Galliford Try is a FTSE 250 business and one of the UK’s leading housebuilding, regeneration and construction groups with revenues of £3.1 billion. With several national projects requiring a range of vehicles for short and long term use, they were looking for a partner that could provide the volume, flexibility and pricing structure to meet their needs. And they wanted the personal touch. No large customer service call centre, but an agreed point of contact that always knew exactly what was going on, was going to be key to making this relationship work.  

The Situation

Galliford Try works on a wide variety of projects including highway maintenance work requiring Chapter 8 vehicles; airside projects requiring Chapter 4 vehicles; and a range of civil engineering and construction projects requiring unbranded plain white vans, as well as liveried vans fitted out and tailored to specific project needs. 

Galliford Try was looking for a vehicle rental partner that had the prerequisite vehicle capacity – both cars and specialist vans – to ensure supply nationwide, technological capability to interface directly with its third party rental booking platform, work towards the firm’s sustainability goals, provide 24-7 vehicle support, and have a single point of contact to manage day-to-day vehicle requirements.  

Europcar’s Approach  

There were some key objectives that needed to be met:

National Supply – Galliford Try needed Europcar to guarantee the supply of vehicles for contractors and staff in order to ensure they could do the work expected of them on specific days, in specific locations. This meant a mix of cars and vans, as well as Chapter 8-ready and Chapter 4-ready vehicles, which is not something all rental companies can do, especially at short notice.

Europcar has more than 120 branches nationwide, 9 of which are Van & Truck Supersites. With 2hr delivery from time of ordering a car and 4hrs from ordering a standard van, Europcar has the coverage, the required vehicles, and delivery and collection service to meet Galliford Try’s requirements.

Specialist Vehicle Supply – Providing vehicles with specific fit-out requirements and specific branded livery can take up to 5 days from date of order. Having experience of managing several specialist vehicle requirements for a range of customers, helped demonstrate to Galliford Try that Europcar had all the relevant experience to deliver any number of these vehicles as and when they were required. 

Personal Service – Galliford Try have worked with Europcar for over 10 years. Mike Keeley, Station Manager at Birmingham’s Van & Truck Centre has worked closely with Nikki Dyson, Fleet Coordinator at Galliford Try, on a day-to-day basis, discussing all the firm’s vehicle rental requirements and solving any issues to build a trusted and strong relationship.   

IT Integration – Europcar interfaces with Galliford Try’s third party rental booking platform Epyx 1Link, which enables Galliford Try’s dedicated team, managing vehicle bookings on a daily basis, to have a smooth booking process, clear reporting and timely invoicing. Non-standard vehicles are also booked through the system, and the personal relationship helps any details of the booking to be discussed further if required.  

24-7 Support – Europcar’s network with over 600 locations, including static and mobile nationwide coverage, can provide a tailor-made Service, Maintenance and Repair (SMR) service nationwide, which ensures vehicle downtime is kept to a minimum.

As a bespoke service, the Europcar SMR network is fully equipped to handle the biggest, most complex and demanding van fleet requirements. Our breakdown coverage provides 24-hour assistance to businesses that rely on commercial vehicles for their day-to-day operations. Our flexible approach means a van can be serviced outside of normal working hours to maintain customers’ vehicles, also minimising potential vehicle downtime.

Meeting Sustainability Targets – With sustainability at the heart of its business agenda (as mentioned by Nick Salt, Managing Director when accepting the British Construction Industry Award in the Carbon Reduction Initiative category in 2018), the range of vehicles rented from Europcar is the youngest, and thus the most technologically advanced for reduced CO2 emissions.

Diesel vans and hybrid cars form the majority of Galliford Try’s vehicle requirements, with a commitment from Europcar to supply 5% of the fleet with electric vehicles by the end of 2020.

In Summary    

Since working with Europcar, Galliford Try has enabled its staff to be on site at the right time, in the right vehicle, ensuring they can fulfil their workload, keeping the project on track, financially and timewise. 

Europcar’s extensive network has paid dividends for the company, with its young fleet enabling Galliford Try to benefit from the latest in fuel-efficient technology, reducing its carbon footprint and minimising downtime.