£1m showroom investment shows why Imperial is on the road to better future

£1MILLION is being invested in a new building at the site of a Mackworth commercial vehicles business.

Steelwork has gone up at Imperial Commercials for a Volkswagen van showroom that will be the first of its kind in Europe.

Steelwork has gone up at Imperial Commercials for a Volkswagen van showroom. Above, from left, Steve Salmons from AJS Structural Design; Matthew Lawrenson, regional director at Imperial Commercials; David Starr and Matthew Lee, from Volkswagen; architect Andy Starting, ; Adam Ursell, from Volkswagen and Lloyd Hopkinson from JJL Build & Design.

An MOT centre is also under construction at the Ashbourne Road site which will be able to handle everything from HGVs to light commercial vehicles.

And the business has acquired Birmingham-based Mix Vehicle Conversions which specialises in fitting out van interiors.

Completed last week, the deal will see around 16 staff transfer from Birmingham to Derby and the name of the firm change to Mackworth Vehicle Conversions.

The latest developments at the 17-acre site come as demand for trucks and vans recovers following a sharp dip during the recession.

Strong demand for Volkswagen vans in particular prompted the manufacturer to choose Mackworth to build the first of its redesigned showrooms.

Regional director Matthew Lawrenson said: "This will be the first of its kind in Europe and the concept will be rolled out across the continent whenever Volkswagen builds or refurbishes showrooms.

"There was a temporary showroom for Volkswagen that had been in place since 2009 but we were selling a lot of vehicles and taking on more staff so more space and better facilities were required."

The five-van display showroom and MOT centre are due for completion in October.

The design is a new concept from Germany, featuring a lot of glazing to make for a light and airy interior with wide open spaces and a customer hospitality area.

Uttoxeter firm AJS structural design is responsible for the aesthetics of the building and the construction is being carried out by JJL Design & Build, also based in Uttoxeter.

The MOT centre will have the capacity to deal with any commercial vehicles from a car-derived van to a 44-ton truck. The current works are the latest in a series of investments at the site.

Last summer, £500,000 was spent on re-roofing and re-cladding buildings.

The van and truck business has operated from the Mackworth site for more than 50 years, operating franchises for Fiat, MAN, DAF and HINO as well as Volkswagen.

Mr Lawrenson added: "We consider ourselves as a one-stop-shop for commercial vehicles and this investment reinforces our commitment to the industry."