Her Excellency Nicola Clase, Sweden's Ambassador to the UK, visited Maidstone on Monday 7th December to inaugurate Scania's new state-of-the-art commercial vehicle service centre. Her Excellency was joined at the ceremony by an estimated 100 transport operators together with senior Scania executives and representatives of the site developer/owner, Gallagher Group.
The 2.5-acre, £6m flagship site is home to the first of a new generation of purpose-built UK premises constructed in accordance with a global template created by Scania to serve operators' needs well into the 21st century. As such, Scania Maidstone will provide an extensive range of commercial vehicle services and is set to become a focal point for transport companies operating within the region.
"Scania Maidstone is a clear statement of our intent to continue building for the future and to provide our customers with the highest possible levels of quality and service," comments Claes Jacobsson, Managing Director of Scania (Great Britain) Limited. "Together with our purpose-built Inverness premises, which opened earlier this year, Scania Maidstone represents the latest major investment in our UK network infrastructure. The programme will continue in 2016 with the upgrading of several existing Scania UK sites now either planned or underway."
Scania's Maidstone is situated on the A229 just off junction 6 of the M20, an ideal location both for local operators and for those travelling to and from the Kent ports. The planning consent obtained for the site allows for 24-hour operation and brings into beneficial use a parcel of land which would otherwise have been redundant as a result of highway works. In addition to the building works, a key part of the development has been to implement a significant number of environmental initiatives (see separate release).
The premises feature, which will be fully operational in mid-December, five drive-through workshop bays and a DVSA Authorised Testing Facility (ATF) lane. A full Scania parts service, including parts for all makes, trailers and ancillary components will be offered. In addition, the site will house both new and used truck sales operations and feature a Scania Truck Rental location. To begin with, Scania Maidstone will provide employment for a total of 34 Technicians, Parts and Admin staff, a figure which is anticipated to rise significantly as the branch establishes itself.