ATS Euromaster sees SMR work increase after Rivus restructure

ATS Euromaster has launched a recruitment drive for new technicians following a significant increase in the SMR work it is doing – fuelled partly by the restructuring of rival Rivus.

ATS has seen commercial vehicle servicing up 41%, work on brake changes up 27% and the number of MOTs up 8%.

The tyre and maintenance provider believes a combination of factors is behind the increased SMR workload.

The most recent BVRLA Outlook Survey suggests that despite the increased availability of new cars and vans, a significant number of fleets are running older vehicles than they usually would; a hangover from the lack of new vehicle availability.

This means they need more SMR work, while ATS has seen great demand for Class 7 MOTs as the number of vans servicing dotcom deliveries increases.

Mark Holland, operations director at ATS Euromaster, added: “Following the announcement that one of the UK’s largest fleet management companies lost a major telecom utility customer, the company has announced a major restructure with 48 of its garages closing.

“Along with other providers in the market also closing service branches, this has substantially reduced the number of market suppliers of which we look to be a partial beneficiary.”

Holland said 49% of ATS Euromaster’s maintenance staff are now trained to work on electric vehicles, and by the end of the year it expects this to be 85% of its workshop staff.

Rivus has announced a major restructure in an effort to cut costs after struggling to replace business lost from losing a fleet maintenance deal with BT Group.

The company will be closing 48 of its light commercial vehicle garages, cutting its existing network by more than half, from 78 to just 30 sites including its heavy goods vehicle network.

The decision to close so many of its garages, it said, was to reduce a “heavy cost base” relating to legacy business systems, ageing garage facilities, and a “complex people structure”.