Trade Customer Overview
Fords of Winsford is one of the largest retailers for used vehicles in the North West area. They have a fleet of over 2,000 used vehicles which are sold across their Winsford and Trafford Park dealerships as well as online. Fords of Winsford wanted to minimise vehicle downtime across their fleet and maintain more control over the cost and quality of their alloy refurbishments.
Given the large volume of alloys we’ve processed for them over the years, and taking the size of their fleet into consideration, we knew that they would be an ideal candidate for our Wheel Pod service.
Our Solution: Wheel Pods
Wheel Pods are a custom-built modular repair system that are designed to be placed directly onto a customer’s premises. Each Wheel Pod arrives pre-assembled and equipped with the latest technology needed to restore alloy wheels back to OEM standards. They are totally self-contained and relocatable, meaning they do not add rateable value or require planning permission to install. Once a Wheel Pod is installed, it only requires a three-phase power cable and is fully operational within two hours.
The Wheel Pod we proposed to Fords of Winsford would allow them to refurbish their diamond cut alloys on-site, to an exceptional standard, faster and more cost effectively than the competition. Our consistent output for Wheel Pods with two technicians overseeing the pod is over 100 alloys per week, with a refurbishment time of around 4 hours. This means that using the Wheel Pod, Fords of Winsford could effectively begin repairing alloys in the morning and have the vehicle ready for sale by the afternoon. With no upfront costs provided, all they needed to do was to find a suitable location for the Pod to be placed, and we would supply our own technicians.
In May 2021, we launched their very first Wheel Pod at the Winsford dealership, and after just three successful months, Fords of Winsford chose to add a second Pod, this time at their Trafford Park dealership.
The Results
Reduction in vehicle downtime: Fords of Winsford can refurbish alloys on the same day and refit them back onto their vehicles (down from 1 – 3 days turnaround time previously).
Reduction in costs: Since implementing our Wheel Pods into their business, Fords of Winsford has been able to reduce the cost of alloy refurbishments by 30% across both dealerships.
Competitive advantage: The reduced lead times on alloy refurbishments has positively impacted their stock turnover, giving them a competitive advantage in the retail market.
Higher degree of autonomy: By consolidating their alloy refurbishments activities and moving them in-house, Fords of Winsford maintain more control over the quality, consistency and speed of their alloy refurbishments.
The successful application of our Wheel Pods has proven that this service, combined with our expertise and knowledge, has the potential to transform the way automotive businesses approach their alloy refurbishment.
If you think your business has the potential to benefit from this cutting edge technology, and you would like to explore this further with our team, contact us and open your trade account today.
Customer Testimonial from Fords of Winsford
“We have been using their premium refurbishment services for more than 3 years now and the results that Wheel Pods have had on our dealerships have been incredible.
We have been able to significantly reduce our downtime on vehicles, and the effects have positively impacted our customers. Our team is delighted to be making use of this fantastic service and since introducing the second Wheel Pod into our Trafford Park dealership, we have been able to spread the benefits that Wheel Pods have to offer across our entire business.” – Steven Parsley, General Manager at Fords of Winsford.