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Read more...The strength of ATS Euromaster’s nationwide rapid response service has helped to secure a new agre...

The strength of ATS Euromaster’s nationwide rapid response service has helped to secure a new agreement to fit tyres across Acumen’s 40-strong fleet of car transporters.  It puts each of the company’s drivers a single call away from roadside assistance in the event of a tyre-related breakdown, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Prior to appointing ATS Euromaster, Acumen sourced tyres for its Automotive Division from a local independent tyre dealer, which would coordinate requests for roadside assistance via other independent agents.

“This proved fairly hit and miss,” says Barry Raybould, Fleet Manager at Northampton-based Acumen.  “By appointing ATS Euromaster we have access to the single largest fleet of mobile support vehicles in the tyre industry.  It means our drivers can get rapid assistance at the roadside, regardless of their location or the time of day.”

Acumen is also combining the appointment of ATS Euromaster with the move to a 100 per cent Michelin-based policy, with consistency of brand fitment a key factor in its decision to appoint a national supplier.

“Dealing with different local agents meant there was no consistency in the tyre brand being fitted.  In contrast, every ATS Euromaster service centre and rapid response vehicle has immediate access to our agreed policy.  So if a driver calls in with a puncture from the roadside, the mobile technician should arrive with the exact replacement tyre already loaded in his van,” he adds.

Acumen is also trialling ‘Euromaster Inspector’, ATS Euromaster’s electronic tyre inspection service which is designed to ensure safety and compliance.  It sees monthly tyre safety checks carried out across the fleet to record each tyre’s condition and tread depth.  Once completed, the data is automatically sent to both Acumen and the local ATS Euromaster centre, advising of any remedial action required and the agreed timescale for completion.  It also provides a system for checking that service work has been completed and signed off.

Acumen Logistics Group has recently completed two strategic acquisitions to further increase its penetration into the automotive logistics sector.  This saw it acquire Auto UK Logistics in June 2009, followed by Grayston Automotive UK in January 2010.

Acumen delivers finished vehicles on behalf of a number of manufacturers and auction houses.  This includes contracts to deliver export Land Rover vehicles to UK ports of exit, using a fleet of trailers designed specifically for the transportation of large 4x4s.  It also carries out a significant volume of work for customers including Toyota and Manheim.

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Read more...Small businesses operating between five and 50 company cars or vans (up to 3.5 tonnes) are being inv...

Small businesses operating between five and 50 company cars or vans (up to 3.5 tonnes) are being invited to take advantage of a complimentary tyre safety inspection for their fleet – courtesy of national tyre experts ATS Euromaster.

The fast-fit specialist, which has over 380 centres and 1,000 mobile service vans operating across the UK, will also undertake the first tyre repair it identifies per fleet free of charge.

ATS Euromaster say the inspections are typical of the tyre safety checks it carries out on many larger fleet contracts, with its teams visiting customer sites and checking tyres on more than 50,000 vehicles every month.

The free offer includes a tread depth and general tyre condition report, highlighting any tyres which are either damaged, punctured or at or below the legal limit, plus those which need replacing soon – all backed up with a written report for the fleet manager or owner.

“Tyres are the only part of a vehicle in direct contact with the road, but they are also one of the most neglected items in terms of vehicle maintenance,” warns Martyn Pointer, Head of Regional Sales at ATS Euromaster.  “Poorly maintained tyres not only pose a major safety hazard but can escalate vehicle running costs, particularly in terms of increased fuel consumption.”

“This special offer is the perfect chance for small businesses to ensure they are getting the maximum performance out of every tyre in their fleet, whilst supporting their duty of care requirements.  What’s more it won’t cost them a penny – and if we spot a puncture or tyre in need or repair along the way, the first fix is on us,” he adds.

ATS Euromaster is making the offer available to the first 500 companies who contact their local centre manager to request the service, or by phoning 0800 458 1801.  The offer is only available to non-existing customers.

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