AVS STEPS ‘GO ABOVE AND BEYOND’ FOR IRISBUS

AVS Steps, the world’s largest automotive step specialist, has strengthened its three year relationship with IRISBUS IVECO UK, one of Europe’s largest bus and coach manufacturer, through the development of a bespoke new step, which was prompted by the design of a new vehicle by IRISBUS, and the fitting of its new slim-line SL series cassette step on the DAILY range of accessible vehicles.

Derek Tucker, IRISBUS’s northern area sales manager, commenting on the growing relationship said: “We have been successfully working with AVS steps through Bluebird one of our coach builders, for a number of years now.  Our relationship has developed more significantly over the past 12 months following a bespoke engineering project, which required a new step to be developed for a plug door on one of our new vehicles. This demonstrated AVS’s commitment to service and their ability to understand customer’s needs

For IRISBUS it’s about the quality of the product the service and delivery. There are cheaper alternatives available, but steps have to feel solid, be robust and reliable - ‘fit for purpose’ – and AVS’s steps fulfill that requirement. The slimline design of the new SL range also compliments the design of our new range of DAILY accessible vehicles.  AVS Steps provide comprehensive warranties on their full range of steps, and these levels of assurance are seen as a very important differentiator by IRISBUS in order to protect its reputation for only using the best products on its vehicles,” added Derek.

Gary Robinson, Director at Bluebird, was instrumental in introducing AVS Steps to IRISBUS, and he says:  “We recommended AVS Steps to IRIBUS because they offer the most extensive range of manual and cassette steps in the market.  We do a number of different vehicle conversions for IRISBUS, so to be able to source all of our step requirements from one company is important.

“As Derek mentioned, the warranty AVS Steps provides is very important.  Bluebird offer IRISBUS a 3-year warranty on the step itself and the fitting, so it is essential that the steps we specify are of a high quality.  To support this, AVS Steps are also able to provide excellent after sales service, by having the largest network of service agents in the UK.”

“In simple terms, we use AVS Steps as a ‘one stop shop’, and over the last couple of years, we have worked with the company to produce fitting kits for all the steps, and their willingness to do this, demonstrated their long-term commitment to Bluebird. This was important to us as coach builders, as many other step manufacturers simply provide the step, leaving the body builder to source the ancillaries and accessories needed to fit the step.  AVS Steps supply the complete kit, so all we have to do is fit and wire the steps to the vehicles,” concluded Gary.

IRISBUS, which is part the IVECO BV Group, operates in the UK as IRISBUS UK Limited and has become the largest growing importer in the UK bus and coach market.  Its vehicles, which are built to customer order for local authorities and community transport services by coachbuilder Bluebird, use AVS Steps as its preferred supplier of manual and cassette steps. 

Keith Clarke, managing director, AVS Steps, said: “We are delighted that Bluebird has chosen our latest SL step for fitting on IRIBUS’s DAILY range of vehicles.  It offers a discrete and practical solution to vehicle access which overcomes the issue of limited ground clearance and complements the high specification of the bus.”

AVS Steps has designed the SL Series to lead the way in design, and appeal to both the commercial and non-commercial customer. With a cassette thickness of just 46mm, the ultra-thin steps are suitable for most vehicle types where ground clearance is restrictive, from cars, 4x4s, commercial vans, utility and mobility vehicles, ambulances and motor caravans and campers.  The result is the world’s slimmest step; and with its slim lines, moulded corners and neat tread design, the SL Series is also the most stylish.

The range has been completed this year with the addition of new EX Series of steps for very heavy duty applications. This enables AVS Steps to offer customers a wider range of manually foot operated and electric options, all with variable step treads and widths.

November 2007

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