Blackburn facilities company chooses Nissan and Chorley Group for new LCV fleet

A company that serves the UK’s catering equipment and refrigeration industries is swapping its entire fleet of engineers’ vans to vehicles made by Nissan, recently taking delivery of 10 Primastar LCVs as part of the process.

Acme Facilities Group, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, is working with Chorley Group to make the transition.

Chorley Group runs five Nissan dealerships across the North-West of England and represents a number of other manufacturers too.

Acme installs catering, refrigeration and air conditioning equipment nationwide, and takes care of ongoing maintenance and servicing.

For many years, its engineers’ vans have come from other manufacturers but the company has ‘made the leap’ to go all-Nissan after being impressed by the new Primastar.

 Wayne Iddon, Acme finance manager with responsibility for running the company’s fleet, said: ‘‘We went to the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham in 2023 and the Primastar was on display on Nissan’s stand.

"The pricing was very favourable, as were the levels of specification, particularly in respect of occupant safety. All in all, we were very impressed.

 ‘‘We decided to go for long-wheelbase versions to provide our team with a bit more space – we carry quite a lot of equipment to do with engineering and parts to ensure first-time fixes.

‘‘The price differential compared to other manufacturers was impressive, so we’ve made the leap to Nissan and our first Primastars joined us in 2023 with the latest batch of 10 arriving earlier this year.’’

While Primastar is Nissan’s medium-sized LCV offering, Interstar is its larger sibling – and examples of that vehicle will also be put to good use by the Acme team in the near future.

Wayne added: ‘‘We currently have three Interstars on order, due to arrive in the next few weeks. We don’t necessarily need the size, but we do need the load-carrying capability because they will be required to transport heavy air-conditioning systems and catering equipment such as range ovens, which can weigh up to 400 kilos.

‘‘More Primastars will be arriving in February or March next year followed by another consignment in June or July. Nissan’s five-year/100,000 mile warranty helps to make the vehicles attractive. Reliability is very important to us.’’

Wayne praised the efficiency of the corporate sales operation at Chorley Group, and in particular, Robson Broomhead, corporate centre manager.

‘‘We’ve had a really good experience with the team so far,’’ he explained.

‘‘Robson has been incredibly helpful. From obtaining quotes to placing orders and taking delivery of the vehicles, we’ve had no problems whatsoever.

‘‘Chorley Group are a pleasure to deal with – absolutely fantastic in every respect. We like to have a single manufacturer supplying the vehicles for our whole fleet – and Nissan fits the bill perfectly.’’

Robson Broomhead, from the Chorley Group, said: ‘‘It has been a pleasure working with Acme Facilities Group. I’d like to express my thanks to Wayne Iddon in trusting us to assist with the company’s fleet conversion. We’re very grateful for Acme’s valued business and continued support.’’