With some having already clocked up over 50,000 miles, AP Security - a concierge and security company - relies on its cars. “All our cars are all real workhorses,” Mark Edwards, senior operations manager at AP, explains. “The lights are on all the time, the radio is on, the heaters are on. And it’s stop-start as well, there’s no motorway mileage. They go through some serious work.”
As well as offering event security, AP has also recently established a manned guarding division, which includes receptionists, building managers and 24 hour support services. The new division is based in Ford, West Sussex. Its drivers work through the night to carry out a variety of tasks for clients including a number of local councils.
Reliable and durable vehicles are important to the business. AP chose the Kia cee’d as the fleet car best suited to the business’s needs. The car’s size, price and fuel efficiency made it a logical choice for the company.
The vehicles’ technical specifications and the manufacturer’s service were key considerations for Edwards, who has 20 years experience of managing fleet cars. AP depends on its vehicles to function, so a flexible and committed local garage is important for business.
“We needed a provider that was local and completely reliable,” Mark explains. He says of Kia: “They know who we are and know that without the cars, our business can’t run. They always fit us in and are happy to accommodate us at the shortest of notice.”
Each morning, Nick Roussel, AP’s senior controller, carries out a full review of the fleet. Each car is fitted with tracking software, meaning poor driving habits can be identified and any damage to the vehicles quickly reported for repair.
Liam Mulkeirins, director of operations in the manned guarding division of AP says: “Recently our cars were breaking down for no reason and nobody could work out why. Still, of course we understand that cars are mechanical, things break down – the important thing is how they’re dealt with, and we received a great service.”
Edwards says the garage kept AP informed while they worked out the cars’ problems. “It turned out our vehicles needed bigger batteries – they immediately arranged for all our cars to be changed within two days.”
As business has grown, so has the need for more vehicles. Ordering new cars can be tricky to arrange, but AP’s local garage has made the process as smooth as possible: “We recently ordered three new cars, but there was a problem with the boat they were travelling on that meant it had to turn back,” Mulkeirins explains. “But our supplier was able to source three more straight away – two of them were actually brought down from Scotland – to make sure we could have them in the time frame we needed.”
AP has established a solid base for its business, which has been helped by its reliable fleet and an accommodating local provider. “On the back of their great service to us, we’re able to put out a great service on the street,” Liam concludes. “It frees us up to focus on making our business a real success.”
Content on this page is paid for and produced to a brief agreed with Kia Fleet sponsor of the Guardian Small Business Network Accessing Expertise hub.
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