Gwent-headquartered recovery and maintenance agency the Caldicot Group has announced record growth in sales by its recovery systems division.

Caldicot Recovery Systems specialises in the national supply of trucks and recovery equipment to the multi-million pound vehicle recovery sector. The company, which was launched by the group in 2015, is the exclusive UK distribution partner of Poland-based manufacturer Tevor and this year has seen its sales grow by more than 125 per cent.

Caldicot Group managing director Gavin Edwards said this was largely down to an increasing share of the SME recovery market.

He said: “We have seen significant growth in this area of the sector – in particular companies operating smaller fleets of up to 25 vehicles.

“We have specifically looked at developing a service and suite of products to serve this end of the market because companies there can often feel isolated and ignored by the bigger manufacturers.

“We know from our own research that these companies are typically affected by longer lead times for vehicles with waits of up to 10 months, which ultimately costs them money. Couple this alongside poor levels of customer service and a lack of bespoke options, and these are one of the primary reasons why companies are switching to us for the provision of their recovery vehicles. Our lead times average just 10 to 12 weeks and our after-sales support service is responsive and trustworthy.”

The company has expanded its product offering to more than 25 recovery vehicles from specialist slidebeds to HGVs. The Caldicot Group intends on building the majority of its own 70-strong fleet with the Tevor brand.

In 2016 it used this fleet to serve more 20,000 vehicle breakdowns across the UK including more than 2,000 along the South Wales stretch of M4. Last month it announced details of a job expansion drive following new customer growth of more than 50 per cent.

Mr Edwards said: “We are delighted with the way each division of the Caldicot Group has grown in 2017. This is a credit to the hard work of our team and we are looking forward to helping more businesses in South Wales and the rest of the UK in 2018.”