

Stockport Truck Centre (STC) has been enjoying a bumper run-up to the festive period with increased sales compared with last year.
The north-west’s largest independent dealer and repair agent has also taken delivery of a large batch of 2011 Cartwright curtainsiders that have been de-fleeted, refurbished and are now ready to remarket. It also has another large de-fleet of SDC Curtain-siders coming in January.
STC business development manager Andy Livingstone said: “The Christmas rush began in September and continued to the end of November. We saw a massive hike in trailer sales in those three months. We cherry-pick all our stock, don’t buy from auction and search the market for trailers that we feel are going to suit our high standards.
“We buy our trailers and tractors at the right time, and the right prices, so we can pass the price on to the customer. That’s our ethos.”
The recent batch of 75 Cartwright ENXL curtain-siders are 4.2m and 4.5m in height and have BPW drum brakes, but are, according to Livingstone, ready to be converted or altered to any requirements from a bespoke colour and livery scheme to a new set of curtains.
“We have the capacity to alter these trailers to whatever the customer desires and have a large variety of stock, approximately 200 trailers, so can supply most requirements. All the work is carried out in-house by our bodybuilders and painters. Our standards are high and we supply a quality product at very competitive prices, giving our customers a reliable refurbished asset for their businesses.”
STC aims to be a one-stop-shop for customers operating over five sites in the north-west with a DVSA ATF, large maintenance facilities, 24-hour service and two large body repair shops.
STC has also appointed a dedicated vehicle damage assessor to work alongside the trailer sales team checking in the large de-fleet assets for stock, and at its accident repair centre at Atherton.
“We want to speed up the process of assessing a damaged truck or trailer. We aim to get back to the insurer and customer in 24 to 48 hours. Obviously, if a customer’s vehicle is in for two weeks that’s a lot of downtime. So, the new role is exciting as we can get the repair under way with minimal downtime for the operator.”
Livingstone said STC is looking forward to an exciting 2019 and anticipates a high demand for its product and services, which has led it to increase opening hours at two of its locations.