by Joe Jeffrey
Investment of over half a million pounds sees introduction of unique state of the art caravan and motorhome body shop in South Wales
Newport Caravans has expanded into large new purpose built premises close to its existing base in Newport with a £550,000 investment in a bespoke body shop and repairs hub.
The South Wales caravan and motorhome business, which last year saw a boost of seven per cent in caravan and motorhome sales and a 12.5 per cent increase in turnover, says the new premises will allow for growth in demand for its specialist services.
The business, which sells Swift, Sprite, Elddis and Buccaneer caravans alongside Swift and Bessacarr motorhomes, has established the dedicated centre in a 10,982 sq ft (316.91 sq m) building it acquired earlier this year on a one acre plot close to its existing site.
The site is adjacent to Newport Caravan’s existing retail location and extensive indoor showroom at Kings Parade, has ‘gone live’ after a £100,000 plus on site investment in plant and machinery.
The independent state of the art caravan and motorhome body shop repairs and servicing centre is believed to be unique in South Wales and one of very few of its type in the UK.
Rob Lynch, director of Newport Caravans, said: “The new centre that we’ve created allows us to provide a one stop shop for our customers from initial sales through to caravan and motorhome servicing and repairs. If someone has an accident with their caravan or motorhome we handle the whole process through from initial assessment, deal with the insurance claim and repair to manufacturer warranty repair.”
Lynch continued: “Valuable sales space has been freed up in our existing site following the transfer of the body shop facilities to this new site. With the vacant space we propose to move the stockroom and expand our indoor showroom into the former stockroom.
“We have also been contacted by UK dealers to provide them with these services and firmly believe that this will be a growing and important part of our business in the future.
“In our body shop we can handle any make, model and size of caravan or motorhome and we can do the same in our service department. We also have a service partnership with major manufacturers such as Bailey, Lunar, Coachman, Sterling and Autotrail.
“The new facility is equipped with hi tech spray booths manned by expert, BMW trained paint technicians and the latest servicing tools and equipment. Our improved facilities mean that the business has the ability to carry out more body shop repairs thus significantly reducing down time for our customers,” Lynch went on.
Newport Caravans will be able to expand its retail sales area for the display of over 100 caravans and motor homes. The business currently has a display with a combined value of some £3m with vehicles ranging in price from £5,000 for a caravan up to £80,000 plus for a top of the range motorhome.
Lynch, who established Newport Caravans seven years ago with his business partner, Mark Massey, said the expansion has lead directly to the employment of a further six, skilled body shop engineers and support staff adding to the 33 people currently employed by the business.
Newport Caravans attracts customers from across Wales and the west with people coming from and as far afield as Scotland to buy its caravans and motor homes.
