DAF Dealer group, F&G Commercials, has opened the doors to a new Sales, Service and Parts DAF Dealership in Trafford Park, Manchester. F&G Commercials (Manchester) is an ambitious new development comprising a state-of-the-art building development, equipment and services across a 5.2-acre site.
The move follows F&G Commercials’ acquisition of the local Chatfields DAF business in 2014 before purchasing land at the heart of commercial Manchester in Trafford Park in June 2015; the venture altogether representing an impressive £5.0 million investment.
Amenities include ten full-length truck service bays, an ATF lane (intrinsically safe for Pet. Reg. work), a large Parts warehouse extending to 11,000 sq.ft, Tachograph centre, truck-wash plus new equipment throughout. Sales and Service staff will reside in a modern 8,300 sq.ft office facility.
The new premises, situated on Trafford Park Road is show-cased by a stunning, glass-fronted truck-sales show room.
F&G Commercials, which also has highly successful DAF Dealer locations in Huddersfield, Oldham and Barnsley, is a familiar name right along the M62 corridor. The DAF Dealer group has established an excellent reputation for customer service in the region; a reputation central to the principles of founders Frank Woodhead and Glenn Stevenson who first set-up their commercial vehicle business in Barnsley in 1995.
Heading-up F&G Commercials’ new Trafford Park location is Dealer Principal John Gilligan, previously Regional Sales Manager for DAF Trucks in the north-west.
“F&G Commercials has always looked to expand and develop, and Manchester was a natural extension to our existing business” said John, “but timing was important and the right location was absolutely crucial. DAF operators have been telling us that a new, dedicated Sales, Service and Parts outlet was required in the area and when the opportunity arose to acquire the Chatfields business, we knew the time was right. With a prime location in Trafford Park,” he said, “local operators can expect a fresh injection of the DAF brand in the north west.
“With my previous experience with the DAF brand,” he went on, “I know we have a superb truck range at all weight sectors – and DAF trucks are British-built to the very highest quality standards just up the road at Leyland Trucks. Crucially for customers though,” he added, “that product range is backed by F&G Commercials and the industry-leading DAF aftersales portfolio – and that’s an unrivalled customer support combination.”
F&G Commercials (Manchester) is also the latest DVSA-appointed Authorised Testing Facility (ATF) in the DAF dealer network. The appointment brings the total of DAF-accredited MOT testing stations to 56 – the ninth to be opened in the last 18 months, and with more DAF locations identified for upgrade in 2016.
With over 400 ATFs in total in the UK, DAF’s ATF network provides significantly more reach for operators than any other truck manufacturer, while also making up a sizeable proportion of its own 131 UK dealer locations.
