The Leeds-based business was founded by Gilbert Thompson 75 years ago and operates from the Yorkshire Produce Centre in Leeds. It distributes fruit, vegetables and salads to local schools for Leeds City Council as well as a range of customers in the North and the Midlands.
GT Produce has seen an increase in deliveries since the pandemic and upgraded its road fleet last year to meet this demand with five MAN curtainside rigid trucks. That deal, facilitated by Jim Agnew, national key accounts manager at Asset Alliance Group, prompted a further conversation.
Kenny Weiss, operations director at GT Produce, said: “I informed Jim that the business was operating at full capacity and that our forklifts, which had seen considerable use, needed to be replaced. He connected me with their excellent general asset finance team.
"I outlined our specific forklift requirements, and they promptly presented a range of competitively priced options. After we finalised the purchase of the Toyotas, their team assumed full responsibility for managing the process, proactively following up and ensuring timely delivery."
The new forklifts replace decades old models, and are said to offer improvements in productivity and reliability, while delivering a reduction in emissions. Three of the trucks have a lifting capacity of 3,000kg, and the other 2,500kg. They all feature Toyota’s System of Active Stability to boost safety during load handling, as well as safety-zone lighting and a driver ID system incorporating a pre-use system check.
Matthew Board, head of general asset finance at Asset Alliance Group, said: “We’ve built a strong, deserved reputation within the commercial vehicle finance sector. However, we can offer customers even more, supporting those looking to purchase plant, machinery, garage and warehouse equipment to complement their vehicle fleets.”
The MANs – a TGL 250 12-tonne, three TGM 250 18-tonners and a TGS 330 26-tonne truck – were supplied on a four-year contract hire deal including repair and maintenance via MAN dealership Steadplan Leeds. The onboarding process included MAN train the trainer sessions organised by Agnew and consistent with Asset Alliance Group’s personal touch.
“You can reach your key account manager directly rather than being forced through to a generic number. For an organisation of their size, they are straightforward to deal with, keep it simple and are very good at what they do,” added Weiss.