R B Trucks named TOP TRUCK Workshop of the year 2019

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05 Nov 2019

Category: OnRouteMag, On Route News

Norfolk based TOP TRUCK workshop R B Trucks are leading the way with the latest technical advanced equipment and training for technicians.

Company Director, Ray Brammer, started his commercial vehicle repair business in 1987 as ‘Ray Brammer Vehicle repairs’.  In the early days Ray worked alone repairing vehicles from the back of his van, in addition Ray spent several years working from customers yards until the early 90’s when his business had out grown him and Ray bought his own workshop in Stow Bridge, near Downham Market instantly employing 2 technicians to cope with the demand.

In 2007 the business saw further changes with the business rebranding as R B Truck Ltd. Ray, still heavily involved in the company today, less so on a technical basis and more driving the business forward with daughter in-law Simone and Scott Gilham becoming directors of the company in more recent years.

R B Trucks Ltd has grown immensely over the years, now employing 16 staff including a strong, experienced team of 13 technicians. For the business to accommodate the amount of work that is turned over the business implemented a shift system covering 7am until midnight – 5 days per week. This also benefited customers allowing them to reduce down-time for vehicles on the road. R B Trucks Ltd service vehicles for many long-established local hauliers, as well as assisting local authorities such as the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk and Prison Services with their vehicles.

Key services offered by the business include; HGV servicing, repairs, MOTs, road-side assistance and recoveries.  With the recent addition of an ATF and Tacho bay.

R B Trucks strive to go one step further than their competitors to achieve customer satisfaction. Stocking a large range of parts and diagnostics for all vehicles allows the business to put vehicles back on the road with bare minimum down-time. Staff at R B Trucks are trained and experienced in different vehicle manufacturers, and different aspects of HGV repair, including electricians and fabricators enabling a faster diagnosis for customers.

Experienced Technicians

With experienced technicians the team can carry out inspections, servicing, maintenance and repairs on all makes of HGV, PSV and light commercial. Also offering air conditioning system servicing, brake testing and tail lift/LOLER certification.

Roadside Assistance & Recovery

With 4 recovery vehicles and 3 fully equipped service vans experienced technicians are on call 24 hours a day. Even out of hours R B Trucks aim to be with the customers vehicle within 90 minutes. All service vans are equipped with welders and carry a good range of spare parts. In addition, service vans also offer roadside or on-site repair service for tail lift faults. When it’s simply not possible to get a vehicle back on the road R B Trucks will recover vehicles by taking them to the workshop or returning them to the customers yard. Covering Norfolk and regularly attending breakdowns in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk.

Investing for the future

R B Trucks is continually investing in the future with staff training and new equipment. Opening their new ATF lane in 2017, equipped to carry out all tests from Class 4 and Class 5 to Class 7, which includes cars, mini-buses, campers, light goods vehicles, American RVs, HGV’s, trailers (including double-decks) and PSVs. The lane is also equipped to carry out brake tests, headlight checks and emission testing. The plan being, that customers will get all the services they need under one roof. In the last 12 months R B Trucks have increased their offering to include Tacho facilities allowing them to carry out tacho calibrations and repairs.

Heavy Goods Vehicle Hire

Always striving to go the extra mile, R B Trucks have a fleet of vehicles available to hire to ensure customers business isn’t affected should vehicles be off the road or simply workload demands have increased, and additional vehicles are needed. With various units to hire at reasonable daily or weekly rates.

Top Truck Programme

R B Trucks were the first workshop to join the UK TOP TRUCK Network when it launched in 2013. G-TRUCK parts distributor HGV Truck & Trailer Parts Ltd Introduced Ray to Martin Sangster who led the launch of the network. Martin commented: “comment from martin”.

Corporate Branding & Network Instantly benefitting from the European wide corporate branding and then European network of over 700 workshops; now boasting over 1400 workshops across Europe. R B Trucks have been involved and benefitted from many aspects of what the network has to offer.

Training R B Truck technicians have all benefited from the training programme offered by TOP TRUCK. Since joining in 2013 R B Trucks have benefited from over 40 training courses for the team saving thousands in training costs.

Roadside Assistance & Recovery Being part of a nationwide and international breakdown group allows us to offer a better service to our customers” commented Simone. “We had a good experience in France a few years ago, when a customer’s trailer needed a new axle. The process was made simple by the TOP TRUCK Recovery programme” concluded Simone.

Added Value Services “Taking advantage of the network’s workwear and overall purchasing and cleaning services allowed us to reduce our monthly costs. In addition, we have saved thousands on our insurance premiums and we are confident we have the right level of cover for the business”. Other services R B Trucks are looking to take advantage of are the IT & Software package Simone comments “As our business grows and develops, we can streamline our admin and customer service department by implementing the TOP TRUCK Software package.

Marketing The top truck programme offers a variety of marketing services for workshops including; Branding, stationery, sponsorship, advertising in industry publications, online publishing software to allow workshops to create their own local campaigns. “Our business is very busy, but we would like to take advantage of the marketing services TOP TRUCK has to offer. If we can see an increase in business by utilising the TOP TRUCK team it’s a no brainer” commented Simone.

Coverage With over 40 workshops on the programme the network covers a large area of the UK, as with any business there is always room for development and the programme will be targeting key areas of the UK to expand the coverage and offering from TOP TRUCK.

The future of R B Trucks

Conscious of the technology advances in this fast-paced industry R B Trucks are clear they are here for the long game. Constantly reviewing and changing processes and equipment to keep ahead of the game and continue to challenge dealers. “Investing in the future and continuing to grow the business is key for us” added Simone.

TOP TRUCK Workshop of the Year 2019

Congratulations to R B Trucks Ltd on winning the prestigious award. The level of support and commitment to the programme is unprecedented. The criteria for nomination is to support your sponsoring G-TRUCK or UAN TRUCK part distributor, take up programme benefits such as attending training courses, events, accepting recovery jobs through the network and promoting the programme. Simone commented “We were very pleased to receive the award. We are very proud of the team for making winning this award possible. Our passion for ensuring R B Trucks and the TOP TRUCK network evolves as new technological advances progress is paramount and we look forward to the future”.

For more information on R B Trucks Ltd: 01366 382528, [email protected] or www.rbtrucks.co.uk