Customer: Valley Trucks

Location: Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire

Requirement: Vehicle dealer Valley Trucks specialises in the sale, hire and servicing of commercial trucks. Expansion at the company's Hertfordshire base meant that new office space was required on site. The new facilities needed to be fully integrated with the firm's existing two-storey workshop and office building.

Solution: Valley Trucks' Managing Director, Tony Sewell, says: "We had looked at various options, including conventional buildings as well as modular solutions. We were impressed by the quality and looks of the Portakabin facilities we had seen and finally decided to purchase two Titan buildings. These compared favourably on price with a traditionally constructed building and could be delivered in a fraction of the time.

"The Titan buildings also gave us all the space we needed and had the modern, high-quality feel that we were looking for. In addition, buying a modular building means that if the business ever outgrows its current site, we have a valuable asset that we can easily relocate."

The Portakabin Titan building range includes the largest single modular building in Europe. The exceptional build quality and size creates durable, spacious working environments for large numbers of people.

Portakabin specialists worked closely with Valley Trucks to finalise the design and specification of the new building. The two Titan buildings were configured to create a two-storey office and reception block, positioned adjacent to the existing building. Links were created between the old and new buildings at ground and first-floor level, with blanking panels used to give the appearance of a single integrated structure.

The Titan buildings were delivered exactly on schedule, as assured by the unique Portakabin Customer Charter. This promises to deliver all buildings on time and on budget. Portakabin even promises that if it ever fails to meet this commitment, it will provide an additional six months' product warranty, free of charge.*

Following close consultation with Valley Trucks and a comprehensive site survey, Portakabin installed the buildings so that the floor level precisely aligned with that in the existing building. The new buildings were fully carpeted and fitted out internally to Valley Trucks' specifications, including the installation of a climate-control system. Upstairs is a central, open-plan area for the accounts team, plus two separate directors' offices. Downstairs, an attractive glazed double entrance door leads into a comfortable customer reception area. Also on this floor are individual sales and marketing offices.

Tony Sewell says: "We are more than happy with our new offices, which provide us with a very modern, well-equipped and high-quality workplace. Portakabin took great care to come up with a building that fulfilled our requirements and we were pleased with the service provided at every stage of the project.

"The choice of Portakabin buildings meant there was minimal disruption to our business during installation. If we'd chosen a conventional building we would have had six months of building work to contend with. Because the buildings were fully fitted out and wired up on delivery, we could move straight in. In fact, our new reception was fully operational within a week of Portakabin leaving the site."

* Terms and Conditions apply. A copy is available on request.