Lymm Truckwash makes clean break with new site launch

By Categories: Commercial NewsPublished On: Thursday 5 December 2019

Lymm Truckwash has officially opened its new £2.3 million vehicle washing premises at Poplar Park, Lymm in Cheshire, which replaces the company’s previous facility at the nearby Lymm Services.

The site, which is 30 seconds off Junction 20 of the M6 and Junction 9 of the M56, near Warrington, is purpose-built, and relocates the 52-year-old truck washing operation just 100 metres from its previous base.

The new site has been in the works for three and a half years, from initial planning permission through to design and construction.

Lymm Truckwash washes more than 60,000 trucks a year for its customers, from owner-drivers through to large fleet operators such as BP, DHL and AW Jenkinson.

The company has had four commercial vehicle washbays installed at the new premises, which it says can clean 40 trucks per hour in total, the same as previous capacity – with the additional benefit that customers only stopping for a truck wash need no longer enter and exit Lymm Services.

The four gantry vehicle wash units and eight bespoke pressure washers have been provided by cleaning equipment specialist WashTec, with faster operation and advanced technology cited as key reasons for choosing the supplier. The pre-wash and gantry wash process takes around eight minutes per truck.

The pressure washers are housed in a plant room and fed into the washbays via hoses running under the ground. Two external water tanks for the site holding 50,000 litres, and one external chemical tank holding 20,000 litres, were supplied by water treatment and processing specialist Kirton. These then feed into a 1,000-litre internal water tank and separate 200-litre chemical tank.

The Poplar Park site opened for business on 14 October, followed by a special launch event on 26-28 November for customers and suppliers.

At the launch, Lymm Truckwash was demonstrating the automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology incorporated at the new site, which it highlights as one of the reasons for its fast wash turnaround – since it saves on time associated with manual data entry, thereby also reducing customer vehicle downtime.

A camera automatically scans the truck’s registration plate as it arrives on site and, if it belongs to one of Lymm Truckwash’s 720 and growing account holders, an e-receipt will automatically be generated and emailed to the customer. Each company is then invoiced by email for all washes at the end of the month, with each wash detailed.

Drivers can alternatively choose to pay via fuel or credit card, cash, Snap or Twuk. The HGV-height kiosk means drivers don’t need to exit their cabs, and payment takes around 20 seconds.

To mark the official launch event and welcome drivers to the new site, the Lymm Truckwash team were providing them with tea, coffee and mince pies, as well as goodie bags with chocolates, branded travel mugs, air fresheners and stickers, while their vehicles were being cleaned.

The facility’s opening hours are 7am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. There are other plans afoot for the premises, including a HGV fuel bunkering site from Certas Energy.

Laura Cardwell, managing director of Lymm Truckwash, said: “Truck drivers and trucks are vital to the productivity and supply demands in this country, and they should be better recognised and looked after. If we can provide a site that does this, then I will feel we have given something back to truck drivers and the haulage industry.

“The excitement among our customers has been amazing. They have shown us great support and encouragement, and are just as excited about the move as we are.”

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“This heralds a new level of service in truck washing, and we’re very happy to be at the forefront and to continue to be Europe’s largest truck wash. There is no other truck wash like this in the whole of Europe in terms of annual throughput and technology.”

The company, an RHA Bronze Associate member, cites continuity of employment for its 12-strong team of staff, who on average have been working with Lymm Truckwash for 15 years, as a key motivator for its decision to invest in the new site.

“This move isn’t only about our customers; it’s also about securing the future of our long-serving and loyal staff, and in turn their families,” Laura added.

“Plus, the investment benefits the local economy and business community.”

Lymm Truckwash will make its CV Show debut at the NEC Birmingham next year, from 28-30 April.

www.lymmtruckwash.co.uk