So says Tobin Jenkins, managing director of vehicle graphics and wrapping specialist Sign Language, who says that fleet decision-makers all too focus on obtaining the cheapest price and not the whole life cost when making vehicle livery and wrapping decisions.
Jenkins also said that fully wrapping a vehicle can provide a financial bonus on defleet as the vinyl protects paintwork from ultra violet light degradation as well as from stone chips and minor abrasions.
Fast expanding Sign Language has state-of-the-art facilities at its Oxfordshire headquarters including an in-house creative suite that uses the highest quality materials to produce hard-wearing, long lasting livery to ensure businesses promote the right image on their vehicle fleets.
Allied to employing its own team of on-site applicators, the ability to provide templates to workshops with livery cut to the exact millimetre and a cutting-edge online ordering system that critically reduces vehicle downtime for fleets, Sign Language doubled turnover last year and is forecasting a further 50% increase in business in 2015. Major fleet clients include: Autoglass, Euro Car Parts, Hertz UK, LeasePlan UK, Lex Autolease, Network Rail and UK Mail Group.
Jenkins said: “These are among the clients that we work with which have recognised that using cheap vinyl livery and wrapping can severely impact the second hand value of vehicles.
“Companies can spend a lot of money decommissioning vehicles at the end of their life, but that cost could have been more than offset had they used top quality vinyl when initially selecting their livery and wrapping partner. Quality vinyl is more easily removed at the end of life – notably if reflective chevrons are applied on top of vinyl and not directly on to paintwork – thus not leaving any trace on a vehicle.
“Additionally, inexperienced applicators using knives and scalpels to cut vehicle livery can easily damage a vehicle’s paintwork. That can ultimately result in corrosion and rusting of the bodywork also impacting on residual values at defleet time – or result in potentially costly repairs.
“There are some highly skilled applicators carrying out livery work, but there are also unskilled people who perceive the work as easy. It is far from that, so fleet managers should check the skill levels of applicators before they start work. Unlike vehicle mechanics, there is no industry-wide training scheme or accreditation body for applicators.”
