Keltruck’s Scania Vehicle Recycling programme is delivering peace of mind to used parts customers around the world
USED MARKET: KELTRUCK
WORDS: GEORGE BARROW / PHOTOS: KELTRUCK
Recycling is one of the hottest topics on the planet right now thanks to the well documented need for rapid action on the use of plastics. Recycling at Keltruck takes on a different meaning, with its Keltruck Scania Vehicle Recycling programme. Any vehicle from 2008 can fall into the scheme, with more than 3,000 used parts and 10,000 individual items on the books. Items range from seemingly mundane plastic trim items to an entire front axle or even complete cabs.
“Often buying a complete cab is the most cost efficient way of repairing an accident-damaged vehicle,” explains Henry Wood, Keltruck assistant business development executive. Not only does Keltruck stock a range of parts, it also stocks a significant number of some of the more popular items – for example, there were more than 80 front hub assemblies ready for sale at the time of our visit.
Each of the parts has been carefully removed, inspected and prepared for sale by Keltruck with one of the 12 staff working in the recycled and reconditioned parts department. Customers range from owner-drivers to bodyshops, as well as other used parts companies and fleet operators.
Last year we sold more cabs than ever. I think we sold 50. We couldn’t get them prepared quick enough
Wood continues: “A breaker’s yard might have the same amount of parts, but we have quality checks at every level. We have the ability to work with the customers, the experience to not only check the part but back it up, and our 17 depots to ship it out to. We pass on peace of mind to our customers.”
All this is nothing new for Keltruck, though. The parts business is well established and respected, but what has changed recently is the way that items are sold and the reach recycled and reconditioned parts are getting across the globe.
An upgraded website has made searching for and looking at Keltruck’s stock a lot easier, and has opened up the business to an expanding range of customers. Export demand for parts was already high, with customers in countries as far afield as Australia and New Zealand ordering parts from Keltruck’s West Bromwich base, but the company now serves customers in 52 countries and rising.
WORLD ORDER
Carl Joynes, business development executive for used parts operations, says: “From an export point of view, we’ve investigated selling into more areas. Experience shows that trust is the big thing export buyers rely on. They pay before they see the items and parts can take up to 40 days to arrive. If you can provide all the information up front it’s important. A lot of people are sceptical about buying things online, but they have the added advantage of being able to contact us directly. If they want to buy an engine, we’ll send them a video via WhatsApp of it running. It’s about building trust first and then creating relationships.”
As Joynes and Wood chat about the new website and explain how cabs, gearboxes and engines – the most expensive items to buy new – are the most popular items sold by Keltruck, Joynes’ phone begins to chirp with a string of WhatsApp messages. A customer in Hong Kong is looking for a cab.
“Last year we sold more cabs than ever,” Joynes says. “I think we sold 50. We couldn’t get them prepared quick enough.”
The process has, however, become easier, since a dedicated loading ramp was installed last year. Now the process of loading parts for containerisation is much simpler. “It’s paid for itself already with the ease with which we can load a container,” says Joynes. “We make no money out of shipping, it’s just a service we provide through six suppliers. Items like cabs get shrink-wrapped to protect against contaminants. That way we can send them to somewhere like Australia, which is strict on quarantine laws.”
While Keltruck is experiencing a big growth in demand for recycled parts in Asian countries such as Malaysia and Thailand, the website will help customers closer to home. There’s now a UK shipping calculator and it’s also a direct copy of the Scania Multi spare parts system, which makes it easier to navigate.
It might be a different concept to putting your plastics and glass in the correct bins, but Keltruck’s recycling scheme is not only putting old or damaged trucks to good use, but also extending the life of vehicles on the road, which is definitely a good way to help save the planet.
Source: Commercial Motor
