Perry Reeves, who formerly headed a Mercedes dealership, has been recruited to grow this new arm of the business and his first task was to expand the Tewkesbury facility.
“I was hugely impressed by the drive and ambition of managing director Chris Spriggs, and by the size and potential of the Tewkesbury site, so did not hesitate when this opportunity arose,” say Reeves. “The established facilities rivalled those of any commercial vehicle dealership and our plan is quite simply to create one of the finest workshops in the country.”
The depot has 17 full-length bays and five inspection pits, as well as two dedicated ATF lanes.
There are also two bays in which Arthur Spriggs’ own technicians test Class 4, 5 and 7 vehicles – including vans and minibuses up to 3.5 tonnes gvw.
The workshop is open from 6am to midnight five days a week, and on Saturday mornings. It is staffed by a team of 22 fully qualified technicians, service advisors and parts specialists – who maintain a £360,000 stock.
Two Service 24h vans are on standby around the clock to provide emergency roadside assistance, while Arthur Spriggs also delivers Mercedes-Benz parts up to twice a day to operators across an area extending to the Cotswolds, Wales, Worcestershire and Bristol.
Tachograph calibration, tyre-fitting, wheel alignment, diesel and AdBlue supplies and a full-height brush wash are all available on-site.
Reeves plans to recruit up to 25 more staff, extend the workshop opening to 24 hours a day, install at least two new 28-tonne commercial ramps and create a dedicated while-you-wait servicing area for van customers.
Until recently around three quarters of the Arthur Spriggs fleet of Mercedes-Benz trucks was based at the same premises, but the company has acquired a new site close by to which the haulage operation is now being transferred.
The second workshop is planned for Rushden, Northamptonshire, followed by two more in East and West Sussex.