News

Feel Good Factor at Mellor

London Hire has rewarded the confidence shown in the Local Authority sector by Mellor Coachcraft, by awarding them a contract to build 10 Sprinter Coachbuilt vehicles. Mellor, like many of its competitors faced the inevitable down turn in the Local Authority sector with trepidation. However, unlike most of the others, Mellor decided to be bold and invest in the business in order to be well placed when money is available to purchase vehicles.

The ongoing investment in Whole Vehicle type Approval continues on all product lines and Mellor are now close to having all products fully Type-Approved. In addition to this significant expenditure, Mellor have also developed the “Single Step Entry” low floor vehicle in partnership with AL-KO. In order to prove the reliability and integrity of this product, a “Whole life endurance test” has been carried out by an independent test house, the results being available for all to see on the internet at www.wholelifetest.co.uk

The feel good factor created by this approach is now reaping dividends and Mellor are delighted to announce the order from London Hire for 10 Coachbuilt Sprinters. Peter Moxom, London Hire Account Development Manager, commented, “With all the good things going on at Mellor and with their commitment to product development, we thought it was time to give them some business. This is a strategic move for us, as we have favoured other builders previously, but the time comes when it’s right to change” Alison Prince, National Sales Manager for Mellor, added “We are delighted that London Hire have decided to purchase from Mellor. It helps in justifying the massive investments the Board have made in the company over the last 18 months and the confidence we have shown in this sector.

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Interior View

Mellor Vancraft has provided Bracknell Forrest local authorities with this incredible vehicle.

The saloon area features a front cabinet arrangement with water storage, and water collection systems, lockable roller shutter for front of cabinet, 26″ flat screen TV with built in DVD player, 4 off saloon speakers wired into TV.

To find out more visit www.mellor-vancraft.co.uk

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Mellor Type Approval

Type Approval will soon become mandatory for all minibuses and coaches. Find out how this affect you and your company.

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Have a great bank holiday weekend!

Filed under: Coleman Milne, Mellor Coachcraft, Mellor Vancraft, Woodall Nicholson
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Chorley Guardian Newspaper logo

Chorley Guardian’s latest issue features an article about our very own Sales and Marketing Director Geoff Hudson. Follow the link bellow and enjoy the read.

Click here for article.

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Mellor is present at this year’s Commercial Vehicle Show. Come see our brand new low floor, single step entry coach built on the Eberspacher stand in Hall 5, stand E60.

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Mellor is one of the industry’s oldest established and leading manufacturers of specialist passenger carrying vehicles, with a tradition going back over 50 years at Rochdale.

Tom Mellor, a Rochdale Ford car dealer, founded what is now Mellor Coachcraft in the 1960s. His workshop originally built commercial vehicles such as vans and tipper trucks, but Tom was a member of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce and through that organisation he was approached by customers who wanted him to diversify into minibuses. The first was a Ford Transit for North West Water in 1965, but others for Manchester social services soon followed. The business prospered and within 10 years Tom had built the premises, since then extended with a paint shop and offices that Mellor Coachcraft occupies today.  Mellor’s place in the history of the UK bus industry was assured when it became a key supplier to Transit Holdings during the minibus revolution of the mid to late 1980’s. Today, this vibrant business is part of the privately owned Woodall Nicholson Group and prides itself on the quality of product and service it delivers to its targeted local authority customers.

The Woodall Nicholson Group has a £20m turnover and employs around 170 people. There are three distinct businesses: Coleman Milne, Mellor Coachcraft and Mellor Vancraft. Specialist coachbuilder Coleman Milne based at Woodall Nicholson’s headquarters in Westhoughton, Bolton continues to build bespoke hearses and limousines using the latest technology combined with traditional craft skills such as woodworking, cabinet making, and upholstery. Ford, Mercedes Benz and other brands are used and there is also an Emergency Services division that has build thousands of units from prisoner transfer, riot control to Police dog handling vehicles.

A dedicated van conversion facility was opened at Westhoughton 13 years ago, in a new factory build on land adjacent to Coleman Milne. Mellor Vancraft has two seven stage production lines with inspection pits and a paint shop.

Over the years, Mellor Coachcraft has developed specialist expertise in the manufacture of accessible buses. Today, the company is the acknowledged market leader in the supply of accessible vehicles to local authorities and user group’s across the UK and is one of the largest engineering based employers in Rochdale.

Build quality is promoted by a senior management team, who have worked in the industry all their lives.  Many staff has spent most of their working lives with Mellor. Like Mr David Clegg who has been working in the sales office since 1965 or Mr Geoff Hudson that started working in the factory at the age of 16 as an apprentice coach builder and is now one of the owners of the company.

The current product range varies from Iveco Daily, Mercedes Sprinter and Vario, Fiat Ducato and Volkswagen Crafter. Whether you need one or a hundred vehicles, 3 or 33 seats, Mellor Coachcraft has the know how, production resources and finishing skills to offer you the vehicles with the best whole-life cost in the industry. At Mellor, it’s not merely a slogan, but an overriding philosophy that drives the company forward – a philosophy that keeps customers coming back again and again. With most things in life, if you put a lot in, you get a lot out. Mellor Vehicles are no exception. With quality built in at every stage of production, it’s no surprise that Mellor vehicles go on performing well for the whole of their considerable lifetime.

Filed under: Mellor Coachcraft, Mellor Vancraft, Woodall Nicholson
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The Directors of Woodall Nicholson Ltd, of which Mellor Coachcraft is a part, are disappointed with an article that has appeared in this week’s edition of Bus & Coach Buyer. The article is not factually correct and we are seeking a further statement in next week’s magazine to address this .

Whilst Mellor Coachcraft has made a small number of redundancies, the final paragraph is misleading. The Woodall Nicholson group changed it’s working week 2 years ago at which time all manufacturing divisions moved the 38 hour contracted week into a four day working period. This was done at the request of our employees and with their total consent. In taking this action, we did not reduce the overall hours worked.

Also, in line with many other supplier companies taking an extended Christmas shutdown, we did consider this, however, due to the current strong order book and committed customer deliveries, we decided not to take this action. Mellor, in line with the rest of the group, will close on Christmas eve and re-open on the 4^th January.

If anyone has any concerns about Mellor or the misleading article published, please call Geoff Hudson directly on 07831 121158 to discuss.

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Mellor are proud to supply Caerphilly County Borough Council with 2 new Iveco Van conversions.

The new council run ’Connect 2′ project is funded by the European Agricultural fund for rural developement, providing transport between Draethern and Caerphilly.

The 2 new 15 seat additions will add to the the councils current fleet and will be used to fulfil various council needs replacing the bus service currently used.

All at Mellor wish Caerphilly County Borough council the very best with their new additions and thank them for their continued business.

Filed under: Mellor Coachcraft, Mellor Vancraft, Woodall Nicholson
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This years Aviemore show was a huge success for Mellor, we thank all who attended and hope they didn’t get too wet!

Mellor is pleased to announce they have now achieved Full National Type Approval on the Fiat coachbuilt displayed at the show. Should you require further details on this please email mcsales@woodall-nicholson.co.uk or alternativley call our sales office on 01706 860610

Filed under: Mellor Coachcraft, Mellor Vancraft, Woodall Nicholson
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