Twenty-two vans. One workshop. Six weeks. When Yorkshire Water's fleet team asked CPL to build a standardised access-platform fleet on a tight calendar — same chassis, same livery, same sign-off — it was exactly the kind of programme our Kettering shop is set up for.
Overview
Yorkshire Water operates infrastructure that serves more than 3.7 million customers across the region. Their field teams work at height every day — inspecting reservoirs, maintaining overhead cable runs, accessing pump stations on mixed terrain. The existing fleet had aged into a patchwork of hired units and owned vehicles of varying spec and condition.
The procurement team approached CPL having already done their homework. They knew they wanted a van-mounted MEWP at 12 m working height on a Ford Transit chassis. What they needed was a single supplier who could deliver consistency at scale — same loadout, same livery, same sign-off standard — across twenty-two units, within a quarter.
What we built
Every unit left the Kettering yard to an identical spec, signed off by the same approved engineer. The build sheet covered:
- Ford Transit 350 L4H3 chassis, automatic gearbox, 170 hp diesel
- 12 m working height, 6.0 m outreach, 200 kg basket capacity
- Four-point independent outriggers with custom wide steel bearing plates
- 360° continuous slewing, twin-load-cell overload monitoring
- Yorkshire Water full-wrap livery with PAS 43 hi-vis chevron rear panel
- Rear-mounted 25 m cable reel rated to 16 A · 240 V shore-power socket
- Integrated tool tray, beacon array, LED work-light pair
- 12-month CPL Care: annual service, 24-hour breakdown cover, IPAF re-validation
The outrigger choice was the single biggest engineering call on the brief. Yorkshire Water's field experience pointed to consistent issues with rubber-pad outriggers at soft-ground pump station access points. We agreed a wider steel bearing-plate design, plasma-cut in house to the customer's drawing, that drops ground bearing pressure by approximately 40% at full extension.
How we did it
Twenty-two builds inside six weeks needed phasing. Chassis arrived from Ford on a staggered delivery against an agreed schedule, and we ran two parallel build lanes through Kettering: wave one (six units), wave two (eight), wave three (eight). Each wave moved through four stations in sequence:
- Chassis preparation. Subframe reinforcement, wiring loom extension for the MEWP control circuit, rear work-lighting bar fit.
- Platform fit and outrigger fabrication. Platform units arrived from our KLUBB Group partners on a matched schedule. Trial-fit, alignment, torque to spec, then outrigger legs welded and bearing plates plasma-cut to drawing.
- Load and function test. Every unit run through a full cycle — platform at max height and reach, outriggers on simulated soft ground, basket-load overload trip.
- Livery and IPAF sign-off. Full-wrap livery applied in-house. IPAF inspection by our approved engineer before dispatch.
Keeping livery in-house was the unlock that made the timeline work. External bodyshops typically add 7–10 working days to a build slot; doing it ourselves means we can sequence wrap immediately behind load-test, with no waiting and no transport movements.
“Twenty-two identical units, delivered on the dates we agreed, with no snags raised at incoming inspection. The CPL team understood what a fleet programme actually needs — not just twenty-two builds, but twenty-two consistent builds.”
Results
- 22 of 22 units passed incoming inspection. Zero snags raised.
- 6 weeks end-to-end against an initial 8-week customer target.
- Phased deliverymatched Yorkshire Water's fleet rotation, so old vehicles came off the road as new ones came on.
- 40% reduction in ground bearing pressure at the outriggers versus standard rubber-pad spec, on the equivalent platform load.
- 12 months of CPL Careactivated on day-of-dispatch — covered service and breakdown across the fleet's first year in operation.
If you're planning a similar programme — fleet replacement, standardised spec, single supplier — get in touch. We can run a build schedule alongside finance pre-approval so the units ship ready to deploy, in a wave pattern that matches your operational handover.