Supporting Tai Tarian with tailored fleet conversions for sustainable housing and community maintenance.

20th May 2024

Meeting the needs of a growing housing association fleet

Tai Tarian, one of the largest social landlords in Wales, manages more than 9,000 homes across Neath Port Talbot. The organisation is committed to creating sustainable homes within sustainable communities and has set an ambitious goal to become carbon neutral by 2030. As part of this mission, they continue to invest in new, energy-efficient housing and the infrastructure needed to support their workforce in maintaining and improving existing properties.

In January 2024, Tai Tarian launched a competitive tender via the TPPL Hertfordshire Framework to support their mobile workforce with a new fleet of vehicles. Mackworth Vehicle Conversions were awarded the contract in March 2024 to deliver up to 54 vehicles across three phases, tailored to the varied needs of their tradespeople.

A collaborative approach from day one

Shortly after the contract was awarded, an implementation meeting was held with all stakeholders, including representatives from Tai Tarian, TPPL, vehicle finance provider Sinclair, and dealers Days Peugeot and Days Ford. This ensured everyone understood their roles, the delivery process, and how Mackworth would manage conversions.

Naomi Roberts, Plant and Transport Liaison Manager at Tai Tarian, played a key role in shaping the specification of each vehicle. She worked closely with Mackworth to review and refine the builds to ensure each one was fit for purpose. These included tailored racking solutions for trades such as glaziers, multiskilled operatives, carpenters, general maintenance teams and arborists.

Bespoke builds, quality control and sign-off

In line with Mackworth’s quality assurance process, an initial prototype of each vehicle type was built for approval before any full production runs began. Naomi was invited to Mackworth’s site to review each ‘first-off’ build in person, ensuring specifications met the exact needs of the end users.

After this hands-on review, production commenced, with Mackworth keeping all parties informed of delivery schedules into Days Peugeot for PDI, and final delivery to Tai Tarian.

Following phase one, which included 22 Peugeot Boxer vans, Mackworth moved on to phase two: four new-model Ford Custom vans, converted to suit the specific requirements of Tai Tarian’s plumbers. This time, sign-off was completed remotely using photos and video to maintain efficiency without compromising on quality.

A trusted partner with responsive aftercare

The result has been a fleet that meets both practical and operational needs, with robust racking systems that maintain payload while offering excellent storage. Feedback from the teams using the vans has been overwhelmingly positive, and any aftercare issues have been swiftly addressed.

“Following the award of the tender, Steve ran through all the racking specifications to accommodate any changes needed and then invited us up to Mackworth to see the finished products for sign off. It was great to see these prior to delivery and be able to make last-minute adjustments to meet our trades’ needs. The end product has met all our requirements on keeping payloads high while providing suitable, good quality storage. Our trades have also been really positive about the new racking systems following delivery and how well it suits them on site. Any aftercare issues have been promptly dealt with and resolved and we have been kept updated throughout the process.” — Naomi Roberts, Plant and Transport Manager, Tai Tarian

Supporting sustainable housing, one vehicle at a time

This project reflects Mackworth’s commitment to understanding customer requirements and delivering tailored, high-quality conversions backed by excellent service. Working with Tai Tarian and their partners, Mackworth has played a small but important role in supporting the drive for better homes, better tools for tradespeople, and a greener future.

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Looking for a conversion partner who understands your fleet needs?

Get in touch with Mackworth Vehicle Conversions to discuss how we can support your next project.

Call 01332 825 400 or email enquiries@mackworth.biz

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