Bob Elliott (pictured, above) has retired from Pelican Bus and Coach after 40 years’ service to the business and its associated undertakings. He has been succeeded as Area Sales Manager for Scotland by Dale Ogg (pictured, below).
Mr Elliott’s contribution has been recognised by the Yutong importer, which says that his work ethic and loyalty have left “an indelible mark” on the Castleford company.
Chairman Bob Crump – father of Managing Director Richard Crump – has thanked Mr Elliott, adding: “Bob has been an integral part of the Pelican family for 40 years. I will miss him and will always be grateful for his character, work ethic and dedication, and I wish him a long and happy retirement. He will be missed by colleagues and customers alike.”
Mr Elliott’s career began as an apprentice plant fitter at the age of 15. After completing that five-year course he moved into a junior Foden salesman role in South Yorkshire. In 1983 the dealership there was taken over by Pelican.
Over the next 30 years Mr Elliott sold over 1,000 Foden trucks, moving onto Hino and BMC after the demise of the Sandbach-based marque. His transition into coaches came with Pelican’s agreement to act as a Yutong dealership, and Mr Elliott claimed the first UK sale for the Chinese marque when he completed a deal with Cropley Coaches for a TC12.
In 2016, he became Sales Manager, a role he held until semi-retirement in 2022. The latter change saw him take up responsibility for Yutong coaches in Scotland, which delivered 32 sales in 18 months. Most recently, he has been working with Mr Ogg on transition of that responsibility.
Mr Ogg is based in Scotland and joins Pelican from Driveline Emissions Technologies.
He has prior experience in coach sales with Scania between 2006 and 2020 and describes his move to Pelican as “being back to a familiar role in a familiar industry.”
Pelican sees scope to further grow its presence in Scotland and Mr Ogg notes that for many coach operators there, the industry is in a buoyant phase.
He adds that a good deal of familiarity among Scottish buyers with other integral coaches stands to benefit the Yutong product. “It has been an interesting first month so far and I am surprised at the availability of vehicles from Yutong,” he continues.
Pelican UK Coach Sales Manager Simon Collins adds a hope that Mr Ogg can build on Mr Elliott’s achievements in Scotland, noting that the business sees significant scope to further extend its presence among retail buyers there.
