An architect's impression of the new site

Unipart Automotive is moving from its current offices in Cowley, Oxfordshire to a new site in Bicester.

After 20 years in Cowley, the automotive parts supplier is moving its business operations to a refurbished premises with almost 8,000 square meters of space.

The rest of the Unipart business will remain in Cowley. The head offices for Unipart Automotive, along with the trading branch and call center will be relocating. 100 staff from Cowley will also be moving to Bicester to support the business. Ten additional roles will be created at the new site in warehouse and distribution operations.

A new distribution center will be created at the site along with a new retail outlet. Unipart says 12 other branches in the area will receive increased support and multiple daily deliveries from the site.

Unipart says part of its decision to move its automotive business to Bicester came down to transport. The new site, says Unipart, has excellent links within the Thames Valley region and beyond.

The company says it is already engaging with other businesses in the Bicester area to explore opportunities for office support and employee facilities at the site.

Marketing Director for Unipart Automotive Andrew Jeffrey said: “These new premises are in the best location to enable Unipart Automotive to fulfill our strategic objectives of providing the largest distribution site and branch facility for our customers, suppliers and local branches.

“The Unipart Group’s massive distribution centre based at Cowley will continue as the main logistics centre for Unipart Automotive nationwide.

“This flagship distribution site will become the blueprint on which all other UA sites will be modeled ensuring the most efficient, reliable and rapid delivery of automotive aftermarket parts in the industry.”

Valvoline has announced a new supply deal to distribute its products to the growing Russian market.

The Valvoline brand, which is part of Ashland Consumer Markets, has announced a five-year agreement to distribute Valvoline oil product to the Russian passenger car market.

Valvoline will now be distributed in Russia to the passenger car markets.

While the full worth of the agreement hasn’t been disclosed, it has been confirmed that Russia’s third-largest oil company TNK-BP will be distributing the oil.

Ashland Consumer Markets President Sam Mitchell said: “We are very excited about this distribution relationship with TNK-BP.

“With its passenger car lubricants market being the largest in Europe – and still growing year on year, Russia represents a significant growth opportunity for passenger car motor oils, particularly with the increasing popularity of Western cars.

“By combining Valvoline’s brand leadership and high-quality lubricants with TNK-BP’s extensive retail network and local market insights, we believe we can build a strong foundation for future growth and market share expansion.”

A statement from TNK-BP said the company was looking forward to using the Valvoline products to grow consumer offerings at its 15,000 store locations throughout Russia. Thanks to the breadth of TNK-BP’s presence in the Russian market the Valvoline brand can also expect significant growth in the near future.

The entrance to CAT Components

CAT Components (no relation) in Hastings is trading in a crowded market.

In the space of a few square miles there are numerous independent motor factors jostling for space with some of the biggest names in the business. Euro Car Parts, GSF and Unipart all have branches in the area, and they’re all competing for business with the independents. The whole town is like an aftermarket social experiment.

Managing Director of CAT Components Tony Humphrey explained how the business started: “We started here 18 years ago, that’s when it all began. When we initially set up we were in a unit across the road which was tiny, we were there for two years then we moved literally across the yard into this building. When the lease on this building ran out we took it over and then in 2008 we bought this whole estate, and now we lease the buildings back to the businesses who are here as well.”

Manager Tony Humphrey

Tony admits Hastings is a uniquely crowded market: “We’ve always competed for business with those big names. When I first started in Sittingbourne in 1985 it was always a struggle. When we did the tour of the banks in order to get some backing for CAT Components they all said to us that we couldn’t compete with the big boys. They said it just wouldn’t work. I’m happy to say we’ve proved them wrong, and we’ve never found competing to be a problem.

“At branch level we probably compete evenly with the big boys. Huge motor factor X might be buying certain parts cheaper, but by the time those parts reach the branch with the added costs of administration their prices are pretty much the same as ours.

“The big boys come with their own problems. They have to have their own head offices, their own warehouses and their own administration structures. As a small business we can do away with a lot of that.

“By getting bigger and bigger as a business you get more buying power, but you attract other encumbrances as well. So you can compete as a smaller business, and you can compete well.”

Tony admits the past few months have been hard, with traditionally well-selling items like batteries not seeing their seasonal booms: “Sales over Christmas dropped off, a bit more than we thought it would do actually. I think it just comes down to the fact that garage customers just don’t have the work at the moment.”

CAT Components also does retailing

CAT Components doesn’t just do parts. For it’s regular customer base of 150 workshops, business advice is just a phone call away. Tony admits that most of the garages around Hastings are “men in sheds.” There’s nothing wrong with that, he says, but he likes to offer struggling technicians the benefit of his business experience, especially when it comes to promoting their businesses.

Promotion can only go so far, and at the end of the day customers need to be willing to part with their cash. That’s not getting any easier, says Tony: “The main problem is that people are very mean with their money. Some garage customers won’t do a full service and MOT together. Now they want only the essential work doing.

“We’ve found during the recession that our customers in Tunbridge Wells are now ordering fewer parts because they know customers won’t pay for the extra work. Customers are frightened now, they don’t like paying.”

