In today’s competitive environment, it’s incredibly tough to make a roaring success of an independent tyre shop yet that that’s exactly what Imperial Tyres in Swindon has managed to achieve, thanks in no small part to its complete suite of advanced Hunter tyre servicing equipment.
Having been established for 30 years, Imperial prides itself on being Wiltshire’s number one wheel alignment specialist and its three Hunter wheel alignment systems are at the heart of the operation.
The thriving single site operation has seven bays where it provides a range of vehicle repair services including MOTs, servicing and of course wheel alignment which contributes handsomely to the workshop’s income.
“On average, we carry out around 15 alignments a day,” explains Martyn Wemyss, manager at Imperial. “Now, this is a really big time for us. It did take a lot of effort at the start to get things moving but we went for it properly. We do it well and we don’t offer the service cheaply but customers understand and appreciate this.”
Much like Pro-Align’s and Hunter’s philosophy of doing things properly, the approach has proved incredibly successful for Imperial.
“We’re known throughout the whole of Wiltshire for high-quality wheel alignment,” continues Martyn. “People know our name and therefore come a long way for the service. This approach has delivered great results and our first aligner paid for itself within 6 months!”
Helping Imperial promote its wheel alignment service, the business subscribes to Pro-Align’s Align My Car online portal, which drives even more customers to the site.
“The aligners are so simple to use. They’re foolproof. It’s effortless to get a set of figures up quickly, and that’s one of the main differences of a Hunter system,” adds Martyn. “The other big one is the service side. There are other aligners out there which look like the Hunter systems, but we weren’t interested because of the service side. Pro-Align does this so well it has helped the financial position of the business significantly.”
So when summing up if he’d recommend Hunter wheel aligners to other independent workshops, Martyn was in no two minds. “If you’re close to us here in Swindon, don’t do it,” he jokes. “But anywhere else in the country – go for it! You won’t regret it.”
