Anything hose

Launching a new ‘round the clock' franchised service business is a leap of faith and launching it in a leap year gives the BMI Hose team the chance to go one better than usual and provide outstanding customer service on 366 days, not the normal 365 days!

BMI Hose (UK) Limited opened their first pilot depot in Dudley in November and their second depot opened its doors on February 4th in Newcastle on Tyne.

BMI compete in the 24-hour emergency on-site hose replacement market. This is the core market of former franchise of the year winner, Pirtek UK. This has all the makings of an intriguing battle as ‘David' sets up a new franchise network to rival the established ‘Goliath'.
BMI Hose (UK) Limited, based in Hilton Cross Business Park Wolverhampton, plan a national role out of service depots and mobile workshops to rival the market leading Pirtek network which claims to have 400 vans on the road in the UK and Ireland. The founder and chief executive of this new venture, Simon Moxham (age 33), is the former European commercial director of Pirtek (UK) Limited and as such he knows franchising and the emergency on-site hose replacement market inside out.

Simon comments: ‘We estimate that the emergency replacement hose market is worth about £82 million per year and Pirtek has over 50 per cent market share. Even though there are many competitors' no-one rivals Pirtek for market coverage and therefore the customers don't really get a choice. We believe that healthy competition will improve customer service and increase value for money. It will take us time to build our network but we are confident that we have the right business model, financing and people to do it.' BMI's new service will operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and 366 days in 2008, with a customer ‘hot-line' (08452 10 9 8 7 6) to take emergency calls from customers.

The team at BMI Hose will work from impressive new premises on the edge of Wolverhampton, close to the M54 and M6 motorways, that include spacious offices, a large conference and training room and 24,000 square feet of warehousing floor space. The warehouse is already fully equipped and it's capable of housing several million pounds worth of stock of hydraulic hose and fittings.

BMI has chosen to work with two of the biggest names in the industry. All hydraulic hoses will be supplied by the Japanese manufacturer Bridgestone, part of the group that supplies tyres to Grand Prix motor racing's Formula 1, who are a technology leader. And hose fittings and quick release couplings will come from the well-known and respected Italian manufacturer Intertraco. BMI assessed hose manufacturers from ‘emerging markets' but rejected them on account of inconsistencies in product manufacture and quality control. The first BMI hose depot opened in Dudley in November, just a few miles from the corporate headquarters in Wolverhampton. This depot is owned by BMI and will be used as the ‘pilot' to prove the viability of the franchise. The fully trained Dudley team opened for business with three new Mercedes Vito vans on the road, fully equipped to tackle emergency on-site hose replacement jobs on construction and materials handling equipment and in manufacturing environments.

BMI's new service relies on the skills and experience of its technicians and therefore great emphasis is put on recruitment, training and motivation. ‘We will only recruit experienced people,' comments Simon. ‘Our technicians are in effect running their own businesses with their own territories and customers, so customer service and satisfaction is an essential ingredient of our concept. We'll compete on the quality of our products and service, the speed of response and above all value for money.'

As well as providing a 24-hour a day, 365-day-a-year on-site emergency service BMI depots sell a wide range of pressure washer hoses and accessories, hydraulic components, hydraulic and engine oils, greases, oil spill products and oil containment equipment.

Local man Glyn Griffiths was the first to take the BMI Hose (UK) franchise in the UK when his new business opened its doors on February 4th. Glyn and his team have already been trained at BMI's head office in Wolverhampton and they are ready to take customer calls, operating two mobile workshops from new premises in Cramlington, just north of Newcastle.

Glyn had this to say about his exciting new venture: ‘I've been looking for a good business opportunity for some time and when I investigated the BMI concept I was immediately impressed. They offer a genuine service to customers who need a fast response and a quality product when they've suffered a hose failure on-site. We have set our whole operation up in about 12 weeks, with help from BMI staff, and as we open our doors we're all trained and raring to go. I've a good team working with me and we're looking forward to building our relationships with a wide range of customers in Newcastle and Tyne side.'

BMI Hose expect to open a new depot every month, during the balance of 2008, and to continue building the network in 2009 and beyond.

Business type: On-site hose replacement market
Investment level: £75,000 in cash plus business loans
Contact: TEL 01902 867 800 WEB www.bmiuk.co.uk EMAIL
info@bmiuk.co.uk