A strong focus on the growth in disc brakes

In the UK, trailer builders still mainly use drum brakes. Mark Browett, Business Development Manager Fleets at IMS Group, considers convincing them of the advantage of disc brakes to be one of his main challenges. “Drum brakes are old technology. You won’t see a Porsche with drum brakes. So why would you still want them on your trailers?”

Mark was by no means a stranger to IMS Group before starting his job in November 2020. “In my former role as a purchasing manager for a large tipper trailer dealer, I already dealt with IMS Group as an axle supplier and we also bought a lot of ALEXRIMS wheels. I knew the whole team before I started here, because I used to visit regularly and built a good relationship. So when the opportunity arose to join the team, I jumped to the chance and I definitely don’t regret it. It’s a company with good values and we make work fun.”

Advanced technology

Mark’s main focus is realizing growth in the disc brake market. “Other than in mainland Europe, trailer builders in the UK still mainly use drum brakes. There’s a lot of opportunity in persuading them to change to disc brakes. It’s a better and more advanced braking technology and provides better function of the axle, so there are lots of benefits. The same goes for steering systems: it’s an advanced way of working which somehow hasn’t really found its way here yet. The UK market hasn’t widely adopted the use of steering systems. We’re currently doing market research to see where we stand and once that’s finished, I’m planning a sales push for VSE and GreenSteering.”

Trade fairs

With all these plans for the next year, Mark’s got his work cut out for him. “Due to COVID, things were different in the last year and half. We normally do a lot of trade shows, but they’ve obviously all been cancelled. It’s starting back up now and hopefully this time next year, we can showcase our products and solutions at the large shows again. That’s something we all look forward to.”
 

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