20 YEARS & GOING FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH
Large enough to be costeffective and small enough to do custom-build”
AW Trailers Puts Customers First
ith an eye for detail, an emphasis on value for money and a loyal customer base, AW Trailers has built up a national following among the trailer-buying community. David Nicholson reports. Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2013, AW Trailers is going from strength to strength. The Herefordshire-based trailer manufacturer began life in 1993 with just five staff, producing a limited range, but now has more than 25 employees producing upwards of 400 trailers per year for a growing range of customers nationwide.
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“We pride ourselves on looking after our customers,” says Managing Director Andrew Watkins from company headquarters in Madley, near Hereford. “This means a lot to them and to our dealers. They need to be able to rely on us to provide excellent assistance.” AW Trailers works with a network of around 30 dealers across the UK, with particular concentrations in the Southwest, in Wales and the Midlands. The company will provide anything from a two-ton trailer up to 35-ton equipment, both through its standard range and according to customer-specifications.
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20 YEARS & GOING FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH
Wye Cylinder Engineering Ltd design and manufacture hydraulic cylinders. WCE manufacture a standard range of cylinders that can be supplied from stock. They also supply a wide range of hydraulic cylinders for a large number of different applications some of which are supplied to some very well known OEMs within a variety of industry sectors.
Trend towards higher spec Stock cylinders
Commercial spec tipping cylinders
Wye Cylinder Engineering Ltd 403 Netherwood Rd, Rotherwas Ind Est., Hereford HR2 6JU
T: 01432 355454 F: 01432 358727 E: sales@wye-cylinder.co.uk W: www.wye-cylinder.co.uk
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“It’s important to keep up with what customers are looking for” “Weʼre big enough to be cost-effective and small enough to do custom-build,” adds Andrew. He notes that there is a trend towards higher spec trailers, as customers spot extras that theyʼd like and request them. Equally, there is a greater sophistication among the customer base, says Andrew. “We see a trend emerging, where people are a lot more aware: theyʼre looking at what they do and asking whether they can achieve more with two 18-ton trailers rather than four 12-ton trailers. Theyʼre aiming to be more efficient.” Last yearʼs extraordinary conditions have certainly affected the market, according to Andrew. “People are looking at flotation-quality tyres and floating axles,” he says. Itʼs going to be a ʻdelicateʼ year, he believes, since the farming community took the brunt of the sodden conditions in 2012, although he argues that AW Trailers is in an excellent position to respond to the needs of its customers, producing whatever new specifications they need.
“Weʼre big enough to be cost-effective and small enough to do custom-build” Manufacturing
Two main camps… As a generalisation, AW Trailersʼ customers fall into two main camps: the large agricultural contractors who look after between 10 and 20 farms and have a fleet of high-spec trailers, including bale, muck and other trailers with all the trimmings, and family group farmers with their own specific requirements. Andrewʼs life is made simpler, thanks to his strong links with dealers, since many family farmers will call up a dealer in June or July and ask for a 26-foot bale trailer. “And they get one of ours,” he says cheerfully. AW Trailers is itself a family concern, with Andrewʼs wife Donna acting as company secretary and his stepson Kev firmly engaged in the business. Born and brought up in Hereford, Andrew has always based his operations here, close to the border between England and Wales. When there are demands for higher-specification or customised trailers, dealers will bring customers in to the company factory and a collaborative design will emerge, with input from AW Trailers and the customer, with the dealer looking after financial issues. Around half of the companyʼs annual output is customised equipment. Customers today are particularly interested in new suspension gear, such as hydraulic or air-based suspension, says Andrew. Theyʼre also looking increasingly at trailers with adjustable tilting mechanisms. “Weʼre investigating all these areas, along with ʻpush-to-emptyʼ type trailers,” he says. “Itʼs important to keep up with what customers are looking for.”
Attwoolls Manufacturing is a textile products manufacturing company based in Gloucestershire, specialising in custom made and off the shelf textile products. Originally founded in 1936, Attwoolls has expanded into one of the largest textile products manufacturing companies in the UK. During this expansion we have maintained a reputation as a caring company, where each customer is given the best personal attention down to the last finest detail. Bristol Road, Whitminster, Gloucester GL2 7LX
Telephone: 01452 742211 Email: manufacturing@attwoolls.co.uk Website: www.attwoollsmanufacturing.co.uk
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20 YEARS & GOING FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH
Increasing customer demands ndeed, much of the companyʼs design innovations through the years have resulted from customer enquiries and requests. In the early 2000s a number of customers asked for higher and higher specification trailers, with an increasing numbers of extras added to the build. “So we took this all on board and designed the ʻUltimaʼ range 10 years ago, with a full spec, as demanded by our customers,” says Andrew. This proved a smart move and the range has sold well ever since. In the past 18 months, AW Trailers has introduced a number of new elements to its range, including shot-blasting prior to painting, a ʻtwo packʼ paint process for all equipment, LED lights fitted as standard and new commercial axles for all trailers over 12 tons. For 2013, chrome tipping rams will be fitted to the Ultima range. As a result, AW Trailersʼ products are now more prepared than ever for the British weather. Describing himself and his company as ʻlacking ego and hypeʼ, Andrew is at pains to stress how AW Trailers has built and maintained its loyal customer base over the years. “If I met someone for the first time who was looking for a trailer, Iʼd invite them to our factory and show them how much trouble and care goes into building our trailers,” he says. “We produce a product that is value for money, with a huge attention to detail.”
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Pontrilas Merchants have the largest stock of Softwood and hardwood in Herefordshire. Specialising in Construction and Fencing Timber direct from our own sawmills. We also offer pressure treating FENCING • PERLINGS • CLADDING • RAILS • POSTS The Old Brickyard, Pontrilas, Herefordshire HR2 0DJ
Telephone: 01981 242100 Fax: 01981 242748 Email: waynel@pontrilastimber.co.uk Web: www.pontrilasmerchants.co.uk
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Congratulations A W Trailers on 20 years in business serving the agricultural market. Selemix from PPG Refinish provides superior paint protection within the manufacturing of AW Trailers who have a wealth of expertise in trailer design. A valued supply partnership! PPG Industries UK, Needham Road, Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 2AD
Email: ukenquiries@ppg.com Telephone: 01449 771 771 Website: www.selemix.com
Steady expansion
C Brown & Sons (Steel) Ltd
“We produce a value for money product with huge attention to detail” e compares the buying decision to someone looking for a new car. “Whether youʼre spending £5,000 or £100,000, you still want value for money,” he observes. “Some of our competitors charge 20 or 30 per cent more than we do, so youʼre paying extra just for a name. That doesnʼt represent good value for money, to my mind.” AW Trailers combines an excellent quality product with good value, he argues. “And weʼve been steadily expanding for 20 years, so we canʼt be all bad!” Besides farming and industrial uses, AW Trailers have been sold to a wide range of other customers, including airports – where they have become people carriers – visitor attractions such as the Aspinall Foundation in Kent and equipment for the British military. Since the SAS headquarters is close by, itʼs possible that the trailers have been pressed into action in some far away warzone! “We have quite a varied customer base,” says Andrew. “Itʼs a pretty diverse range – if it has wheels and a drawbar, we can make it.”
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