Coach Tech Assist can deliver engineering support when and where it is needed, and its expertise is based on over three decades’ experience in the industry of its founder, a lifelong coach engineer
It’s the bane of a coach operator’s life. A driver tells you that there is something wrong with the vehicle, and it can’t do the job that was planned. What do you do next?
For large operators, the answer is usually send an engineer to fix it. But for smaller firms it’s not always that simple, and – particularly for those in the northern half of the UK – that may be where Coach Tech Assist (CTA) comes in.
Brian Wardrope founded CTA in 2010. A well-known figure among Scottish operators, he put his experience in coach maintenance – accrued since leaving school – to good use, and CTA “took off at 100mph.”
Seven years on, CTA is flourishing. Brian is assisted by his wife Caroline, stepson Declan Hattie as Operations Manager and Mobile Technician Darren Thomson.
Three well-equipped vans with the latest diagnostic equipment are in service and CTA prides itself on an “any time, any place” approach and its expertise with coaches extends to all of their body and chassis components, including ABS, air-conditioning, bodywork, doors and driveline.
Additionally, he is particularly adept at rectifying those maddening problems that, while often simple, are otherwise nearly impossible to deal with. A ‘one-stop shop’ is how one operator describes it.
On the road again
“We’re totally mobile,” says Brian. “We’re looking at premises near to our Motherwell base, which will be a facility to use as and when we need it.
“But we can do anything when we are mobile and I have excellent relationships with a number of operators that permit me to use their facilities.”
One of those operators is Woods of Tillicoultry. Woods employ’s Brian’s skills and has handed over maintenance of its whole fleet – which extends from small vehicles to Van Hool coaches – to him.
“CTA does everything that we need, from inspections to defect rectification to MoTs,” says Operations Manager John Woods.
“We employed engineers for a period but they didn’t meet the standard that we require. It’s a no-brainer: I call Brian and he does what I ask. For a coach operator, that’s a great thing to have.”
Dealing with DAF
In terms of engines, CTA is a particular specialist in DAF units. Besides Texa diagnostic equipment it also has DAF’s own Davie tool, and the three vans carry a wide range of DAF parts with a view to getting coaches back on the road rapidly.
“90% of what we do with engines is on DAF,” says Brian. “There are a lot of DAF-powered coaches in Scotland, and people often rely on me to deal with that part of the vehicle.”
Those parties extend to coach suppliers, and CTA has a relationship with several. Mainly they supply DAF-engined products, but a number are at the smaller end of the spectrum and offer Mercedes-Benz Atego- and Sprinter-based midis and minis. In those cases, CTA usually deals with body aspects.
CTA’s closest relationship is with Arriva Bus and Coach (ABC). “We do a lot of work for ABC, mainly in Scotland but also into England, and besides DAF parts we also hold stock from Temsa and Van Hool.”
The relationship with ABC is a formalised, contractual arrangement and although ABC has a technician in Scotland, Brian handles warranty work along with a host of other tasks. He also acts as an intermediary where sales of new vehicles are concerned.
“It started when an operator was looking at a used coach. He asked me to give an opinion on it and how much it would cost to bring it up to his standards,” says Brian.
“I had a discussion with ABC about how we could both give customers the best experience. I can help to supply the coach and then I will back it up afterwards, and that is as a result of my relationship with ABC.”
From ABC’s point of view, the arrangement functions well. “We work very closely with CTA.
“The service that it provides is very professional, which is important, particularly where warranty claims are involved,” says Aftersales Manager Mark Haley.
Working for all
CTA travels throughout Scotland for ABC, and it will go to operators elsewhere in the UK for the Cleckheaton business. It also does work in Scotland for English operators, particularly during the busy season.
“We have started relationships when English operators have had coaches in Scotland with a problem,” says Brian.
“Then we may handle the maintenance when their coach is here for six weeks in the summer. I have one operator where I pick up its coach from a hotel, and another where I look after its Jonckheere Volvos when they are in Glasgow.”
There is further room to expand CTA’s business, and Brian is looking for a fourth technician. “It’s finding the right person; it has to be someone that I can trust and that operators can trust,” he says.
“But from 2010 we have become busier and we have won more customers. That’s one of the reasons why we keep so much stock in our vans; it avoids having to go to the dealer for a part.
“That means the job gets done sooner, the coach is back on the road and we are on our way to the next job. And we realise that, particularly in the summer, operators need the coach back out there yesterday.”
That’s what it’s all about: Fixing the problem quickly and providing satisfaction for the operator.
