GREG Taylor is now MD of Essential Fleet Services, moving up from being commercial director of the business providing specialist vehicle contract hire, maintenance and rental solutions to the public and large corporate sectors.
Greg joined the business in June 2016 as commercial director after being operations director at ALD Automotive, bringing with him over 20 years senior leadership experience in the contract hire and leasing industry. Greg will lead the board and is responsible for the strategic and operational direction of the business.
He said: “I’m really excited to be leading Essential Fleet at a time of operational transformation and growth. There is no doubt that this business is now delivering on its great potential.
“I’m confident that investment in our people, operating sites, technical expertise and owned rental assets will bring the continued success that we are all working so hard to achieve. Delivering value and service excellence to our customers is at the forefront of everything we do.”
In his team Mark Gallimore has been appointed commercial director, joining Essential on 3 April from his current role at Alphabet where he’s filled a number of senior management positions, bringing with him a wealth of contract hire and leasing experience.
Mark will lead and develop the existing customer relationships, and grow a customer service support team that brings together all vehicle in life processes including vehicle purchasing, fleet administration and vehicle disposal.
Essential Fleet Services chairman Andrew Cope has significantly increased his investment in the business and since January has been taking an active role as executive chairman.
Andrew has had a long career in the contract hire world having been founder and chairman at Zenith, leading the business through five MBOs, and more recently executive chairman and owner at FMG. Andrew will be using his wealth of knowledge and experience in supporting the ambitious sales and growth targets that the business has set for the coming years.
Andrew commented: “The whole specialist vehicle world is changing at a faster pace today than at any time. It’s extremely exciting to be involved in a business at the forefront of that change.”
The Essential business had a strong start to 2017 with a number of major contract wins, including Harlow Borough Council, Cardiff City Council, Milton Keynes Education Trust and Ayton Products.
With a diverse range of vehicles, ranging from minibuses and LCVs to specialist HGVs, these contracts demonstrate Essential’s ability to win new customers based on a combination of service, specialist knowledge and competitive pricing.
As part of their continued commitment to satisfying increasing customer demand for rental refuse collection vehicles (RCVs) and tippers, Essential have invested further in their owned rental fleet.
They have added more than 50 new vehicles including Dennis Eagle 26t RCVs, Faun Zoeller RCVs on a Mercedes chassis, DAF LF 150 7.5t 4X2 Rigid Tippers, and large numbers of welfare vans. All these new Euro 6 compliant vehicles will be available to rent from April.