Fitout Case study
New Zealand’s vehicle selection has never been greater, and this is something business /fleet buyers should be very grateful for – more brands equating to more innovation after all – and not just when it comes to the vehicles themselves. Yet despite all the innovation, it’s still a rare day when someone buys a commercial vehicle and puts it to work immediately. Most commercial vehicles need some form of customisation. A company that knows a lot about innovation and customisation is VCM, also known as Vehicle Construction and Maintenance Ltd. VCM started from very humble beginnings 29 years ago with a staff of – get this – two. “The company has grown substantially since 1989,” says director Debbie Davis “and over the years, we’ve grown with the vehicle fit out industry, improving on designs, products and services to the point that we can genuinely call ourselves a one-stop-shop to accommodate your fleet requirements.” Given the variety of vehicles available, a one stop shop is going to have to do a little more than fit a nudge bar or a cargo bulkhead. Part of this comes about because – to quote our Mainland cheese friends – she’s a hard road finding perfection – especially in a working vehicle. There will always be compromises. But, with motor body building specialists, sheetmetal workers, auto electrical and general engineering as well as certified welding technicians all on site, VCM have all the bases covered, being able to fabricate and redesign where and when its needed. But VCM doesn’t merely react to customer needs. This is a company which has built an outstanding reputation for listening to and working with its clients, taking onboard their vehicle requirements and translating them into practical costeffective fit outs or custom builds to suit their particular needs and vehicles. Some of those needs are quite specific and at times, extremely challenging. Take the example of TVNZ’S mobile studio requirements for instance. The VCM team first began working with TVNZ back in the late 90’s with the first big project being the Live Eye vehicle. These vans stood in as mobile television studios, frequently out in remote locations broadcasting to the nation. As such, they required a 10m tall transmission mast, various internal shelving arrangements and hydraulic legs for stability. “1News still uses these, but they are coming to the end of their useful life and they don’t actually fit with our current requirements for nimble and agile vehicles,” says Andrew. “This is why we have commissioned a number of camera cars, which VCM has equipped accordingly.” These included Falcons and Commodores in the early days, but TVNZ eventually transitioned to Ford Mondeos which provided more fuel-efficient diesel engines. Joining the Mondeos recently has been a number of four-wheel-drive Mitsubishi Outlanders, some of which are plug-in hybrids. The Outlanders, according to Andrew, probably gave VCM the biggest headache. “The camera cars have always generally been built to the same standards and specification,” he says. They have significant security systems on board, along with protective cages and even antiexplosives treatment for the cargo area. The cars are also required to have power invertors, which we need for the camera and sound gear. In a regular car, these are easy to enough to fit, but it’s a much more complicated setup with a plug-in hybrid. Debbie and her team overcame the problem though, which was a level of service I wasn’t expecting, especially when I learned how challenging it was!” There are dozens of case studies from a diverse range of customers and from the glamour of working with a national broadcasting organisation, Debbie and her team have also worked with smaller operations, like Gas Appliance Services. Nick was fulsome in his praise of VCM. I’ve had a number of utes over the years,” he says “and I’ve always just put up with the vehicles as I bought them. After working with VCM, I wish I’d dealt with them three utes or so ago!”
His latest ute is a double cab Ford Ranger Wildtrack, which didn’t offer Nick all the space needed for his tools of trade. Nick was given some options, but being a craftsman with traditional customer service values, he likes things in place just so, and the solutions offered just weren’t doing that for him. Nick found VCM through a Google search looking for pull out sliding drawers and because VCM was local in Avondale, Nick reckoned it would be good karma to support a local business. “Right from the second I met Debbie,” he says “I knew I’d done the right thing. She listened to what I needed and put together a new canopy with a false floor and twin sliding drawers. It was fast, it was professional and the whole experience was just brilliant.” Clearly then, if you are looking to customise your commercial vehicle and you either: need some help or, you know exactly what you want, then Debbie and VCM come highly recommended.