Geesink Norba tackles new challenges
By admin
Geoff Rigg took charge at Geesink Norba earlier this year – 21 years after joining the industry as a Technician Apprentice. As UK Business Director, he has set about reshaping the UK’s second largest RCV manufacturer to meet a host of new challenges that lie ahead and the changes he’s introduced are already bearing fruit
The increased focus on waste and recycling is creating opportunities throughout the industry. Geesink Norba has undergone a major overhaul itself to make sure it is well positioned to take advantage of this.
The company employs 180 people – 80 at its South Wales headquarters and 100 in service roles around the country. In 2006 it marked its 70th anniversary in the UK where it is the second biggest in the RCV market and, as part of the Oshkosh Corporation, the largest in the world.
Geoff Rigg, the UK Business Director, said: “Our customers face new challenges as the market changes rapidly and doors are being opened to us that were previously closed. We’ve made changes ourselves, to both the structure and culture of the business to help us seize these opportunities.
“We’ve enjoyed a reputation for great after sales service and for the biggest range of top quality products but we haven’t always capitalised on these. So we’ve introduced a flat management structure which will make faster decisions to benefit customers. And we’ve developed our regional sales managers, giving them broader roles as regional business managers. This is already generating faster lead-in times and improved customer care.
“We’ve also strengthened the engineering team and are expanding our RCV range – even though it is already unparalleled in the UK, with vehicles from 7.5 – 32 tonnes including several established market-leaders.”
The changes are already repaying Geesink Norba where order books are bulging. It has won significant contracts with new customers as well as increasing existing business. Recent successes include two orders from Serco Group plc, which won the newly privatised environmental services contract in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Geesink Norba had previously worked successfully with the authority for more than 11 years and Serco kept faith with them and placed an order for 18 new vehicles and maintenance.
And it has also awarded Geesink Norba the contract for 33 vehicles and maintenance for the waste and recycling contract it won in Milton Keynes in August. The lion’s share of the order is one of Geesink Norba’s most popular combinations – the Norba MF300 with an MF50 multifraction pod.
The MF300 multifraction rear loader is increasingly attractive as more emphasis is put on recycling and efficiency. The two sealed compartments each have their own compaction and ejector plates for efficient, independent loading and discharge of recycling material. They use the impressive Smart Pack System™ – exclusive to Norba – which enables control of bin lift speed and other functions to be independent of the loading weight. Automatic sensors determine how much pressure is needed to lift and pack, resulting in the industry’s fastest packing cycles and potentially great fuel savings.
The MF50 is a tough, flexible side-loading collector which fits between the cab and the body to provide a three-fraction collection vehicle. The vertical bin lift and two-piece roof are PLC controlled, the water-tight body enables the collection of wet materials and the high discharge position (1.75m) helps unloading. With more than 200 pod vehicles operating in Europe, the Milton Keynes contract represents yet another volume order for this popular product.
Also making a big impact is the newly improved GCB 1000 Split Lift which provides greater efficiency than third-party lifts when integrated with the popular GPM III vehicle. Its new control system is being introduced to other products and has already been incorporated into Geesink’s smallest RCV, the highly manoeuvrable GPM Mini rear loader, which can be mounted on some of the smallest chassis for highly efficient, domestic refuse collection. It allows greatly enhanced control of bin lift speeds and operating parameters and of packing pressure and payload.
But the most eagerly anticipated product of all is Geesink Norba’s new hybrid diesel-electric vehicle which starts UK trials early in the new year … watch this space.
“It is an exciting time,” added Geoff Rigg. “Everyone is looking very closely at the products they buy and the service they get. At Geesink Norba we feel we are very well placed to take advantage of this with outstanding products, exciting new ones becoming available and the structure to get out there and provide the best service in the industry.”
Tags: Geesink Norba, Geoff Rigg, Llantrisant, manufacturer, RCVs, refuse collection vehicles, South Wales, UK Business Director
