ATS Euromaster expands van fleet, hires new technicians

Tyre service and maintenance provider ATS Euromaster is investing in its mobile van fleet to meet growing demand for mobile servicing. It reports having added 30 vans to its fleet so far this year and anticipates the arrival of more vehicles before the end of 2021, bringing the total fleet to 155 mobile vans.

ATS Euromaster says demand for its mobile fleet has consistently increased, running at ten per cent above average each month from October 2020 through to July 2021. So far it has met this increase through greater operator efficiency thanks to improved on-job training, but is now actively recruiting to upstaff its mobile service. “There’s no question that the increase we have seen for mobile delivery provision, and the constant vehicle uptime required to deliver items, has been behind the increase in demand for our mobile service,” comments Mark Holland, operations director at ATS Euromaster.

Growth fuelled by sustained demand for mobile deliveries

“Thanks to the growing efficiency of our mobile technicians, we have been able to meet this increased demand to date, but now we feel it is time to invest in increasing our fleet size and new staff. We don’t expect mobile deliveries, particularly from the established supermarkets, to decrease as the scale of the pandemic subsides. Quite the contrary, we expect it to continue at the current levels, which in turn will put further demand for our services to ensure secure fleet uptime,” Holland continues.

“Most of the requests we are seeing are for emergency tyre repair. But we are attempting to work with the bigger van fleets to prioritise maintenance work during vehicle downtime at night to provide a balance and retain service levels for all customers throughout the day.”

ATS Euromaster also reports rising demand for its Mastercare service, where the company undertakes planned tyre inspection and remedial work at a prearranged time. In response to the rising popularity of this service, ATS Euromaster is trialling new working hours for its employees, including dedicated night-time technicians.

All of the new technicians coming onto the ATS Euromaster mobile service fleet receive car and van training, along with new electric vehicle high voltage use modules, and a specialist roadside course. And all the new, lower emission vans entering the fleet are fitted with an electric compressor, which not only offers substantial fuel cost savings against traditional diesel-powered compressors, but zero emissions as well. The compressor batteries are charged by the vehicle when the van is driving. All mobile fitting vans are also equipped with the specialist jacks required to change wheels on the popular Tesla Model 3 electric car.

Changed fleet support dynamics

“The pandemic has totally changed the dynamics of fleet support as the volume of home deliveries continues to increase,” adds Holland. “Fortunately, we have been leading the market for many, many years with our mobile fleet. We are now responding to this changing demand with newer and better equipped vans, more specially trained technicians, and night-time servicing to ensure optimal fleet uptime performance. It’s all part of our commitment to ensure the highest level of service to the fleet customers we support.”