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New Renault depot
Page 57
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• A new, i.5m, purposebuilt Renault Trucks sales, service, and parts dealership has opened on the outskirts of Southampton. Boasting a four-bay workshop, the 1.5-acre site is close to the area likely to be occupied by a planned expansion of the city's docks.
"Renault Trucks Southampton covers a territory that runs north to Andover, east to Littlehampton, and west to Wareham," explains director and general manager, Mike Tanner. "Previously we had a smaller depot with a two bay workshop that we took on at the back end of 1999, but we really needed somewhere larger."
Staff numbers are doubling, from eight to 16.
"We're looking to take on another three technicians to start with," says Tanner. "We've got four at present."
The branch will provide aftersales support to trucks running in and out of the port, and new and used vehicle sales volumes aren't hugely ambitious.
"We should do about 6o vans a year, around 70 trucks, and about 75 to ioo used," Tanner reckons. He's also responsible for Renault Trucks Reading. The way in which industry has changed in that part of the country has resulted in a change in sales patterns and difficulties in recruiting staff, he reports.
A lot of hauliers have moved out, and many of the businesses these days are high-tech software houses. "They can offer youngsters starting salaries of Li4,0oo a year, and the youngsters think that it's a better bet than working on the shop floor," he observes.
"Reading is doing well with vans though," he adds.