Currently, ATS Euromaster attends 9,000 jobs a month on average.
The change is partly cost-driven, says ATS Euromaster, as fleets double shift vans and try to minimise downtime in order to maximise asset usage. Every hour a van is off road costs the operator, and this cost is increasing year on year for many of their customers. It is a trend that Mark Holland, operations director, says will continue to increase over time.
But Holland says other factors are also at play: “The expectations of the market have moved on and it’s changing at 100 miles an hour. People want the service to come to them. It’s part of the delivery service culture and the very vans providing the delivery service want the same service for their vans.”
The ATS Mobile Tyre Service is currently for van and LCV fleets only. There are four levels available. In the Standard Mobile Service, a mobile unit will attend within 48 hours for pre-booked and non-emergency work, such as pre-planned tyre replacement. The Priority Mobile Service is for those van fleets where uptime is crucial but where the vehicle is not in a dangerous roadside situation. The Emergency Mobile Service addresses tyre-related emergencies, primarily at the side of the road or on a motorway. Mastercare is a proactive maintenance fleet check and rectify service that ensures the busy fleet manager has a view of the fleet on a set basis and maximises the uptime.
ATS Euromaster currently has some 160 vans providing the service, the majority fitted with electric (rather than diesel) compressors to reduce operational CO2 emissions. The average tyre service is said to take 46 minutes upon arrival.
Holland added: “At the rate we’re seeing demand increasing, we expect to be performing 25% more jobs in 2023 and 10% more in 2024.” With this in mind, the company says it is renewing the fleet with new vehicles and recruiting driver technicians.