Launched by the Freight Transport Association (FTA) in 2010, the scheme has seen a variety of large operators including BT Fleet, Balfour Beatty and Sainsbury’s join. The latest addition to the accredited partners list is Leighton Buzzard-based AES – a small van fleet operator of just six vehicles.
Richard Stansfield, director of business development, AES, said: ‘Auto Electrical Services is a family organisation – founded by my grandfather in 1952 – and we run with family values, but it is still important for our business to move forward at all times, and maybe more so for a small family business rather than a corporate organisation.
‘The whole Van Excellence programme has proved to be very useful to us, and the FTA has been very supportive in every step of the way through the process of our accreditation.’
The FTA says that the addition of AES reinforces the message that the scheme is appropriate for van operators of all sizes
Mark Cartwright, FTA head of vans and commercial vehicles, commented: ‘Van Excellence works perfectly for van operators of all shapes and sizes. We’ve accredited some of the largest fleets in the past few years, including Network Rail and BT Fleet, but we have also now accredited some much smaller fleets including AES with their six vans.
‘The Van Excellence code provides the best practice frame-work of how van operators can work safely and efficiently – simply put, it’s what good looks like.’
