CASE STUDY QUINNS
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Quinns is a family-run, 27-truck strong enterprise that has seen an uplift from the vehicle scrappage scheme. "Things are better this year than last, but we don't put all our eggs in one basket," says transport manager and former driver Samantha Dunmow. The firm still has customers it began with 25 years ago, including British Car Auctions, and also does dealer movements for groups such as Pentagon, "I could have put all the trucks on (moving) new vehicles two months ago," admits Dunmow, referring to subcontracting work undertaken for ECM and Autologic.
Its mixed fleet includes Volvo FMs, which are "absolutely brilliant," reckons Dunmow. As for Renaults, Dunmow says: "We won't be buying any more."
Scania comes off even worse: "We've got real issues with Scania dealers,' states Dunmow. "Their backup is absolutely terrible."
Chassis are usually bought new, but ()Limns took advantage of the recent surplus of car transporters for sale to purchase some 2005 models, All maintenance, apart from warranty work, is done in-house — the engineering workshop will even travel two hours to fix hydraulic hoses because, claims Dunmow, "it works out cheaper".
The fleet — recently increased by seven vehicles — tramps from its Sheffield base Monday to Friday: "[It's] madness for a couple of months, then it goes quiet," says Dunmow,