By Scott Groome
Managing Director
Long Marsh
LONG Marsh Ltd, now celebrating its 60th year in Wellingborough, has spread it wings over the decades with branches in Corby, Bedford and Milton Keynes.
Initially a local service station, through time we have transformed ourselves into a premier vehicle rental company. We still provide vehicle servicing, maintenance and MoTs, but this has become a much smaller part of our business and now vehicle sales and vehicle rental have become our core businesses.
We have grown to a fleet of more than 650 vehicles by constantly adapting our product range. Controlling the growth while maintaining the high levels of service expected by our customers has been challenging but rewarding, with plans now passed to enlarge our Wellingborough branch further to meet our ever-growing needs.
Our success in vehicle rental has always been through being able to offer a high level of service and flexibility to our customers. We strive to provide the diverse products our clients require. Many companies are now under more pressure to be aware of the weight vehicles can carry and are more conscious of the driver’s needs, with better vehicle specifications now being required to ensure a better work space for the drivers. This growing demand has seen Long Marsh move into high-volume and high load capacity low-loader vans, high-specification models plus providing a broader selection of automatics (including vans).
The comfort of drivers is another priority and more than 85 per cent of our vehicles now have air-conditioning. We are focusing on additional aids like parking sensors on nearly every van, many with additional reversing cameras and even satellite navigation in some vans to help drivers reduce damage and operation costs.
We have been investing heavily in the very latest Euro 6 diesel engine vehicles and increasing our petrol engine choice in the car fleet in preparation of the new London Ultra Low Emission Zone, ULEZ congestion rules.
While there is a risk that the public have been enticed by the media that all diesels are evil, there are options. For example, the Euro 6 engine diesel meets all the congestion rule requirements. The improved fuel economy from a diesel engine means that diesel-options remain the first choice for most companies. Petrol still has its place, especially with the low mileage user.
For more information see the website at www.longmarshltd.co.uk or call Wellingborough 01933 222872, Corby 01536 402302, Milton Keynes 01908 377577 or Bedford 01234 402302.