FLEET MANAGEMENT: RACKING & STORAGE
Made to measure
UK racking and conversion specialist Bri-Stor continues to expand to meet the needs of a diverse range of customers, says Dan Gilkes
ehicle conversion is a creative as well as a technical business, taking a customer’s idea or in- dividual requirement and turning it into a safe, durable and productive re- ality. From dedicated racking designs, to secondary power provision, van con- verters need to have a wide range of skills at their disposal to meet custom- er needs. However, few companies have been asked to create a mobile barber’s shop before. For Staffordshire conversion special- ist Bri-Stor Systems, not only was that a genuine request, but visitors to this year’s Commercial Vehicle Show at the NEC will be able to experience the fin- ished vehicle in use. Commissioned by mobile barbering company Trim-It, and featured on a recent Channel 4 docu- mentary, Bri-Stor is building up to 100 of the Citroën Relay barber vans, for use around the country.
V Bri-Stor offers a complete conver-
sion service, from a clean sheet of paper design, through prototyping and crash testing, to the finished vehicle. This in- cludes taking vehicles direct from the manufacturer and carrying out pre-de- livery inspections and DVLA registra- tion, to allow the finished van to go di- rectly to the end user. To achieve this, there are three com- panies within the group, all working together on a busy 14ha site near the village of Hixon, Staffordshire. Alpha Manufacturing is a precision sheet met- al business, operating in a range of in- dustries. Alpha produces all of the cut
Bri-Stor completes around 8,000 vehicle conversions each year
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and folded sheet material for Bri-Stor in-house, ensuring total quality control and on-time delivery. From Alpha, the racking compo- nents move to Atlas Powder Coating, which provides the high-quality auto- motive finish required to ensure the du- rability and corrosion resistance that customers demand. All racking compo- nents are powder coated in a choice of five main colours, though the compa- ny can provide any RAL colour if re- quired. Bri-Stor also has a hand-paint- ing booth and a Line-X coating bay, for individual builds.
The company boasts an in-house graphics department too, called Hex Signs & Graphics, capable of meeting all of the branding, safety signage, livery and wrapping needs of its customers.
Fleet customers
In business for more than 38 years, Bri-Stor completes around 8,000 ve- hicle conversions each year. The com- pany managed to keep its doors open for all but three weeks in 2020, main- taining its entire workforce, while im- plementing Covid-compliant measures. Much of its work is with major fleets; Bri-Stor is currently providing racking and livery for 3,000 Vivaro-e vans for British Gas, for example. Electric vehi- cles have started coming through the facility in growing numbers and 96% continued on p29
JULY 2021 • VANUSER 27
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