Leading dry freight bodybuilder Bevan Group played host to a VIP fact-finding visit from a local MP and a senior representative of the support body that helped it to develop a market-leading product.

The West Midlands-based company has chalked up orders worth more than £2 million from high-profile customers such as Argos, Coca-Cola, Halfords and Nightfreight, since launching its ground-breaking, aerodynamic Bevan21 body.

And on his tour of Bevan’s Oldbury production facility Adrian Bailey, MP for West Bromwich West and Chair of the House of Commons Business, Innovation &Skills Select Committee, was given the opportunity to examine a Bevan21 drawbar rig in the colours of clinical waste specialist SRCL, and learn how its ‘slippery’ shape and lightweight construction is achieving valuable fuel savings for the operator.

The MP was joined on his tour by Martin McKeever, Specialist Manufacturing Advisor at the Manufacturing Advisory Service-West Midlands (MAS-WM). The two spent time chatting to staff and reviewing the company’s impressive production and graphics capabilties.

Bevan Group, which employs 160 people across its four sites in the Black Country, has been working closely with MAS-WM for a number of years on a series of business improvement processes, and developed the environmentally-friendly Bevan21 with assistance from the organisation.

The Bevan21 is designed to reduce wind resistance while maintaining cubic load volumes. Features include a curved roof and a specially moulded air deflector and cab collar. Independent tests of a Bevan21, carried out under stringent conditions, confirmed that Bevan Group’s revolutionary streamlined body – which is also available as a box or curtainsider – is capable of cutting fuel bills by 15 per cent.

Bevan Group Operations Director Lee Dimmock explained: “We are always looking to stay ahead of the market by developing new products, and the demand from customers wishing to reduce their carbon footprints offers us an excellent opportunity to put our design and technical expertise to the fore.

“Working with MAS-WM, our in-house team spent hundreds of hours developing the aerodynamic frame that gives the Bevan21 such unique performance, and has made it such a phenomenal success. It offers a ‘win-win’ for customers, who benefit from improved ‘green’ credentials as well as a positive impact on their bottom line.” 

Bevan is one of 3,000 companies in the West Midlands to have tapped into MAS-WM’s in-depth support, which ranges from dedicated business reviews and process improvement consultancy, to specialist assistance with sourcing, workforce development and launching new products.

MAS-WM is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and has a special focus on advanced manufacturing and carbon reduction, as it aims to provide the region’s manufacturing base with the expertise to compete in the global marketplace.

Adrian Bailey MP declared: “Bevan is a perfect example of how manufacturing in the West Midlands is evolving. It has successfully recognised the need to develop new products to remain competitive and has tapped into the demand for low carbon transport. Thanks to targeted business support from MAS, this is a company that is generating wealth and creating local jobs.”

And Martin McKeever, Specialist Manufacturing Adviser at MAS-WM, concluded: “Launching a new product into the marketplace takes massive investment and time, so it is great to see the volume of orders being achieved by Bevan. It points to a very promising future for the business.”

For further information on MAS-WM, please contact 0845 245 0845, visit http://www.mas-wm.org/ or follow on www.twitter.com/MAS_WM