29 Sep 2005

Lucketts Travel’s new £150,000 coach wash.

Fareham MP Mark Hoban was on hand recently to start the brushes rolling on a new £150,000 state of the art coach wash at Fareham based Lucketts Travel.

Mr Hoban stopped by to drive the first coach through the environmentally friendly wash, which uses the latest technology to collect and reclaim rainwater.

The facility was installed by Fareham contractor Graham Moyse, in keeping with Lucketts’ policy of working with local firms, and was custom built by a UK company.

It features a system which removes minerals from water, ensuring no chalky residue and leaving Lucketts’ luxury coaches gleaming.

Chairman David Luckett said: “We believe this is the first coach wash of its kind in the region, in fact it’s unique because it was built to our specifications.

”It was a major job to install it, taking several weeks, because we also had to build new drainage and electronic gates.

“We had previously used a mobile hand-operated brush wash system which had been in place for about 15 years. But this is a hard water area and it was difficult to avoid leaving chalky deposits behind.

“The new system is incredibly sophisticated. The drivers just press a button in the coach, the gates open and they can drive in. It is much quicker and ensures the coaches really sparkle.’’

Mr Hoban said: “I was delighted to officially launch this new facility and to see first hand local companies working together on local investment projects.”

The investment follows the opening of a new £100,000 maintenance facility earlier this year.

The Lucketts fleet of 33 coaches is one of the most modern in the country. The company’s rigorous maintenance, safety and quality standards have enabled the company to be accredited with the CoachMarque Quality Marque, the coach industry’s only quality scheme.