Twenty tyres may not seem many, but due to a combination of vehicle age or niche requirement, finding the right tyres was challenging within the required timeframe, says Lois Harvey, Category Manager at ATS Euromaster
“Firstly, we looked to see whether we had the tyres required in our centre network,” explains Lois. “But these are rarely requested tyres and there were simply none in stock. With the clock ticking, I then spoke to our network of suppliers, who – thankfully – were able to source and deliver the tyres to our Aylesbury centre where they were picked up by the charity and the vehicles were able to leave on schedule.”
The ambulances and rescue vehicles will now travel to Europe where they will meet a larger convoy of vehicles heading towards Ukraine. Once there, the vehicles will be donated to two Ukrainian medical organisations operating at the heart of the crisis: Future of the Children of Ukraine and NGO Casers, a team of Norwegian paramedics.
Derek Edwards, Co-Founder of Nadiya, adds: “A huge thank you to the ATS Euromaster team for arranging this at such short notice – without your help, we would have had to delay the departure date. Your assistance will directly help many hundreds of Ukrainian families during a critical time.”
In addition to assisting charity Nadiya and community group Help Ukraine BAMK UK, ATS Euromaster was able to support one of its key suppliers, LKQ Euro Car Parts, at very short notice before its van departed to Ukraine loaded with Christmas presents for Ukrainian children.
“We have been working closely with LKQ for a number of years and have really seen the synergies of our two businesses align even further over the last 12 months. It was fantastic to get the opportunity to support this fantastic cause and ensure the vehicle was well prepared for the 1700-mile journey in difficult winter conditions. Although the request was very short notice, we were able to accommodate the vehicle as part of our “fast fit” service and replace the four tyres with quality Michelin Alpines, provide a full service, fit new brakes and perform a full digital vehicle health check,” says Steve McQuillan, Head of Central Operations.
The van was packed with over 500 presents staff had purchased, which will be delivered to orphaned children.
Richard Morgan, Chief Operating Officer at LKQ Euro Car Parts said “There has been incredible industry teamwork to make this happen. We’ve been working all year to support those in need and to be able to get assistance from ATS and others is just fantastic, this will make a huge different to people”.
“We were gladly able to assist both these charitable requests for help in Ukraine, thanks to our network of suppliers and contacts that were able to fulfil our requests at such short notice. It ensured these vans and ambulances were able to depart on time for such important missions,” adds Lois.
