Vanaways Supports Growth at Trent’s Drains

A growing drainage clearance company has continued investment in fleet and personnel as it celebrates its 10^th year in business by targeting £5m turnover in 2024.

Trent’s Drains was set up by father and son Mark and Louis Trent in 2013 and in the past four years has grown dramatically off the back of several major contracts with national brands.

Turnover of around £800k in 2020 more than doubled to £1.8m in 2021, rising to £2.5m in 2022 and will reach £3.5m in this financial year, which ends in April.

Throughout its growth the company has been supported with bespoke van sales, featuring specialist suspension requirements to manage the weight of Trent’s high pressure jet cleaning equipment.

Liam Nicholas, business development director at Vanaways, has provided the company with around a dozen vans over the past few years alone.

Following two latest additions the fleet size, based out of Trent’s offices in Hengrove, is now 21 vehicles with 12 jetting vans on the road. The team has grown to 28 people including two new blockage engineers currently being recruited.

Jozef Przytocki,  Transportation Manager at Trent’s Drains, said that the fleet needed to match the company’s reputation for quality and reliability.

“We’ve come a long way since the early days,” he said, “when Louis and Mark acquired their first second hand van with tow-along jetter behind it. We’ve created a reputation for quality and expertise which has been the basis for winning the contracts which have seen us grow so much over recent years.”

“To support our growth, we’ve invested heavily in equipment and vehicles, so we’ve needed partners who can provide exactly what we need to let our engineers do their job reliably and in productively.”

“Throughout that time Liam’s knowledge of our business as well as his own specialist expertise and contacts have been invaluable. We’ve successfully navigated our fleet purchasing through a landscape of regular price changes with different manufacturers, and as our changing machinery has placed different demands on our vans.”

“It’s been vital to have someone who can advise on what would suit us best. We’re looking forward to an ongoing relationship with Vanaways as our company continues to grow.”

Mr Nicholas said that the company’s USP of a hassle-free acquisition process was nicely illustrated by the work he had done over the years with Trent’s Drains.

“Louis, Mark and the team need the right horsepower to transport their equipment, with the right interior spec because of the distances their operatives have to drive. What’s also been important is the speed of the journey from the production line to the premises, as well as the best value with a streamline and easy process.”

“I’m pleased with the relationship we’ve had over the years – it’s meaningful, not just transactional – and advice has been a key component of what we’ve provided. Of course because we’re not tied to one supplier it means we’re the ideal partner for companies like Trent’s – we’ve got a wide choice to offer so it’s easier to meet specialist needs.”#

Above image (left to right): Liam Nicholas, Mark Trent, and Jozef Przytocki.