Acme Facilities Group is swapping its entire engineer fleet to Nissan vans after being impressed by the new Primastar.
The Lancashire-based business is working with Chorley Group to make the transition and recently took delivery of 10 Primastar LCVs in its latest batch.
Acme, which installs catering, refrigeration and air conditioning equipment nationwide, has used vans from other manufacturers for many years but was struck by the Primastar during a visit to the 2023 CV Show.
Wayne Iddon, Acme finance manager with responsibility for running the company’s fleet, explained: ‘‘The pricing was very favourable, as were the levels of specification, particularly in respect of occupant safety. All in all, we were very impressed.
‘‘We decided to go for long-wheelbase versions to provide our team with a bit more space – we carry quite a lot of equipment to do with engineering and parts to ensure first-time fixes.
‘‘The price differential compared to other manufacturers was impressive, so we’ve made the leap to Nissan.’’
Alongside Nissan’s Primastar medium-sized LCV offering, the Acme team are also deploying its larger Interstar sibling.
Iddon confirmed: ‘‘We currently have three Interstars on order, due to arrive in the next few weeks. We don’t necessarily need the size, but we do need the load-carrying capability because they will be required to transport heavy air-conditioning systems and catering equipment such as range ovens, which can weigh up to 400kg.
‘‘More Primastars will be arriving in February or March next year followed by another consignment in June or July. Nissan’s five-year/100,000-mile warranty helps to make the vehicles attractive. Reliability is very important to us.’’
Iddon also praised the efficiency of the corporate sales operation at Chorley Group, and in particular, Robson Broomhead, corporate centre manager.
‘‘Chorley Group are a pleasure to deal with – absolutely fantastic in every respect. We like to have a single manufacturer supplying the vehicles for our whole fleet – and Nissan fits the bill perfectly,’’ he commented.
