Vitessesteve - blog: Herts Motors (St Albans) Ltd

This is a follow up to my earlier general post about Herts Motors (St Albans) Ltd. This part 2 is from the Standard Triumph Review December 1964 and is about the building of their new premises.

Panoramic view of the workshop and bodywork
area inside the new centre.

Standard-Triumph's one hundred distributors in Britain form the important link between the manufacturer and the dealers and motorists. If the link is to be strong, the distributor must have the space and facilities to deal with three major items - new car distribution, sales and vehicle service and repair.

Herts Motors Ltd., whose new premises at Acrewood Way, on the Hatfield Road, St. Albans, were opened last month, have paid special attention to these points and now occupy a 20,000 square feet maintenance and repair depot embodying the most modern design and construction systems.

The building itself is novel. It was completed in a period of about 20 weeks, and incorporates a workshop, spares department, covered car storage area, and administration block. Flexibility has been
carefully considered, for the building is ideal for expansion. If need be it can be extended lengthways and departments rearranged to meet future demands.

Supplied by Butler Buildings (U.K.) Ltd, it has a clear span of 120 ft. with no internal supporting columns and is 160 ft. long by 16 ft. to the. eaves. The portal design ensures a clean internal appearance and the low roof pitch of 5° ensures a minimum amount of waste space.

Mr. G. H. Turnbull, director and general
manager of Standard-Triumph International
Ltd., cuts the tape to open the new premises.
Assisting him is Mr. Stephen Clark, managing
director of Herts Motors.

The building is covered, both walls and roof, with Butler's own unique metal sheeting, fixed to the structural members by lock rivets. It has triple protection to help it defeat time and the elements, 'the
last barrier being a finish of thermosetting acryillic rolled on to the metal while in its flat state.

Colour is guaranteed against fade for five years, and tested insulation ensures warmth for those working inside.

As all structural members and sheets arrive on site pre-cut and drilled, erection time is kept down to a minimum, Herts Motors premises taking only four weeks and being the first to be used by a company
distributor in Britain as a distribution centre.

New cars are received and can be accommodated in a 3,000 square foot area set aside for car storage, and this covered area is heated in winter.

The service centre will enable pre-delivery checks to be made on about 1,000 new Standard-Triumph cars each year, and distribution to the 17 dealers served by Herts Motors accordingly will benefit.

The firm carries a comprehensive range of Stanpart spare parts, and roughly 1,800 square feet of space has been allocated for spares worth about £30,000.

Main repair and maintenance workshop covers some 10,800 square feet of floor area, and a balcony repair system has been incorporated.

One of the lifts used for car maintenance in
the service area. Mechanics are able to
work beside and underneath the car at the
same time.

Three car lifts have been ranged along one wall, and those enable a car to be lifted about six feet above the ground. The balcony system then makes it possible for mechanics standing on catwalks to work beside the car, while others work underneath.

The front elevation of the Acrewood Way
service department and workshops indicates
the lightness and airiness of the building.

Damaged vehicles will be dealt with in the bodywork section, and here Herts Motors have set a precedent in being the first Standard-Triumph distributors to install a low temperature stoving oven for enamel paintwork. A car can now have its new finish hardened against the elements similar
to the system used in the factory a process which greatly reduces the time needed for drying the paint.

The unit, made by Binks-Burrows Ltd, has been specifically designed for car refinishing, and its overall dimensions are 46 ft. long, 15 ft. wide and 12 ft. high.

The spray booth is constructed from mild steel galvanised panels folded to present a smooth unbroken surface inside, and it is 23 ft. long.

A low temperature oven provides baking
treatment and cuts down time spent on resprays.

Fitted directly on to the end of the spray booth is the low-temperature stoving oven, designed to stove at a temperature of 180°F.

Swing type doors are fitted at both ends of the unit, and a dry exhaust system gives complete renewal of contaminated air within the spray booth.

The oven is "indirect gas fired" and is suitable for material having a flash point below 73°F or cellulose.

A staff of about 50 will be employed at the new premises, and they will have the benefit of gas warm-air heating. The entire organisation will be controlled and supervised from administrative offices overlooking the workshop area.

Situated in an attractive wooded area every effort was made to retain the amenity of the site right from the start - the Acrewood Way centre has ample parking space at the rear and one side, and the reception area brings the visitor to the attractive glass, plastic and metal front of the building.

Considerable thought has been given to the comfort and convenience of customers. They are met in a light and warm reception bay, which is sealed off from the workshop by draught-trap double doors, and as the depot is some two miles from the centre of St. Albans, a free taxi service operates for customers who leave their vehicles for maintenance or repair.

Opening the premises, Mr. G H Turnbull, director and general manager of Standard-Triumph International Ltd, paid tribute to the enterprise of Herts Motors. Referring to the abolition of Resale Price Maintenance he said that firms like Herts Motors, with a thorough approach to service and with new and modern premises, would benefit most from the new trading conditions rapidly approaching.

Plea for information

If you have any more information or recollections about Herts Motors (St Albans) Ltd, photos of window stickers, dealer badges or sill plates etc please let me know. I can be contacted via the comments to this post or on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stephen.weblin