Bevan Group swoops for drinks specialist

One of the UK’s leading commercial vehicle bodybuilders has taken another major step forward after completing the acquisition of a specialist supplier to the drinks industry.

At a stroke, Bevan Group’s buy out of PG Reeves gives it a major foothold in a market segment it had not previously served to any significant extent.

With headquarters in Halesowen, West Midlands, Bevan Group builds dry freight box and curtainside bodies for some of the biggest names on Britain’s roads.

PG Reeves was based at nearby Balsall Heath, Birmingham, where it manufactured truck bodies, many of them specially designed to offer fast access during multi-drop operations, for the likes of Coca-Cola, Matthew Clark and Dayla Drinks, as well as many independent breweries.

Bevan Group has paid an undisclosed sum for PG Reeves’ plant and machinery, as well as its order book. Key to the deal was its recruitment of former Managing Director Martyn Reeves, along with a dozen of his former colleagues.

Bevan Group Managing Director Anthony Bevan explains: “Martyn’s agreement to join our team in the new role of Director for Business Development was of paramount importance – without him, we would not have gone ahead.

“The PG Reeves brand was well known and respected within commercial vehicle bodybuilding circles, and after 34 years in the industry Martyn brings unrivalled expertise and customer contacts to our company. He is going to be a great asset.”

Turnover within some divisions of the fast-growing Bevan Group is on target to double within the next 18 months and Mr Bevan confidently predicts that overall sales will increase by 25 per cent as a result of its acquisition of PG Reeves.

He continues: ”We had identified the drinks sector as one that offered significant potential for growth. Now, with Martyn working to expand his already impressive customer base, we look forward to exploiting that potential.”

Martyn Reeves adds: “We had reached the stage where we couldn’t take PG Reeves any further without substantial investment which, in the current climate, with funding in short supply and consequently expensive, was not a viable proposition.

“I was therefore delighted when Anthony approached me with the suggestion that I amalgamate my business into his. Bevan Group is a highly successful company that’s clearly going places and I’m certainly looking forward to the journey.”

Bevan Group’s move for PG Reeves represents the latest in a series of acquisitions of former competitors or suppliers, and the company remains open to further expansion opportunities wherever and whenever these arise.

In addition to building top-quality standard bodies in high volumes, Bevan Group also offers specialist bodybuilding and vehicle finishing services, and back-up from the industry’s most comprehensive aftercare team, who service and maintain ancillaries such as tail-lifts as well as bodies. Another recent addition to the Bevan portfolio is a vehicle graphics division, which offers a full livery design and application service. 

“We aim, as far as possible, to provide our customers with a ‘one stop shop’ service,” concludes Anthony Bevan.