A van dealer in Sittingbourne, owned by motor group The JCB Group, has been awarded one of the highest accolades from car and van giants, Volkswagen.
JCB Sittingbourne Van Centre was given Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles ‘Van Centre of the Year’ award, at the brand’s annual gala this weekend. It was announced during a special ceremony in London, which saw them beating 71 other Van Centres from across the UK to scoop gold.
Located on the in North Kent, the van centre is an integral part of JCB Group’s commercial vehicle division, which also operates sites in Ashford Brighton, Crawley and Eastbourne.
In addition to the ‘Van Centre of The Year’ accolade, JCB Sittingbourne’s counterpart sites in Eastbourne experienced success during the evening. Notably, Eurovans Eastbourne took first prize for ‘Used Van Centre Performance’.
Head of Business at JCB Sittingbourne, Gary Broad, who received the award from broadcasting star Claudia Winkleman and Director of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles UK Carl zu Dohna, said: “The team work incredibly hard to deliver a first-class service, whether someone visits us to buy a new or used van or stops by for repair, so to have it finally pay off in this way is amazing. I’m delighted and feel very proud.”
A thrilled Jonathan Bischoff, JCB Group Managing Director, said: “I’m so very proud of everyone in our commercial vehicles teams, especially JCB Sittingbourne, we’ve had a brilliant night! Winning top manufacturer awards takes hard work and determination, all day, every day and the honours achieved this weekend are testimony to this effort.
“This is the second year in a row that one of our van centres have gone away with the top award - to have such a strong presence awards really cements our place as leaders in the automotive industry. However, we never rest on our laurels and we will be striving even harder to make it a hat trick next year!”
The Volkswagen Commercial Vehicle awards are based their UK scorecard service, which recognises first-class customer care and excellent repair and maintenance facilities, not just volume of sales. They aim to support businesses by presenting a vehicle for sharing best practise and for promoting continuous improvement, learning and personal development.
The independently owned JCB Group now employs over 500 staff throughout Kent and Sussex.
