Inchcape PLC

Who is Inchcape PLC?

Inchcape PLC is the market-leading international distributor and retailer in the luxury automotive industry. They have historic relationships with most of the world’s leading car OEMs including Jaguar Land Rover, the BMW Group and the Volkswagen group.

In total, they have 40 brand partners operating in 32 international markets working across every stage of the post-factory supply chain from import and logistics, right through to B2C after-sales servicing and parts and EVERYTHING in between.

The Challenge

Inchcape employs over 18,700 employees therefore and they take health and safety exceedingly seriously.

At their 110 retail centres in the UK, they change tyres multiple times a day and prior to investing in Pronomic, it was a two-person task which still carried the risk of musculoskeletal injuries which can be exceedingly costly both in monetary terms and to brand reputation.

This risk is what encouraged Inchcape to look for a solution to reduce the manual handling element of this specific task in their garages.

The Solution

Inchcape came across Advanced Handling online and after contacted us via the website after browsing our Pronomic Wheel Lifter to see if it was a contender and after discussions, we agreed that this was the perfect solution for the task in question.

Due to the scope of the project, Inchcape had also contacted another company with a similar solution so they could compare and ensure they were making the right decision.

Both of us were able to offer a demo unit to go to the same site so the users could directly compare the two solutions and it was this experience that clinched the deal for us.

After demoing the unit for over a week, Matthew Everest, Workshop Manager at Hunters Land Rover in Guildford exclaimed ‘It’s perfect, it does exactly what it’s supposed to do. I can’t fault it’.

The machine it was being directly compared to was described in comparison as ‘clunky.’

These fantastic results from the demo concluded in Inchcape ordering 94 Pronomic Wheel Lifters to distribute to the majority of their 110 centres in the UK for Audi, Mini Cooper, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Toyota, Volkswagen, Porsche and Mercedes.

The Features

Advanced Handling’s Pronomic Wheel Lifter has been ergonomically designed to aid the removal and re-fitting of vehicle wheel with dimensions from 135/80 R13 to 295/25 R22 and weighing up to 175kg in weight. The trolley can effortlessly lift the tyres to a height of 1,443mm.

The Wheel Lifter has an unladen weight of 34kg and features four swivel castors making it easy to manoeuvre with one hand, making a two-person task, a one-person task. The lifting column is also mounted off centre to give the mechanic/engineer a larger working area and the trolley is equipped with a shelf for bolts and small tools for practicality.

The lift rollers allow easy rotation of the wheel into the required position ready for fitting. It even has a soft lift-column cover to protect the paintwork of the vehicle.

The Lifting Trolley enhances its health and safety benefits with; adjustable handle to suit the user, a central foot brake on the rear wheel and built-in overload protection which automatically disengages the attachment from the drive spindle if lifted upwards eliminating the risk of trapping and the mast tilting backwards.

The Benefits

Inchcape has now improved the health and safety across the board with their investment and standardised process. As well as that, they have halved the manpower that it takes to change a tyre contributing to improved productivity and efficiencies.

Inchcape was also impressed by our ‘excellent after-sales support’ we offer as this has given them peace of mind that they’re maximising the longevity of their investment and they can always rely on their Pronomic Wheel Lifters.

If you’re facing a similar challenge in your workplace, contact us on 01778 345 365 or email [email protected] & we’ll be happy to help.