UPS and ZF strengthen service partnership
£100,000 investment underlines commitment to repair and maintenance service for off-highway sector
AN investment of £100,000 in bespoke training and hi-tech diagnostic equipment has underlined the commitment of United Plant Services (UPS) and ZF Services, who have partnered to offer a ‘best-in-class’ repairs and maintenance service for the off-highway sector.
The two firms came together towards the end of last year to create a partnership that combines ZF’s wealth of technical capability and OE-quality product range with the quick response times, UK coverage and expertise of UPS’s network of 40 field-based engineers.
Now, in support of their approved-partner status, UPS have invested in ZF’s technologically advanced Testman Pro diagnosis system and teams of their engineers have undergone product training at the ZF Services centre at Crick, in Northamptonshire.
The company is also expanding its service van fleet and rebranding the vehicles to reflect the new partnership. UPS provide support from their depots near Lichfield, in Staffordshire, and Bonnybridge, in Scotland. They formerly traded as Mac Plant Services in Scotland but now trade throughout the UK as UPS.
Alan Clarke, operations director at ZF Services, said: ‘The investment by UPS is significant and a clear signal to the market that they, alongside ourselves, are 100% committed to what we believe is an unrivalled offer for the off-highway sector.’
If an issue cannot be resolved on site by UPS the company will transport the product to ZF’s repair and service centre in Nottingham and then refit the finished component.
Mr Clarke added: ‘If site managers think about their mobile plant they will find ZF components are critical to the majority of the trucks, cranes, earthmoving and other heavy equipment they are operating. It makes absolute sense, therefore, to use a support service that can call on all the technical resource and heritage we have at our disposal as an OE provider.’
Mark Cooper, director of UPS, said: ‘Ours is a sizeable investment but, we believe, it puts us ahead of our competitors. If you invest in the best training and equipment you not only create the best engineers, you attract them into your business. We’ve grown from 36 to 40 engineers since the new year with plans to grow further.’
The Testman system analyses the electronic components on a vehicle, either when it is stationary or in operation, checking and anticipating faults. It is also used to optimize a vehicle’s performance, with ZF’s own technicians available online for back-up if needed.
Mr Cooper said: ‘Our message to site managers is that one-man bands can be a false economy. With our technical expertise, resources and fast response times – in most cases we aim to be on site within the same working day – we can get to the root of a problem first time and have their mobile plant back up and running to maximum productivity with minimum downtime.’
