Bridgestone’s flexibility earns a firm handshake with Collease

Bridgestone has secured a three-year commercial partnership with vehicle rental company Collease. The deal will incorporate a large fleet of all types of Trailers and Motorised equipment. Collease’s customers include a number of prestigious blue chip companies.

The relationship between Bridgestone and Collease was rekindled two years ago, when the tyre manufacturer embarked on a complimentary testing programme with a sample of Collease vehicles run on the R168 product, in an attempt to underline the performance and reliability of its products.

Collease tyre manager Sean Norman said: “The R168 performed exceptionally well and we were suitably impressed with its longevity and all-round handling following tests.

“When we went out to tender, we expected Bridgestone to impress us following the tests carried out previously, but the product was only part of the overall package. Bridgestone immediately grasped what we wanted and displayed a level of flexibility to meet our needs, which was really refreshing.”

The back-end element of the fleet partnership was handled seamlessly according to Sean, with both company’s invoicing systems tailored to “talk to each other”. This ensured a smooth working partnership from the day the fleet partnership officially began. In addition, the Bridgestone Partner dealer network was tweaked to a zonal system of operating upon the request of Collease, with many depots already well-known to the business.

Bridgestone’s national fleet executive Neil Collison said: “We are incredibly proud to be able to work with Collease and have worked hard across the business to provide a bespoke package of solutions to meet their needs.

“Our Total Tyre Care offering means we will regularly audit all five sites in Norwich, Felixstowe, London, Southampton and Manchester in an attempt to get maximum life out of each tyre we supply. Meanwhile, we have shown flexibility in being able to provide a network of dealers that Collease were looking for, and a reporting system which saved valuable time.”

Sean Norman added: “Neil’s knowledge and attention to detail left an impression with us and our first impressions of Bridgestone have been extremely positive. It is nice to work with a business which speaks the same language as us and understands our needs.”