Minicoach and minibus builder EVM was established eight years ago and in that time has taken up a market-leading position in the UK. Their story is built on quality, efficiency and a focus on innovative products.
An efficient and refined production process is the key to any successful manufacturing business and Kilbeggan based EVM has this at the forefront of their work. Having invested in a 40,000ft plant opened in 2009 it has consistently invested in it to guarantee quality. This year, the Kilbeggan factory will turn out 300 Mercedes-Benz sprinter-based conversions. Year on year growth has been significant since the plant opened and it has many more bespoke capabilities than expected.
"We have invested a great deal in the factory and in our products" EVM Sales Director Danny McGee
The body electrical fittings of EVM's minicoaches serve as just one example of its philosophy surrounding a lean and efficient assembly process.
Base vehicles are supplied with what Mercedes-Benz calls a PSM unit. It acts as an interface between the chassis CAN bus system and a similar EVM-designed unit and software for the body. It massively reduces the amount of wiring needed, and thus assembly time.
Sales director Danny McGee says "If a vehicle was supplied without a PSM, we would either return it to the dealer or retrofit it". "We cannot work without it. To our knowledge, we are the only converter that uses the PSM. It saves a huge amount of time during the building process, and to use it, we have invested £100,000 in software development alone".
EVM has a partnership with Mercedes-Benz Truck and Van in Belfast. This is key - all conversions sold in the UK by EVM are on vehicles built by Mercedes-Benz for the UK market, thus they come with the three year chassis warranty. All vehicles are certified via the EC Whole Vehicle Type Approval scheme.
The keys to EVM's success: An efficiently-made, integrated and well-finished product that is generating success in export markets, turned out by a well-equipped factory.