A campervan company is creating 10 jobs to boost production following the success of a link-up with motor giant Ford.
Shepley-based Wellhouse Leisure is recruiting the extra staff as part of a drive to increase production of its new Ford Terrier campervan to more than 250 vehicles a year – which will be worth more than £10m to the firm.
The Terrier, named in recognition of managing director David Elliot’s support for Huddersfield Town – was launched last October and was named Campervan of the Year 2014 in The Motorhome Awards 2014.
Sixteen Ford retailers from across the UK have already been appointed as Wellhouse Leisure agents. More Ford outlets are expected to join soon, putting the Terrier in showrooms in the South East, the South West, the Midlands, Wales, Northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Wellhouse Leisure has already taken on four new employees to add to its 26-strong workforce and will recruit another six before the end of the year.
It is investing more than £125,000 in its factory at Barncliffe Mills, Shelley, with new CNC machinery and by increasing the number of manufacturing bays from three to five to meet its commitment to produce five campervans a week.
Boosting production to 250 vehicles a year will make the Ford Terrier one of the best-selling campervans in the UK and establish Wellhouse Leisure as the biggest campervan manufacturer in the UK. The Terrier is the first UK campervan conversion based on the new Ford Transit Custom.
Mr Elliott said: “It has been an amazingly positive year for us. We have broken all our sales forecasts and records and feel really positive about the next 12 months, which is why we’ve invested in improvements in our factory and already taken on new people to meet the demand for this great campervan.
“We are also pleased to have had such a strong interest from Ford and its retailers. Sixteen have already placed orders for demonstrators – ranging from small, family-owned companies to some of the largest dealer groups and even the second-oldest Ford dealer in the UK.
“In addition, we have shown the Terrier to lots of senior Ford management when we were privileged to have the opportunity to show it on the official Ford stand at events such as the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Commercial Vehicle Show and at the Carfest events in the north and south.
Three Terrier models are available with prices from £39,500 to £46,500. The vehicle specifications include a kitchen, a heater, five seats and a sliding rear seat system to give it the flexibility of maximum storage or living space.
