Atec seeing smoother road ahead as £3m funding creates jobs

THE slump of 2008 put many hauliers on the road to hell.

However, in a sign that the economy is taking early steps towards recovery, 10 jobs have been created by a commercial vehicle parts company which supplies some of the biggest hauliers.

The jobs, which include drivers and depot staff, have been created by Ossett-based HS Atec after gaining a £3m funding package from Yorkshire Bank’s Leeds Financial Solutions Centre (FSC) through its Investing for Growth initiative.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The jobs are part of a series of expansions planned by HS Atec, which operates throughout Yorkshire and the North East and has satellite depots in Sheffield, Bradford, Ferrybridge and Darlington.

Around 30,000 parts including exhausts, clutches, air-braking systems, chassis parts, electrical components and tube hose, are stocked by HS Atec which supplies hauliers, vehicle repair firms and bus and coach companies throughout Yorkshire and the North East.

After hiring more staff, the business, which has increased its turnover from £8.5m to £9.5m in the last 12 months, has a total of 60 employees.

Managing director Neil Fattorini said: “The severity of the financial crisis two years ago brought high streets to a standstill and put many haulage businesses through hell.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Although the economic recovery is slow, a degree of confidence is returning, hauliers are putting more vehicles on the road and we are picking up more business as a result. Hauliers need their vehicles to be earning money every hour they are on the road and the Yorkshire Bank funding is being used to expand our range of stock, including new items which are becoming available, so we can continue to deliver on our commitment to get parts to vehicles within an hour of a request.”

The product range will soon include filters that comply with the new London Emission Zone requirements which take effect in January 2012.

Mr Fattorini added: “The funding will also be used to re-locate our Ferrybridge and Darlington depots into bigger premises in due course.”

HS Atec can trace its roots back to 1971, when the world was on the brink of another financial crisis.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Fattorini acquired HS Commercial Spares in 1989 for his employer, the Clugston Group and bought Atec for the company in 1998.

He merged the two operations in 1998 and acquired the new business in 2003.