CET has its headquarters in Castle Donington, Leicestershire, and operates on a national basis through five regional offices, with a workforce of around 240 employees.
The fleet has been managed by Fleet Alliance since 2007, with the leasing and fleet management specialist recently voted the company’s National Supplier of the Year for Outstanding Performance in its annual awards scheme.
After evaluating a series of demonstrators from different manufacturers, the company has now switched to two different marques for the two main divisions that use company vehicles: materials testing and site investigations.
Drivers in the materials testing division opted for Ford Transit Connects, choosing the 270 SWB Low Roof ECOnetic 2.2 TDCi 100hp model, plus five Ford Ranger 4×4 XL Double Cabs.
The site investigations team chose the Vauxhall Movano panel van, either MWB or LWB L3 2.3CDTi 125hp diesels to meet their requirements.
All the vans were heavily customised including racking, ply lining, false floors, wash hand basins, LED light bars, beacons, forward facing cameras and satellite navigation.
They were funded by three year/90,000 miles contract hire packages with a pooled mileage facility to avoid excess mileage charges. Funders were selected by Fleet Alliance using competitive tendering to select the most cost competitive leasing rates from a panel of preferred funders.
CET finance director, Stephen Humphrey, commented: “We need vehicles that are robust and fit for purpose as we typically operate in rugged terrain around the UK. They also need to be customised to meet our exact needs with a lot of extra specification.
“Chris Cooper of Fleet Alliance brought in demonstrators for us to evaluate, and once we’d made our decision, handled all the procurement process and ensured we got very competitive rates for our vans.
“He also took care of the customising process to ensure it was hassle-free and made sure all our vehicles were delivered ready to drive away. His services were invaluable.”
