Powys to the people

Manchester-based Scania dealer West Pennine Trucks has invested big in its long-established Welsh outpost

All mod cons

The new site is on the Ludlow Road industrial estate on the outskirts of the town, and covers 1,400sq m. The customer-facing area pays considerable attention to driver comfort, even to the extent of providing a bed for comfortable resting. The back-office functions include an office for sales executive Richard Barnes, a dedicated training room and an archive of manuals for every Scania built.

The parts department keeps a large inventory of commonly needed spares, backed up by an overnight VOR delivery from the central UK warehouse and Hinckley, and stock items within four days from Belgium.

The pride of the new depot, though, is the workshop. Four bays include two at 23m long, enough for the longest hay and straw drawbar combination, and another at 18m. The end bay is dedicated to tacho calibration, with its own office. Gillum explains that the demand isn’t sufficient to host an ATF lane, with a couple of independent facilities within relatively easy reach. The new workshop is as energy efficient as possible, making

Hosting A Lifesaver

Among the display of Scania trucks at the launch open-day was one vehicle which looked a bit out of place.

A full-size SLARS lifeboat launching tractor is not what you’d expect to find 50 miles from the nearest sea, but the tractors are actually built next door by the UK’s least well known and probably most exclusive automotive manufacturer, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

When the previous manufacturer, Clayton Engineering, decided to sell up, the RNLI took the unprecedented step of acquiring the operation. If you still can’t see more than a neighbourly link to WPT, the £1.5m tractors, built at the rate of two per year, are powered by 13-litre 400hp Scania engines, and where better to have their PDIs and any updates carried out than on the other side of the fence? The 37-tonne vehicles can launch a 18-tonne Shannon Class lifeboat in up to 2.4m of water, but can survive submersion in up to 9m if things go wrong.

West Penine Trucks

West Pennine Trucks is one of six independent dealers across the Scania network and has held the Scania franchise since 1986. It is the North West’s largest privately owned, authorised Scania dealer and covers the developing industrial area of Greater Manchester, down into the more rural counties of Cheshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire and mid-Wales.

The West Pennine Trucks team provide the complete sales and aftersales support package and work side by side with some of the most recognisable brands in the UK. It operates at eight locations across its region, in Middleton, Trafford Park, Stoke on Trent, Telford, Oswestry and Knighton, with VMUs in Whitchurch and Heywood.

good use of natural light and with features such as motionsensing LED lighting.

Looking to grow

While the current team numbers 15, Gillum would like that to be higher. His life would be much easier with another two mechanics/technicians. Anyone with an interest in automotive, transport or logistics or with relevant experience can register their interest by e-mailing contactWPT@scania.com or by dropping their CV in to the dealership.

At the new depot’s official opening day, which featured a selection of Scania trucks, old and new, West Pennine Trucks’ MD Steve Howard said, “We’d outgrown our previous location and I’m delighted to be able to commit to the transport and logistics community of mid-Wales by providing them with a depot fit for the future. Our team at Knighton takes immense pride in delivering excellent customer service and I’m confident that our move will further enhance our offering.” n