utility contracts. This has been reflected in a changing customer base too, with many of the UK’s leading main contractors now among the regulars. “We are absolutely flat out with flood defence and utilities work, for the like of Morrison, Carillion and Jackson Civil Engineering,” says Mr Squires. “We used to be quiet through the winter months but we are busy throughout the year now. Our quiet month has moved to April, at the end of the financial year, though I’ve got a full order book this year.”
This expansion has also seen Squires working further afield, away from its Southwell, Nottinghamshire base. Traditionally the company has operated within Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire, but that has changed and the firm now has machines in Cumbria, Portsmouth, North Yorkshire and Norfolk. “The customers we deal with now are not just working in our area,” he says. “They like our gear and the way we work, so we are travelling further.”
Volvo has played an increasingly important role in this expansion, and not just for machine supply. As the equipment has travelled further from Squires’ base, it has become less viable to provide all of the service and back-up in-house. Volvo therefore, along with utility equipment dealers like Rickmar, has been taking on a growing amount of the service and maintenance work for the firm. “I can’t fault Volvo and Rickmar for back-up,” says Mr Squires. “Volvo machines are at a premium, but if you get a breakdown or need a service it is done on time. We went for Volvos because the service and back-up that we have had from Volvo and Rickmar has been brilliant. I won’t change from Volvo now, as the downtime has been extremely low.”
RICKMAR PLANT SALES, based in Saxilby near Lincoln, is the Volvo CE utilities equipment distributor for Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. The company will celebrate 10 years as a Volvo dealer this year, having taken on the brand shortly before moving to its current dealership premises. Started by Chris Brodrick and Stewart Marshall in 1981, the company is now run by their sons Ady Brodrick and Andy Marshall, though all four continue to share responsibilities and duties in the running of the business on a daily basis.
Rickmar’s best year to date was 2007, with a large increase in sales in 2012 and into 2013 there has already been a big upturn in business. “We are picking up a lot of business these days as customers are looking closely at suppliers who have a competitive hire line built into their business. There are plant hire companies who will not buy machinery from dealers who are their competitors, hiring against them,” says Ady Brodrick. “Farmers are also starting to buy their own mini diggers and the agricultural market is really taking off.”
Ady Brodrick from Rickmar with Mrs Vivienne Squires, co-founder and Rob Squires Managing Director of A & V Squires
It isn’t just the service that has impressed however, the latest generation of machines, particularly the backhoes and midi excavators, have proven both productive and ideal for the new lines of work. “All the drivers like the BL71s,” says Mr Squires. “We bought a couple of EC18Cs last year for a Morrison’s contract and they proved to be both versatile and powerful.
The ECR88s are equally impressive. We’ve had our ECR88s on site with other 8 tonne machines and nothing will touch them. The ECR88 and the EC220D are proving to be the most popular machines at the moment with customers requesting them in preference to other sized machines.”
With so much Environmental Agency work, it comes as little surprise that all of Squires’ plant uses biodegradeable hydraulic oil. However the firm has taken things a step further, investing £75,000 in a biodiesel fuel plant.
He reports that housebuilding is making a comeback in the area too, with demand for machines steadily rising. “I think we’ll sell more machines this year,” says Mr Marshall. “We are having to stock more mini excavators, because customers just won’t wait. The ECR88 is massively popular, they’ve really taken off and as for the C series 1.8 tonne mini – customers have been very impressed with that.”
Rickmar is also taking greater responsibility for service and maintenance work for many of its customers, though this doesn’t always result in substantial spare parts income. “We are doing more maintenance work as we find our customers are trusting branded dealers more to carry out the work,” says Mr Brodrick. “That’s a credit to Volvo. But because of the reliability of the machines we don’t have a massive spares and service business.”
“We are a family business though, and I don’t believe in letting down the many good customers that have helped us to build that business. Indeed, we would like to thank all of our customers over the last 10 years for their support. We are never going to be massive, but we’re always going to be here.”
THE VOICE PAGE 41
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