Vehicle parts delivery business on road to growth with Yorkshire Bank backing

26/08/2011

Ten new jobs have been created by a West Yorkshire commercial vehicle parts supply business as more vehicles get back on the road with the gradual economic recovery.

The jobs, which include drivers and depot staff, have been created by Ossett-based HS Atec after gaining a £3m funding package from Yorkshire Bank’s Leeds Financial Solutions Centre (FSC) through its Investing for Growth initiative.

The new jobs are part of a series of expansions planned by HS Atec which operates throughout Yorkshire and the North East and has satellite depots in Sheffield, Bradford, Ferrybridge and Darlington.

A wide range of 30,000 parts with a total £1m value, including exhausts, clutches, air-braking systems, chassis parts, electrical components and tube hose, are stocked by HS Atec which supplies to hauliers, vehicle repairers and bus and coach companies throughout Yorkshire and the North East.

The new jobs, divided between the company’s depots, means that the business, which has increased turnover from £8.5m to £9.5m in the last 12 months, now has a total of 60 staff.

Managing director, Neil Fattorini, says: “The severity of the financial crisis two years ago brought high streets to a standstill and put many haulage businesses through hell. Although the economic recovery is slow, a degree of confidence is returning, hauliers are putting more vehicles on the road and we are picking up more business as a result.

“Hauliers need their vehicles to be earning money every hour they are on the road and the Yorkshire Bank funding is being used to expand our range of stock, including new items which are becoming available, so we can continue to deliver on our commitment to get parts to vehicles within an hour of a request.

“Among expansions to our product range are filters to comply with the new London Emission Zone requirements which take effect in January 2012. Yorkshire Bank gave us a refreshing speed of response matched with a genuine willingness to support us as we grow. The funding will also be used to re-locate our Ferrybridge and Darlington depots into bigger premises in due course.”

HS Atec traces its formation back to 1971. Neil Fattorini acquired HS Commercial Spares, Ossett, in 1989 for his employer, the Clugston Group, Scunthorpe, and bought Atec, Dronfield, for the company in 1998. He merged the two operations in 1998 and acquired the new business for himself in 2003.

Yorkshire Bank Leeds FSC business partner, Mike Harvey, who arranged the funding, says: “After all that the haulage industry has been through in the last few years it is refreshing to see HS Atec, which supports this sector, doing well and we are pleased to be backing the business through our Investing for Growth initiative.”

Yorkshire Bank’s Investing for Growth initiative enables businesses to take advantage of loan repayment holidays, interest-only repayments and extended loan and credit terms designed to take advantage of quality growth opportunities. Businesses signing up to the package can re-invest the cash into their operation for expansion, new staff, equipment, machinery and commercial development.

Yorkshire Bank’s Leeds FSC, Manor Road, includes more than 80 corporate, commercial and private banking specialists operating in multi-discipline teams encompassing corporate banking, private wealth management, treasury services and credit and operates a traditional method of banking with funding from deposits used to support investments in the local community.