In these hard times Tony admits that CAT Components has in the past become a victim of the “order the same part from several different places” workshop brigade: “If it happened to us we would tell the customer not to use us again. We don’t play that game, we’re not here to be abused and that’s what it is. It’s an abuse of the factor and of our resources. We work well with our customers and the vast majority of them we don’t have any problems with whatsoever.”

“In terms of expansion at our age it would be a lie to say we’re going to open more branches. We’ve always taken the view of running a small company is better than running a big one. We think that’s better, because we deal with local people and we do it properly.”

CAT Components – vital stats

ESTABLISHED            1993

HQ                                  Hastings

BRANCHES                  2

STAFF                            8

FLEET                            5

STOCK HOLDING       -

BUYING GROUP         UAN

WEB                               www.catcomponents.co.uk

SUPPLIERS                  Motaquip, ADL, Fuel Parts UK

Want to see your business featured here and in CAT Magazine? Email darren.moss@haymarket.com or call 020 8267 5927

The new MOOG packaging

Federal Mogul will relaunch the MOOG brand into the UK market. The company says it has appointed the Rapid group to distribute the brand, which will be available from this month.
The steering and suspension parts brand is planned to have national coverage, with 5300 part references covering some 96 percent of the car parc.

“The Moog range of components is engineered to OE standards and brings installers a ‘fit-and-forget’ solution for steering and suspension parts. The products are developed specifically to help workshops to reduce installation time and save money,” said Mark Page, Federal-Mogul’s UK Managing Director.

The news comes following the announcement that a new aftermarket division will be created inside Federal Mogul.
With sales of $2.3 billion last year, the aftermarket is one of Federal-Mogul’s most profitable sectors. The company says it has started searching for a new CEO to head the new division, who will report directly to the company’s board of Directors.

Two new testing stations for TT Automotive

Demand for TT Automotive’s remanufacturing services has grown so much in recent months that the company has been forced to expand.

Growing the workshop area by a further 37 square meters and investing in two additional diagnostic testing stations should help the company keep up with demand.

The two new testing stations, featuring Hartridge technology, will enable TT Automotive to boost its staff levels by adding two new employees, as well as increasing output by 30 units every day.

Production Manager Martin Burden commented: “This significant investment in new capital equipment will allow us to both future-proof our operations, and also scale up to meet the growing demand for remanufactured parts.

“There is a definite drive in the aftermarket towards remanufactured parts, as more and more garages and repairers recognise the benefits of an OE specification product, complete with a comprehensive warranty, at a competitive price.”

The Unipart Group has agreed a new deal to supply the Mini manufacturing plant in Cowley with exhausts.

The contract is expected to create new jobs for Unipart, but estimates of how many new positions will be created and the worth of the contract are being kept strictly under wraps.

A new facility will be set up at Unipart’s Cowley HQ to handle the contract.

AutoCare trade show in full swing

GroupAuto says it has had a ‘hugely successful’ conference and trade show in Newport, South Wales.

Attended by 555 delegates, including members from the AutoCare network of garages, GroupAuto members and suppliers, the trade show attracted visitors from as far away as Northern Ireland.

GroupAuto says it wanted to give garages access and time to talk to its tier one suppliers, and says that every stand was busy throughout the day.

AutoCare says it wants to thank its suppliers for creating a first class exhibition, as well as the garage and GroupAuto members who took the time to visit and make the day a resounding success.

Tesco Cars has closed its doors to new orders just one year after its launch.

The supermarket chain’s operation had hoped to provide consumers with quality used cars and connect them with a network of more than 1000 independent garages for more affordable servicing and repair work than is available at franchises.

Tesco planned on buying cars from rental companies and other fleets, but difficulties in securing supply of stock is blamed for the closure which was announced through the consumer-facing website today.

“With effect from 3rd April 2012 we have decided to close the Tesco Cars business and are no longer accepting orders from customers.

“For customers with outstanding orders please contact the customer services team on 0800 072 3627. If we are unable to fulfil your order we will refund your deposit in full.

“We are very sorry indeed for any inconvenience caused.”

More to follow…

Groupauto has become the first factor buying group to join the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

The 110-year-old SMMT represents the interests of the UK automotive industry, lobbying parliament and the media and also incorporates the Motor Code for Service and Repair.

Groupauto Managing Director Jim Mazza sais: “We will retain our involvement and support of the IAAF which represents motor factors, parts manufacturer, parts distributors and garages in the independent sector of our industry, but would like a wider involvement in an organization which is representative of the whole industry.

“Our intention is not to be a passive member of the SMMT, but to be involved, to listen and learn and in doing so have the opportunity to influence.”

Is it time to stock up?

Motorists panic-buying fuel after comments made by Cabinet Minister Francis Maude have helped sales of fuel cans soar by up to 160% at Wilco Motor Spares stores.

Wilco Motor Spares’ Director Richard Shortis said: “Our stores have seen a dramatic rise in the number of fuel cans being sold. We are rushing extra stock into our stores to cope with the increased demand.”

Despite being told not to panic, it seems motorists are doing just that after Francis Maude said: “When it makes sense, a bit of extra fuel in a jerry can in the garage is a sensible precaution to take.”

Shortis points out that motorists are limited to five litres in a plastic can, or ten in a metal design, while a jerry can carries 20 litres.

Blockades 13 years ago closed 3000 fuel forecourts across the country and left many stranded. Unions threatening action this year have not even yet named a date for when they may strike.