PVC Vendo resale sold to its long-standing employee

After 19 years working as an employee for a PVC Vendo franchisee, Richard Smithson (below) saw the oppor tunity to take the reins of the business following the retirement of the owner Nick Clifton, and has now become the franchisee for Bar nsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheff ield

The resale ter ritor y of the commercial vehicle cleaning franchise was established in 1991 and Smithson says no changes are cur rently planned for the operation that employs two full-time members of staff but his goal is to expand it into a family business.

Smithson, having worked for Clifton since 2004, said he felt ver y comfor table with his decision to buy the business as he knew it was successful and prof itable: “Nick is still a g reat friend and mentor and I’ve got the daily advice and suppor t of my franchisor behind me too, which gives me g reat peace of mind ”

Explaining his ambition of having a family business, Smithson says: “My goal is to expand and tur n it into a proper family business My son Aaron joined us during the pandemic when his school was closed, and has never looked back He loves being out in the vans all day, meeting customers and washing their vehicles to our ver y high PVC Vendo standards.

“He’s only 18 so has a lot to lear n, despite regularly asking me when he can become a par tner, but that ambition is g reat to see and I’m hoping my daughter Jordan (20) will come and work with us soon too, to make it a real family affair ”

Smithson and his team visit depots across Yorkshire, seven days a week, to wash commercial vehicles for clients who have anything from seven to 70 vehicles to keep clean The business also offers an inter nal cab cleaning ser vice, SaniClean, developed at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic to sanitise vehicles

David Callister, operations director of PVC Vendo, was pleased that Smithson had bought the business having years of experience of vehicle cleaning

Callister comments: “We’ve been working with Richard to ensure he is just as conf ident with the paperwork and administrative duties as well.

“One of the huge benef its of a PVC Vendo franchise is that we deal with credit control at the head off ice, meaning franchisees don’t ever get involved in chasing clients for payment Franchisees are paid, much like an employee, on a set day each month, and it is up to us at head off ice to collect payment from their clients, which we then pass on to them

“We have many father-and-son teams working together at PVC Vendo and it is wonderful to see it working so well for Richard and Aaron too We wish Richard the ver y best of luck and look forward to seeing the franchise prosper and g row over the coming years ”

PVC Vendo, owned by the franchise g roup Taylor Made Franchising, explains that the business is r un almost entirely through an app developed by the g roup

The app advises the mobile operative where and when the next appointment is and which vehicles are scheduled for cleaning An aler t is then sent to the vehicle owner or depot manager after the job is completed and automatically sends out the invoice to the customer

The company ser ves a variety of commercial clients including businesses with refrigerated and food-car r ying vehicles through to general haulage, security vehicles and fuel tankers n

To learn more www.taylormadefranchising.co.uk