Twenty three new support vehicles operated by Stony Hardy, which provides nationwide service and repair of tail-lifts and shutters for commercial and passenger vehicles, have been prepared by vehicle enhancement specialist bott.

The new vehicles, medium wheelbase Mercedes Sprinters, have been equipped with a range of in-vehicle storage, tools and related equipment to create high performance mobile workshops that will visit Stone Hardy’s customers throughout the UK. The contract extends a relationship between Stone Hardy and bott that started in the mid-1990s.

“We have changed over the years and Bott has have changed with us,” says Paul Clark, Managing Director at Stone Hardy. “They have always been flexible to what we want and come up with good solutions to our requirements.”

The Mercedes Sprinter vans were selected by Stone Hardy as scheduled replacements for part of a 65 vehicle fleet that, with its network of seven depots, enables the company to provide 24/7 customer support.

Working to Stone Hardy’s brief, bott agreed a specification that included in-vehicle storage from its Normline range. This enables tools and spare parts to be stored safely, efficiently and securely when the vehicles are moving. The specification also included installation of on-board 24V power, facilities for gas and electric welding, retractable vice, and other tools and equipment to create highly efficient mobile workshops. bott also installed specialist ladders chosen by Stone Hardy to allow service engineers to work safely at height.

Some of the Normline storage equipment from the decommissioned vehicles was refurbished by bott and reinstalled in the new vehicles. The durable all-steel construction of the Normline modules ensures that initial investment can often be extended over the life of a second vehicle. The company also prepared and applied full body graphics working to Stone Hardy’s design brief.

The work was completed at Bott’s dedicated vehicle enhancement facility in Ashby. The company co-ordinated vehicle supply logistics with leasing company Lex to ensure prompt delivery to the customer.

“We are great believers in working with loyal suppliers,” says Paul Clark. “There are other companies out there but it’s our custom and practice go to bott.”