It has been a time of transition for original equipment manufacturing giant, Trico, since it closed its Pontypool facility\u00a0late last year.\u00a0However, it\u00a0still maintains a strong\u00a0presence in the\u00a0UK, with two distribution partners\u00a0brought on in the past year. <\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.bodyshop.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Trico-EU-packs.png\")
Trico\u2019s\u00a0Senior Brand & Product Manager, Sam Robinson,\u00a0said: \u201cUnderstandably, the announcement provoked plenty\u00a0ofreaction from those on the outside and sparked\u00a0a number\u00a0of questions about availability, delivery, quality and, in general, the future of the business in the UK.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile it\u2019s true that we closed our manufacturing and distribution centre in Wales, which, regretfully, meant the loss of long-serving and hard-working staff, we still have sales, finance, marketing and administration departments open for business\u00a0here in the UK.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a smooth transfer to our Belgian distribution site and\u00a0it\u00a0was fully-operational very quickly. As of today, we have more than 1,200 stock-keeping units and\u00a0in excess of\u00a0one-and-a-half million units in stock, with delivery-to-door in the UK within three working days.\u201d<\/p>\n
Power through distribution<\/strong><\/p>\n Throughout the last 12 months, Trico has strengthened its distribution across the UK and Ireland, with agreements in-place with both Optimal UK and Excel Automotive Group (EAG).<\/p>\n Optimal UK, based in the West Midlands, supplies Trico\u2019s Exact Fit, Flex,\u00a0Neoform\u00a0and TX wiper blade ranges,\u00a0whereas\u00a0Leeds-based EAG stocks the entire Champion wiper blade programme. An enviable brand\u00a0steeped in history, Trico acquired\u00a0the\u00a0Champion wiper blade\u00a0division in 2019.<\/p>\n Those deals,\u00a0as well as\u00a0existing agreements with A1 Motor Stores, IFA buying group and\u00a0Autoparts\u00a0UK,\u00a0put Trico in a far stronger position than perhaps many outside of the business feared.<\/p>\n Sam said: \u201cThe aim, when the decision was made, was to turn Trico into a sleeker and more efficient business and early signs are encouraging; for example, we are currently working on an IT integration with our\u00a0Airtex\u00a0(also\u00a0part of the Trico Group) customer service centre to merge order processing systems, which will result in a more efficient ordering experience for our customers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have been in regular dialogue with our customer base, updating them on developments as they happen, which haseased the situation\u00a0and\u00a0resolved any confusion.\u00a0All of our distributors have been understanding in their approach to\u00a0bothTrico and Champion through these changes, and we are confident that business will continue to grow throughout the UK in the long-term \u2013 but, of course, we have to take the current\u00a0COVID-19 pandemic\u00a0into account.\u201d<\/p>\n Coronavirus is\u00a0currently gripping the world\u2019s attention, causing\u00a0many workshops and motor factors across the UK and Ireland\u00a0to\u00a0temporarily close, but, while the majority of staff are working remotely, Trico remains operational and its warehouse staff are processing and shipping orders, of which there are still plenty.<\/p>\n Sam added: \u201cEveryone at Trico wishes all of its customers and their respective families good health during this unprecedented\u00a0period.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking to the future<\/strong><\/p>\n Trico has\u00a0recently\u00a0rejuvenated its Flex range, which is already\u00a0receiving excellent feedback from\u00a0customers, and is eagerlyanticipating\u00a0Automechanika\u00a0Frankfurt in September when it will showcase the exclusive technology behind the wiper\u00a0blade\u2019s\u00a0reinvention.<\/p>\n It\u00a0will be the first time\u00a0the\u00a0Trico Group exhibits at the flagship event, showcasing\u00a0all\u00a0Trico,\u00a0Airtex\u00a0and Champion wiper blade brands on a joint stand.<\/p>\n In addition, there are more product and packaging launches in the pipeline, details of which will be revealed in Germany. Motorsport continues to play a significant part in Trico\u2019s portfolio\u00a0as well, and announcements of its involvement in 2020\/2021 will be made in due course, when it is appropriate to do so.<\/p>\n The future, therefore, is bright for Trico, a company that has more than a century of experience and knowledge to fall back\u00a0on. Even during the most challenging of times, like those facing the world\u2019s economy today, Trico remains committed to help powering and supporting its customers through the period.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It has been a time of transition for original equipment manufacturing giant, Trico, since it closed its Pontypool facility\u00a0late last year.\u00a0However, it\u00a0still maintains a strong\u00a0presence in the\u00a0UK, with two distribution partners\u00a0brought on in the past year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19643,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[403,1],"tags":[651],"class_list":["post-19642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irish-news","category-news","tag-trico"],"yoast_head":"\n