Gareth Jones, who runs Elmecom Installations in Luton, said the new van has increased his business’ visibility dramatically – even picking up work from parents on the school run.
‘Most people have noticed from the school run I do, as I use my new van to get the kids to school. Since getting my new van I have noticed more local enquiries from even the mums there,’ he said.
Gareth met the director of White Hot Vans, Richard Bunn, who advised on and kitted out his new Vauxhall Vivaro at a networking event.
‘The “pimping” service was given to me as something to enjoy from my van as opposed to having a workhorse getting from A to B. I spend a lot of time driving so wanted all the mod cons I could to make that time better,’ he said.
‘The Bluetooth was essential in keeping with our mission that we are always in communication with the client, so being able to deliver on that promise was the most important part.
‘I believe “white van men” are evolving rather than just being a thing of the past, as technology has all but eradicated the old age images of van drivers.
‘For example, late arrivals have been stopped with satnav and traffic updates. Drawings are kept in cloud storage, ready to download. The white van man is now office and communication ready on site, and that needs to come across to the clients in order to stay ahead of the competition.’
Richard Bunn commented, ‘The van market has been booming for various reasons over the last few years – more people becoming self-employed, people moving less so doing up houses, therefore more need for skilled trades people, as well as vans becoming the new people carriers for families and essentially mobile offices for many.
‘As technology has improved there are many more flexible uses for vans for just about everyone, they’re definitely not the domain of the white van man of yesterday.’
