Approaching its 50 year anniversary, trailer manufacturer Montracon is investing, innovating and targeting renewed growth
For nearly 50 years, Montracon has been a pioneer of British trailer manufacturing. Although it originally belonged to the Ballyvessey Holdings, the Doncaster based manufacturer developed its own prominent name in the sector over the years and offers various products, comprising a range of curtainsiders, including double decks, dry-freight box trailers, a wide range of flat products and machinery carriers, while also partnering with TVS Inferleet and manufacturing chassis for their tipper bodies.
With 2027 marking Montracon’s golden anniversary, Executive Director Paul Avery and Sales & Marketing Director Steve Pollock explain how the group is reclaiming its place at the top of trailer manufacturing after overcoming the impact of Covid and plant closures. “For many years we were within the top three trailer manufacturers in the country,” Paul emphasizes. “Due to changes in the business, that position dipped somewhat when we faced the closure of our factory in Northern Ireland, but all production has been consolidated at our Doncaster facility now. Doncaster has since been redeveloped, which presents a great deal of opportunity and our output capacity can be significantly increased. The products themselves have also been redeveloped to be more production friendly. We’ve modularized the design – everything on the body is a bolt-together assembly, though the chassis remains a welded structure. We are, however, looking at other methods of chassis assembly.”
Through both manufacture and operation, Montracon strives to ensure its products are sustainable – most notably, the redeveloped of the dry-freight box product. “This product is a great example,” highlights Paul. “To illustrate the real-world impact: a customer we spoke to recently was looking to buy 100 trailers, which they would run for seven years. That is quite typical for a trailer, and, because of the reduced weight, those 100 trailers would generate a fuel saving of more than £550 per trailer per annum. The annual CO₂ saving is approximately 750 kilograms per trailer. Across the fleet’s lifetime, that amounts to a saving of around £382,000 in fuel cost, and 525 tonnes of CO₂.”
Impressively, this measurement is equivalent to filling 13 football stadiums with hot air balloons full of CO₂ “And that’s only 100 trailers,” he continues. “When you consider the hundreds of thousands of trailers on UK roads, the potential impact of a sector-wide focus on lightweight design is enormous.” In terms of materials, the company uses steel and aluminum extensively, both of which are fully recyclable. “We are actively investigating other sustainable materials that can be introduced on the entire product range,” Paul discloses.
As it continues to increase production at the Doncaster plant, Montracon intends to invest heavily in the facility. “Our paint process is largely automated,” Paul reveals. “Chassis go through a shot-blast tunnel on their side, then rotate to clear residual shot, before moving into primer coating. We use a paint system that cures at relatively low temperatures rather than the 60-to-70 degrees typically required, which is a considerable efficiency gain. Building on the £4.5 million worth of investment back in 2017, Montracon will continue to invest in the facility in Doncaster to improve trailer output. Our welding assembly jigs rotate a full 180 degrees, so welders are always working in the horizontal position rather than welding vertically. We also have an automated machine that fabricates our main I-beam rails. It’s loaded by crane and then runs the full length of the rail unattended.” With the plant running effectively, the business’ current focus is on investing in its people rather than equipment, specifically to embed lean manufacturing principles more deeply. “It’s a continuous improvement culture,” states Paul. “It never stops.”
As the company looks forward to its 50th anniversary next year, Steve suggests Montracon’s sustainability is down to two key factors: “The product range and customer loyalty; they go hand in hand.” That loyalty has been built over decades of supplying operators across a wide range of sectors, from general haulage to specialist transport applications. By maintaining long-term customer relationships and continuously refining its product offering, Montracon has established a reputation for reliability in a highly competitive market. As the business enters its next chapter, those strong foundations provide confidence that future growth can be achieved while preserving the qualities customers have come to expect.
Paul adds: “Customers keep coming back year after year. We’ve built a strong reputation, and the product itself is robust. Our curtainsider is competitive on weight against rivals, but I believe we have the edge on structural strength. I say that as a qualified design engineer, not simply as an executive director of the company. Wherever we can make improvements that benefit the customer and improve our own manufacturing efficiency – reducing labor time to increase throughput – we absolutely will.”
Montracon’s most significant development is the current exploration of robot welding. “At present, all our welding is done by hand,” says Paul. “The parent company that owns our business is called Martin Group, and their board is very supportive of this – in fact, they are actively encouraging us to progress our research.” He explains how the business case is strengthening, as volume is increasing by 30 percent this year, with a further 20 percent planned for next year. “During Covid, the Doncaster plant was temporarily closed due to government guidelines, and recovery took time. But the volumes are growing substantially now, and robotic welding would put us on a very solid footing,” he expands. “We’ve recently appointed a number of key people to strengthen the team at Doncaster and there is a strong focus on lean manufacturing, quality, health, safety and environment. This is a significant new role and the thinking is straightforward: if you get health and safety and quality right, production takes care of itself.”
Heading on an upward trajectory, the company’s ambitions show no sign of slowing down. “We want to see the business back in the top three UK manufacturers,” shares Steve. “We’re aiming high, but not at the expense of what makes us who we are. We’re not going to compromise on quality, strength, durability, or any of our core values just to chase volume.
“I’d love to see Montracon back where it was – arguably the second biggest in the UK, or certainly in the top three,” he concludes. “It’s more than achievable. The volume growth is there; we just need to keep building to the standard our customers expect.”
