The Blandford Forum branch of ETS Truck and Van in Dorset has become an official Mercedes-Benz Trucks authorised repairer, marking a return to the brand for the firm’s MD Colin Gale (left), after a 26-year hiatus.
The move follows ETS’s acquisition and refurbishment of an existing commercial vehicle maintenance facility on the same street. The site, which spans more than 0.5 acres, comprises a six-bay workshop with two pits, a parts department and offices.
Gale, who worked for Mercedes as a technician, service advisor, service manager and general manager between 1986 and 1994 before establishing ETS, approached the manufacturer after the closure of Marshall Truck and Van’s workshop in Poole.
The group’s operations director and Gale’s son Darren (right) is responsible for the new site, supported by service manager James Lalor-Ricketts and group parts manager Ryan Parker. Employees of the workshop prior to its acquisition by ETS and from the former Marshall Poole business are also working at the new facility.
The workshop is open from 6am until 8pm on weekdays, from 7am until noon on Saturdays and also has a 24-hour service van for emergency roadside assistance.
“We’ve retained the overwhelming majority of customers who’d been using the Blandford facility and were ticking along quite nicely, despite the Covid-related disruption, but the chance to take a big step up by becoming an authorised repairer for Mercedes-Benz Trucks was one we didn’t want to pass up,” said Gale senior.
“The aim, as far as possible, is to be a one-stop shop for customers. To that end, there’s a dedicated ATF lane at our Poole workshop that can also be used to MoT test Blandford customers’ trucks, and we have introduced additional services at the new branch – such as tachograph installation and calibration and brake testing. We’re also aiming to add LOLER weight testing for tail-lifts and will continue to extend our offers as the business develops.”
