Mid-Air Site Services, a company approaching a decade in business next year, are exporting the UK eye for quality and service by taking their plumbing, heating and ventilation expertise to the Polish/Ukraine border. As Europe becomes smaller and Health and Safety Legislation reaches places where once it has been overlooked Stuart Slack, Mid-Air’s managing director, is hoping to expand the family business further onto the Continent than ever before; the Polish contract is only one that could potentially come to fruition from one of many export quotes the company has quoted recently, including Germany, Belgium and Ireland.

In a recent interview, Slack expressed his aims for growth in the future, with the investment in the fleet of Vivaro vans as being a necessary expense with the outlay for the commercial vehicles and the extra van insurance cover for overseas travel, to help continue providing the basics that have seen his company grow from a South Yorkshire plumbing firm to a national contract service in such a short time. Those two strengths he reports as being quality and reliability and they have become the bywords that have seen the small family business serving the local community and hopes that those traits carry the company into Europe.

Repeat business has provided the backbone for the firm, still ran by the father and son team that inaugurated the outfit, and they’re hoping that the step up in grade of van and all of the associations that go along with a shift in focus in any SME will make the transition smooth.

In his interview, Slack referred to these changes in business, citing the new fleet as the key to a dawn in new successes. Acknowledging the investment, not only in the brand new fleet of commercial vehicles themselves but also the extension of the van insurance policies, which will now have to incorporate Green Card cover for European travel, he said that he had to shop around for the best deal for the fleet insurance cover but believes he was able to secure a great deal.

Let’s hope he has his workforce covered, too, as the first contract overseas sees the firm working on a printing plant’s ventilation system fitting and installing equipment to protect the buildings and employees from the many fire hazards associated with the printing industry.

If you’re looking to head to Europe, check out our article on EU van insurance cover: Van insurance ancillary products – Green Card, to see what level of protection is right for your business and see how it affects the cheap van insurance quotes available from brokers and insurers direct using our online form.

The Chicago auto-show saw the NV200, the latest compact cargo van from Nissan, make its American debut before the model goes on general release through distributors in spring. The utility van, a smaller version of the full-blown NV compact model, will follow on next year.

The angle for the design concept of the NV200 was to find a model that exploited a niche for an appropriately proportioned commercial vehicle. With a low-cost entry-point into the market yet retaining a decent payload for its size, this model promises to fulfil that role offering both a relatively cheap price tag and cheaper van insurance with a limited 2.0l cc double over head cam engine with a choice of gear boxes to suit your locale or driving style.

Much is expected for this model in the US. As recently reported here on cheapvaninsurance.co.uk, the crew-carrying version of the NV200 was recently chosen by New York City to be the next generation of its famous yellow taxi. Lead times on delivery expect to be reduced into the North Americas as the model s will be built just south of the border in the Nissan plant in Cuernavaca, Mexico for delivery straight into the approved Nissan dealerships across The States.

The current NV200 is already on duty in approximately forty countries across the globe, but release for the US market has been delayed slightly, possibly due to the extra 200mm added to length tailored specifically to hit that niche and a 12v power point for US appliances. With access for a standard Euro pallet in the back and a payload of over two thirds of a ton (e 1,500lbs), Nissan truly hope that the van proves flexible enough to satisfy the market.

To help deliver an all around thumbs-up, the driver’s comfort and needs have been well and truly addressed. Inside the cab, the focus is all about giving the driver what he wants and where he needs it. With everything from six-way positional seat which cab be manually adjusted to deflect prolonged stress on the lumbar, protecting the drivers posture away from the wheel to a virtual work desk with 12V power points and places for a laptop and folders, it could well be an office on wheels with the passenger seat moulded so that the back is a desk when brought flat into the forward position. I don’t know whether commercial drivers will see that as a good or bad thing but for self-employed tradesmen, it will be a boon.

If the UK version of the NV200 has taken your eye, or any other van, for that matter, check out how much you could save using our quick-step van insurance online form.

Roadworthiness of your vehicle is an absolute must when you apply for a new van insurance quote. The older the vehicle, usually, means the cheaper the cover quote. But you will not be insured at all if you van fails its MoT.

With the recent improvements in technology with onboard management systems electronically controlling everything from the cab temperature to fuel consumption, the existing UK MoT was due a overhaul in line with the leaps and bounds we have seen in recent times. If you’ve been for your van MoT already this year, you’ll have seen a few categories therein new to the clipboard tick sheet as the mechanics gave your van a clean bill of health or found something you weren’t expecting to have to repair that’s not been there before.

That will be because of amendments made to the base MoT test for cars and light commercial vehicles made by the European Commission to ensure that all critical components that govern a car or van’s performance are duly checked every year, once the vehicle has surpassed the tender age of three.  Passenger transport vehicles, namely buses and coaches, along with heavy goods vehicles, will also have revamps to their base test in line with new technology.

Many of the new articles that will appear on the revised MoT are indeed electrical; it may seem that there is more to trip the van driver up on but, some of the components that are now included do actually contribute to your eligibility for cheaper van insurance, so it is worthwhile having he new inspection.

