July 2009 - Northgate drives into public sector with launch of new division
Northgate Vehicle Hire, Britain's largest vehicle rental company, is launching a major drive to increase its share of the UK public sector market.
Northgate Public Sector is launched this month (July) with the aim of making the company, which operates a UK-wide fleet of 65,000 vehicles from 75 locations, a leading provider of fleet solutions to the public sector within three years.
The company believes that the recession provides significant fleet opportunities with local authorities, NHS organisations, housing association, schools and colleges and the police and fire services
Managing director Phil Moorhouse said: "With us being in a recession and the expectation that economic recovery is many months away, public sector transport decision-makers in many cases are reluctant to commit to either investing in new vehicles or signing leasing agreements that can run for three or four years or longer.
"With public sector finances under intense scrutiny, our contract-free, fully flexible NORFLEX rental proposition makes financial and operational sense as organisations can rent a vehicle for as long as needed and then hand it back the moment it is not."
Additionally, with public sector fleets highly focused on reducing risks associated with allowing staff to drive their own vehicles on business as well as cutting their carbon footprint, managed rental solutions provide a risk-free, environmentally-friendly alternative.
Therefore, Northgate's comprehensive one-stop shop approach embraces a range of additional services. These include both fleet management including comprehensive cutting-edge online reporting to help manage down costs, and Vehicle Monitoring, the company's own telematics system, which is also designed to reduce fleet operating costs by improving vehicle operating effectiveness and efficiency.
Northgate's vehicles are among the newest on the UK's roads and, as a result, they are fitted with the very latest safety technology and powered by low emission, fuel-sipping engines.
Last year, Northgate supplied around 3,000 vehicles to public sector fleets largely as a result of business relationships through it local rental depots.
However, the company is looking to gain a significant increase in rental business with Mr Moorhouse saying: "Rental has historically been viewed as a stop-gap transport solution. But the recession is changing that perception and more public sector fleets are waking up to the fact that it is vehicle usership and not ownership that is key."
The new Northgate Public Sector division will be managed from the company's Darlington headquarters by Paul Robinson, who has been with the company for six years and has been promoted to head of public sector from the post of strategic account manager.
He is joined by Nick Cash, Alex Beveridge and at the end of July by Scott Neilson as business development managers - public sector. Alex has been promoted from within Northgate; Nick, a former head of public sector at Lex Transfleet has recently been a vehicle consultant; and Scott joins from leasing and fleet management company Masterlease.
The new Public Sector division also includes:
- A tendering/bid support team
- A dedicated customer services team with a single dedicated phone number 0844 844 4440
- A national sales/account management team
- A dedicated website - www.northgatepublicsector.com
- The division can also be contacted by email at publicsector@northgateplc.com
Crucially, Northgate believes its ethos of national management with transport solutions delivered locally gives it a clear business advantage over most existing fleet competitors targeting public sector business.
Mr Robinson explained: "Our existing public sector customers are benefiting from the economies of scale that we can offer as Britain's largest rental company which ensures ultra competitive pricing and a modern fleet. But, in many cases, they want a business partnership with a local supplier.
"Northgate offers that business opportunity because of our unique approach of a major company investing in a range of key transport solutions, which are then delivered at a local level enabling close business relationships to be formed. We want Northgate to become synonymous with the public sector."
Northgate's 75 local depots offer a range of vehicles unmatched by any other rental company and include: cars, people carriers, minibuses, small, medium and large vans, Luton vans and tippers.
With their own workshops, Northgate's vehicles are serviced, maintained and repaired in-house.
