UPS create national maintenance network

Investment in new support vehicle fleet signals nationwide growth plans for United Plant Services

PLANT machinery maintenance specialists United Plant Services (UPS) have signalled ambitious plans for the future with significant investment in a new national fleet of support vehicles to satisfy increasing demand for the range of services offered by the company.

The fleet investment coincides with a major rebrand for the company as it integrates sister company MacPlant – who are well known in Scotland – under the UPS name to create a unified, UK-wide network of 40 engineers.

UPS say they are now well placed to offer consistent, high-quality engineering support to their growing customer base, which includes end owners as well as a number of strategic alliances with major plant companies, including Bell Equipment, ZF Off-Highway, Deutz, Solmec and Arden.

Services offered to customers include product support to chosen partners, service contracts, preventative maintenance scheduling, and full site cover or breakdown support.

The company’s new fleet comprises 30 Mercedes 313 Sprinter vans, all fitted with bespoke racking, to give engineers immediate access to a range of tooling, as well as GPS trackers so that UPS can identify van locations to determine response times.

According to Mark Cooper, managing director of United Plant Services, the need for high-quality plant support has never been greater. ‘Construction and related industries are growing at their fastest rate for many years as the UK economic recovery takes hold, yet this success will be short-lived if firms cannot keep their equipment in good working order,’ he commented.

‘It doesn’t always make economic sense to retain a network of engineers – but it can be hard to find a reputable support partner who can offer expert knowledge of plant machinery and operate to consistent standards of performance and reliability across the whole of the UK.

‘That’s where we come in. Wherever they are in the country, from Southampton to Scotland, our customers have the peace of mind that a highly trained UPS engineer is on their doorstep.

‘We see ourselves as partners to our customers, delivering a convenient and flexible outsourcing of plant maintenance expertise that can be drawn upon when needed to keep plant running and prevent costly downtime.’

Customer service is essential to United Plant Services’ business, and Mr Cooper (left of photo) believes that the recent fleet investment will only serve to strengthen what is already a robust infrastructure.

‘Our strategic alliances have been forged with leaders in their fields, so it’s natural that they want their support partners to take a similar pride in the product as they do – and that’s the ethos shared across our entire business,’ he explained.

‘We only recruit exceptionally skilled engineers, and we believe we now have the vehicles and the equipment to complement their skills.’

Bell Equipment, who use UPS for all of their customers’ aftercare needs in the UK, said they were delighted with the company’s decision to invest in the new fleet.

‘UPS act as our ambassadors in the field, so it’s vital that they make a good impression,’ said Nick Learoyd, managing director of Bell Equipment UK (right of photo). ‘The eye-catching look of the new vans reinforces the quality and reliability already apparent in their engineers’ work.’