Truck group at Crossroads of expansion

Crossroads Truck and Bus has launched a Nissan light commercial vehicle franchise at sites in Birstall, West Yorkshire and Rotherham in South Yorkshire.

Crossroads Nissan Commercial Vehicles will distribute and maintain light commercial vans for businesses around the clock.

Ian Middleton, the divisional sales manager for the Rotherham site, said: "We are available 365 days a year, so our customers can concentrate on their business commitments.

"If a guy has only got one van, it's an important part of his business."

Mr Middleton said the company was trying to win more private sector work, as the UK prepares for cuts in public sector spending.

He added: "We have just got to work harder and find business elsewhere."

A spokesman for Crossroads, which is based in Birstall, said: "An owner can bring a van in for attention in the middle of the night and be back on the road again first thing in the morning."

Stephen Hinde, the divisional sales manager for Birstall, added: "Both our dedicated new Nissan sales managers have been promoted from Crossroads' existing team."

Established in 1956, Crossroads is a privately owned Volvo commercial truck dealer group which employs 400 staff and operates in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

It has an annual turnover of around 100m.

The company, which operates out of nine depots, has a client list which includes Asda, Londis and Next.

In August, Crossroads bought Midlands rival Hartshorne Motor Services in a multi-million pound deal which expanded the group's operation across Yorkshire and the Midlands.

Hartshorne was established in 1968 and is the leading commercial vehicle distributor in the Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire.

The acquisition has enabled the expanded group to provide services from North Yorkshire down to the South West Midlands.

Since the acquisition, Hartshorne and Crossroads have continued to operate as two companies within the same group and kept their own identities.