Wealth & Finance International - January 2017

31 January 2017 Reflections on BREXIT and Its Impact on the Commercial Vehicle Industry nitruck was started 25 years ago, by Ken Heginbotham as a family business in Ashton–Under-Lyne, through continued investment in tooling and development, the family built a very successful business. In 2011 Unitruck was bought by GCH Capital Ltd, a privately owned and personally financed group of companies with a strategy to grow and develop each business with investment capital and add-on acquisitions. Since then Unitruck has sustained its strong growth, under the watchful eye of Carl Schalch, managing director, having its most successful year ever in 2016. We at Unitruck continue to strive to develop new parts for our customers’ ever changing demands, and we pride ourselves in our commitment to quality and service. There was significant investment in new warehouse space in 2013, giving us 25,000 square feet of space to house our extensive stock range of over 5000 different parts, and an average stock value of over £2,000,000. 2016 has been a particularly challenging year for Unitruck Ltd since the BREXIT result on the 23rd June last year, being both an importer and exporter we have been affected significantly by the weakening of sterling. With the foresight to hedge USD prior to the vote we have limited some of the negative affect while we have leveraged the weak sterling situation to make ourselves more competitive in Europe. The current position of uncertainty across the UK, which is felt more so by the SMEs, is our biggest worry. We would like the government to out- line our ‘exit’ and ensure we strike the best possible trade deals for the UK. The initial backlash of Brexit has not been as bad as first thought. If anything, it has generated an unexpected opportunity, but uncertainty is still hanging around. We at Unitruck Ltd will continue to move forward and believe that people are the heart of the business and that the right balance of talent, commitment and infrastructure enables us to serve our customers to the highest standards. A commitment to continued investment in people, will ensure that the people who work at Unitruck, will continue to want to work at Unitruck. A happy workforce is a productive workforce, and this will see us in good setting for the future. Company: Unitruck Ltd Name: Carl Schalch Email: [email protected] Web Address: www.unitruck.com Address: Units 2-4 Mackeson Road, Ashton Under Lyne, Lancashire OL6 8HZ Telephone: +44 (0) 161 343 2407 With 25 years’ experience of manufacturing and distribution of rear view mirrors to the commercial vehicle industry and an ever expanding range of quality lighting, Unitruck has established itself as a leading name and the biggest after-market CV wing mirror distributer in the UK. Unitruck continues to expand into new territory aiming to achieve a similar dominant market position in Europe. U 1701WF16 “A happyworkforce is a productive workforce.”