Page 32 - Commercial Vehicle Engineer - April 2019

PEOPLE
PEOPLE
ndependent dealers franchised by the two top-selling manufacturers in the UK truck market
(Commercial Vehicle Engineer February) have been competing in two separate annual award schemes.
The 2018 “Dealer of the Year” award among the DAF Trucks UK network has gone to Watts Truck & Van, a south Wales dealer group.
At the Mercedes-Benz Trucks UK dealer awards presentation last month, the dealer- of-the-year title went to Northside Truck & Van, a group with seven sites in Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.
Watts Truck & Van has been headed for the past six years by Simon Grif n, former general manager of UK retail sales at Isuzu Truck (UK).
Mr Grif n joined Isuzu Truck (UK) in 2005 as network business manager for Wales, West Midlands and the north-west. Before that he had been Wales and west region director at what then was the Volvo Truck & Bus (South) dealer group.
As dealer principal at Watts Truck & Van, Mr Grif n has presided over an investment programme over the past year including a new parts and service site in Swansea.
The dealer of the year award is based on a twelve-month analysis of dealer performance under sales, service and parts sales headings. Watts Truck & Van gained an “AA” rating under this system, with service dealer sites in Newport and Swansea being “A”-rated.
Another DAF Trucks dealer earning an overall AA rating in the awards scheme this year is Carlisle-based Solway DAF. Dealer principal Peter Fullelove is winner of the “managing director’s award 2018”.
Among the other latest DAF Trucks dealer award-winners are: Brian Currie (retail sales); Norscot Aberdeen (technical training); HTC Croydon
I
Northside managing director Russ Hallowes and Mike Belk of Mercedes-Benz Trucks UK.
Simon Grif n and Robin Easton
(DAFaid); Adams Morey (service dealer); and Greenhous DAF (Paccar Financial dealer of the year).
“All our award-winners have raised the bar yet again in 2018,” says DAF Trucks managing director Robin Easton.
“And the same is true right across the UK dealer network, which can take full credit for maintaining our market-leading position for an unprecedented
24 consecutive years.”
Mr Easton’s opposite number at Mercedes-Benz Trucks UK is Mike Belk. “The winner of our dealer of the year award must be a genuine all-rounder,” he says.
“Northside is rightly proud of its admirable track record of staff retention and development. This is a business in which there is no them and us. Everyone is working to achieve the same goal.
“Not only do they consistently exceed our targets in terms of vehicle sales and aftersales performance, but our research also con rms that Russ and his team deliver outstanding customer service.
Peter Fullelove
“Northside continues to be a fantastic ambassador for the Mercedes-Benz Trucks brand.”
Russ Hallowes has been Northside managing director since last May, promoted from aftersales director following a career that began as an apprentice technician. “The ethos at Northside is that if you do right by
your people they’ll do right by you. The customer will always be number one but so too are those who work for this business.
“Our people are our greatest asset, and experience has proved that motivated, engaged colleagues are more productive and, crucially, more likely to deliver customer satisfaction.”
Among the other Mercedes-Benz Trucks UK dealer award winners were Ciceley Commercials (customer service and parts); Sparshatts Truck & Van (technical team); Intercounty Truck & Van ( nance); Dave McGinnis of Ciceley Commercials (service manager); Chris Atkinson of Intercounty Truck & Van (service 24-hour technician); and Roanza Truck & Van (sales).
32 APRIL 2019 > COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER