Smith Brothers & Webb enjoyed a record year in 2014 for sales of its world-renowned Britannia brand of automated washing systems for trains, passenger-carrying and commercial vehicles.
Successes include providing bespoke washing systems for high profile public transport initiatives in the UK, including Edinburgh’s new tram and the iconic Routemaster ‘Boris Bus’ in London.
Sales worldwide have also been fuelled by the growth of railway infrastructure, including high speed rail links, in many regions of the world. Smith Brothers & Webb exports globally from its base in Alcester, Warwickshire.
And the year ahead looks even brighter for the company which designs and manufactures all of its machines in Alcester. So far this year it has been a bumper start with new sales and many more in the pipeline.
Enquiries are pouring in from bus and truck operators as well as local authorities that run fleets of municipal vehicles such as refuse collection vehicles and street sweepers, all of which can be thoroughly cleaned with appropriately designed bespoke Britannia automated wash systems.
Andy Barracliffe, Director of Britannia Washing Systems, said: “We are delighted that we have cemented our market-leading position once again and look forward to further growth this year.
“2014 was a very exciting year for Smith Brothers & Webb as more and more customers were attracted by our reputation for reliability, engineering excellence and unsurpassed wash quality.
“We can provide bespoke washing solutions for a very wide range of vehicles – from trains, buses and coaches to commercial and municipal vehicles.”
Britannia has been designing and manufacturing its automated wash systems at Alcester since 1969.
Each washing machine is designed to a customer’s specification and Britannia produces a range of drive-through and overhead gantry washing systems for buses, coaches and commercial vehicles, with a range of options including under-chassis wash and water recycling systems.
The company also manufactures Contained Effluent Transfer (CET) systems for trains that can empty tanks up to three times quicker than conventional equipment – a feature that is particularly relevant to operators of high speed trains that operate to strict timetables.
Its new ‘airline-style’ CET equipment is due to be installed this year in a depot on Hong Kong’s new South Island (East) line, which also has Britannia train washing equipment.