Ingimex takes Citroen on ‘show and tell’ drive around Britain
Apr 08
Getting product in front of dealers makes all the difference, according to Ingimex Area Sales Manager, Tony Brown, as he embarks on his second ‘show and tell’ drive around Britain. Taking the company’s new Thor dropside body on a Citroen Relay, Tony is promoting Citroen’s ‘Ready to Run’ programme, which allows customers to specify body conversions that are fitted during vehicle manufacture.
Tony Brown said: “There’s only so much you can get from a brochure or online – it’s so much better for dealers to have the ‘hands on’ experience operating the body, seeing the engineering design and discussing the user benefits, so that they can speak from real experience when their customers come into the showroom.”
He added: “Our relationship with dealers is very important, so we do all we can to keep them up-to-date with engineering and design developments, pricing options and after-sales services, so they can effectively support their customers.”
Last autumn saw Tony take a Mercedes Sprinter, fitted with the Ingimex Titan tipper body, on a 5,000 mile round trip to visit some fifty dealers in England, Scotland and Wales. The vehicle was then handed over to European Sales Manager Franck Portron, who travelled to Germany, Holland, Belgium and Switzerland, where Ingimex is concentrating its efforts to develop export business.
Franck Potron said: “While each country has their own expectations as far as specifications are concerned, the Titan tipper has been very well received. Light weight, ease of repair, rigorous safety standards, and excellent automotive finish are some of the features that customers are looking for abroad.”
He added: “Developing new export markets is a long-term investment for us, and appointing the right distributor in each country is going to be vital to our success. Taking the tipper on tour around manufacturers and bodybuilders in Europe has been very positive, and strengthens our growing relationship with several big name players.” Tony Brown is confident that a second tour, this time with the company’s new Thor dropside, will boost sales: “The response from UK dealers ha been excellent and we now are starting to see tipper orders coming through on the back of that first trip. I’m looking forward now to taking the dropside on the road.”
The Thor dropside is lighter - saving some ten per cent in weight – with a strengthened body. The new sideboards are engineered to a one-piece contoured design, and the top edge has been strengthened for greater impact resistance. The sideboards have been strengthened more generally to offer increased ‘burst’ resistance, and a new, removable rear corner post improves the panel fit. The new sideboard locks are discreet and can be operated easily with one hand. The overall appearance is sleek, with exterior surfaces that are clean and flat making them ideal for branding and livery. The Thor dropside is specified by Citroen, LDV, Renault Trucks, Vauxhall and Volkswagen for their core conversion programmes in the 3.5 tonne chassis class. It is also available in a variety of sizes for aftersales conversions on light commercial vehicles from Fiat, Ford, Iveco, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault UK, and Mercedes Benz.
Come & see for yourself the Ingimex difference.