The move will see bodybuilders who are already authorised maintenance providers assembling M.KO rigids, using panels shipped in from Schmitz Cargobull’s factory in Panevéžys, Lithuania.
Geoff Ward, sales engineer for Schmitz Cargobull Truck Bodies, says: “Last-mile delivery is increasingly important, driving up demand for high-quality rigid truck bodies. By expanding our assembly capabilities in the UK through our service partner network, we’ll be able to reduce costs and shorten lead times.”
Shropshire-based bodybuilder and trailer repairer PD Stevens is the latest UK Service Partner to start assembly of Schmitz Cargobull’s M.KO rigid trucks. Director Greg Stevens says: “Schmitz Cargobull makes exceptionally high-quality rigid bodies and being able to assemble them opens up new opportunities for us, and will help local operators source new trucks far more quickly and economically.”
Other firms already performing the service are: Spectra Specialist Engineering, Westbury, Wiltshire; A & R Vehicle Services, Wednesbury, West Midlands; Yaxley Coachworks, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. Additional members of the 60-strong Service Partner network throughout the UK will be able to offer rigid truck body assembly in coming months.
Schmitz Cargobull’s M.KO range can be built to suit operations including urban distribution, refrigerated transport and ambient dry freight – with body lengths ranging from 6,050mm to the maximum permissible length on 12, 18 or 26-tonne rigids.
Schmitz Cargobull UK is a subsidiary company of the German-owned Schmitz Cargobull Group.