It would be a terrible shame if you were to be involved in an incident and your van insurance didn’t pay out because the component attributed to be at fault, whatever that was, had not been inspected correctly to the new EU legislation guidelines.

Vans registered after the first of January this year will have the mandatory three year wait but any registered prior to the beginning of the year will be subjected to the tests when next your MoT is due.

One word of warning – some of the components on the new MoT checklist are extremely expensive to replace if they fail after their warranty has expired. If you are considering buying a new van with the latest all singing and dancing electronic controls, it may be worth investigating beforehand how much some of the articles are to replace that you cannot legally drive without or would make your van insurance null and void if dysfunctional by checking the full list of items now governed by the UK MoT.

If you’ve ever had your articles stolen from the back of your van whilst on site or parked up overnight and you’ve only had third party cover on your van insurance, there has always been a body dedicated to freight crime that you can turn to.

With the new trend of motorway pirates on the up, waiting to relieve you of your van’s contents even when you’re parked up on the A5 just for a cuppa and a bacon sandwich to get your day off to a heart start, it has been a comfort to know that Truckpol have been there to fight your corner. Specially manufactured components or prized possessions even the best van insurance cannot replace as well as having the articles that were stolen back in your possession.

However, this department is no longer funded by the public purse and has relied heavily over the last year on donations from the private sector. Since its inception in 2003, following the closure of its predecessor the National Stolen Lorry Load Desk, it has remained the only organisation involved in the collation and providing accurate, up-to-date statistical data about the levels of Truck crime on UK roads.

As the private sector are buckling their belt with the economy still looking so uncertain, there is a grave lack of funding being donated to Truckpol, who are in danger of folding without the aid further financial resource being made available to them. The information they provide does not solely act as a report that presents a set of figures that say: look how bad the UK’s truck crime figures are. Their findings are used to highlight ways in which truck crime prevention can be nipped in the bud.

The basis of their findings have contributed to many of the safety features and warnings we now take for granted. Without the availability of such security devices as immobilisers and steering locks and the development of real-time digital cameras used in road traffic assessment, truck and van insurance premiums would be rising at an even greater rate. The Road Haulage Association chief exec Geoff Dunning said the organisation would be sorely missed, should it disappear and truck crime prevention be put back ten years, so strong has their influence been.

As such, the RHA are combining their efforts with the Freight Transport Association to help sustain the department. Theo de Pencier, FTA chief exec also acknowledged the role highlighting how Truckpol had played its part in protecting vulnerable sectors of the freight sector from criminal gangs, which has helped us all retain cheaper van insurance policies than there would have been if these levels of crime had not been identified and made preventable.

All the signs point to the unveiling of a new Mercedes Benz van in the very near future. At the Design Centre, Sindelfingen, the ‘Citan’ formed part of a seminar aimed at highlighting the Mercedes brand and how that recognition could be fitted into the ergonomics of city driving.

The name is believed to have been derived from a combination of city and titan, clearly a message by the German manufacturer that they’re not taking the responsibility of adapting to changes for large cities logistical requirements lightly. As Euro 3 and Euro 5 legislation starts to dictate what models of commercial vehicle businesses who operate in the city are in the market for, Mercedes want to be a large part of that trade.

Currently, the light commercial vehicle market in Europe is heading towards three quarters of a million units. What Mercedes are aiming for is a share of between 4-5% of the sector. One thing is for sure, with the quality and reliability that is inherent with the brand, it will be interesting to see how the van insurance firms react to the Citan, when it is placed alongside the Bippers, new Kangoo ZE‘s and the smaller Berlingos. Will van drivers sacrifice their cheap van insurance policies on the established models for the luxury and status of driving a Merc to work, every day?

Well, if Mercedes realise the share that they believe they can capture with the release of this new van, 35,000 units based on the available figures of the current market, that’s a lot of van drivers who have to be tempted.

According to Volker Mornhinweg, however, it seems as if Mercedes have already taken into account the sensitive nature of budgets that businesses across Europe are still envisaging for the foreseeable future. City vans and minivans continue to grow in popularity and the price tag for the Citan will reflect this, combined with what the German auto giants believe the product can support for their name.

With the addition of around the clock customer service and breakdown call-out, Volker hopes that this Mercedes brand, after sales service and the competitive price will help achieve the sales that were forecast at the conference.

Like the much-loved Berlingo, the Citan will have one base product, a panel van, but can be configured into a crew-carrying version when bought from new (although described as a minibus, it will attract the same potential customers) and also comes in different lengths and payload capacities to suit the buyers’ business needs. However, it is expected to be more of a sturdy beast than its French counterpart, with a lot of space within the back of the van given over to space, despite the conservative dimensions.

In line with the LEZ and other major cities adopting Euro 3 levels for their maximum permitted CO2 levels there will be a fuel-efficient, low-emission diesel version, a standard petrol, the branded BlueEFFICIENCY maximum mpg version and there are plans to roll out an battery-powered electric driven van later on, too, possibly to rival the Kangoo, which seems to be the EV that looks like being the van to break the market if any one can.

If you fancy driving a Merc to work every day, see what impact it would have on your van insurance quote, using our bespoke online form to compare over 60 cheap van insurance brokers and direct cover firms.