TotalKare outlines how it has benefitted two companies with its mobile brake tester and lifting solutions.
Tyrers Coaches
Northwest bus and coach operator Tyrers Coaches has upgraded its Farnworth workshop with state of the art lifting and testing equipment from heavy duty workshop experts TotalKare.
Covering Greater Manchester and South Lancashire, Tyrers Coaches has been offering group travel services – including day excursions, private hires, and home-to- school transport solutions – for over 40 years, with a fleet of over 100 vehicles.
Now, the operator is set to benefit from increased fleet availability following the installation of brand new mobile column lifts and a mobile brake tester from Totalkare.
TotalKare’s T8AC mobile column lifts provide workshops with quick and easy access to the underside of vehicles for repair and maintenance. Each column has a safe working load of 7,500kg and can be synchronised in sets of four, six, or eight, which enables the safe lifting of vehicles weighing up to 60,000kg. The T8ACs adjustable wheel forks facilitate the lifting of vehicles with a range of wheel diameters without the need for additional wheel adapters.
By introducing a TotalKare mobile brake tester, Tyrers Coaches immediately benefit from time saved by no longer having to visit an external test centre with their fleet of 122 vehicles and should see a return on their capital investment inside 12 months, with projected cost savings over five years in excess of £100,000.
The DVSA-approved mobile brake tester from Totalkare can accommodate up to 20,000kg per axle and a number of wheel bases up to 4,000mm. It comes with cabinet and computer display and a touchscreen tablet device enabling brake tests to be conducted from the driver’s seat in a matter of minutes.
Lewis Holmes at Tyrers Coaches explains: “We were in need of a new set of column lifts as our old ones were coming to the end of their life cycle. As these new lifts were required in our workshop, we had no hesitation on which company to turn to – Jack Longstaff at TotalKare helped us select the perfect option that would suit our vehicles and lifting requirements. We also opted to purchase a TotalKare mobile brake tester, which is helping us to test our vehicles on a daily basis without any downtime.”
Jack Longstaff, Area Sales Manager at TotalKare, comments: “We were keen to ensure Lewis and his team had the best equipment to achieve maximum productivity in their workshop, which is why the T8AC was the perfect solution for them. By offering a lease purchase option over five years, the monthly payments are spread, giving a lower month by month cost to the business. The mobile brake tester included extended ramps to accommodate the company’s tri-axle coaches.”
Geesinknorba
Geesinknorba Group, the waste management specialist that operates workshops across the UK, has been working with TotalKare for more than a decade, primarily sourcing all of its mobile column lifts from the Halesowen based firm.
Impressed by the quality of product and service provision, the company decided that it would turn to Totalkare again, this time for help in reducing the costs it was experiencing when testing the brakes on all of the council vehicles it manages.
“We build a lot of our business on long-standing customer relationships, whereby we listen to the client, understand the issues it is facing and then look at our product mix and where we can add real value,” comments Brian Young, National Account Manager for TotalKare.
“This is exactly what we’ve done with Geesinknorba, installing our mobile brake tester at its workshop on Buntingford Business Park in Hertfordshire. Immediately, this has stopped the firm having to drive vehicles to an external contractor to complete all of the tests.”
He continues: “Being mobile, it gives the client complete flexibility in its facility and no infrastructure work was required. Importantly, completing the tests on site also means the fitters have more time to focus on their core roles. It’s a win-win for Geesinknorba – it can offer a more efficient service, it cuts lead times, and it saves costs, all with one investment.”
TotalKare introduced its first non-lifting product to its portfolio at the CV Show last year, launching its technically advanced mobile and in-ground brake testers, viewed by many experts as being amongst the strongest and most reliable systems currently available.
These were supported with the appointments of two sector specialists in Graham Simmons and Luke Simmons.
Young concludes: “It certainly proved a wise decision. Our sales targets for the first twelve months were surpassed in just 100 days and our systems are installed and currently being used in the bus and coach, commercial vehicle, and waste and recycling sectors, along with several local authorities – ably supported by our nationwide team of field service engineers.
