Clients and Projects

Council for Voluntary Services (Medway)
CVS Medway was a partner in the project to develop the 'Medway SOS Bus' from inception to launch and now have the responsibility of running it as a service for the community on a daily and nightly basis.

The project actually commissioned two vehicles: (1) the main vehicle, a bespoke conversion of a large single-decker bus with a reception area, a private consultation area and a fully equipped medical unit, and (2) a support vehicle, an eight-seat minibus with additional load space, wheel chair facility, and independent power supply.

Southeast Coachworks (SEC) were identified as the right partner for the development of both vehicles after an investigation of the market for vehicle conversion specialists and enquiries into the experience of other organisations that had run similar projects.

Thanks to the expertise of Chris Bichard and his staff at SEC, their attention to product quality and craftsmanship throughout the conversion process and their willingness to work to our timescales, CVS Medway took delivery of an end-product that was fit for purpose from day one, is giving sterling service to the community three months later and has every prospect of fulfilling its 'safe haven' and outreach purposes for many years.

Paul Alcock - General Manager - The Mall Maidstone
South East Coachworks were involved in the project from inception to delivery and they were very professional in all areas. Nothing was too much trouble and they welcomed visits to their workshop whenever we need to attend

Their work was of and excellent standard and their after sales service is of an exceptional high quality.

Angus Warren - Director of Purchasing (City University) writes:
South East Coachworks (SEC) were nominated after a competitive tendering process to undertake the conversion of our Volvo/Vanhool coach, into a high profile, high impact, clinical skills bus.

Throughout the process, SEC performed faultlessly, always meeting our changing deadlines and exercising great care and taking pride in the quality of the work. They provided advice and support during the detailed design process which contributed considerably to the success of the project.

The quality of the work can only be described as excellent, the overall result has exceeded our expectations and is a credit to all the staff at SEC who have worked on the project. Everyone who has seen the finished vehicle has been very impressed by the quality of the conversion and the overall impact of the vehicle.

Anthony Fry - Regional Forecourt and Retail Brands Manager writes
What a fantastic job. Absolutely excellent. Loved it. A job very well done. Well done to everybody who worked on it.

Will Goodwin - National Marketing Manager writes
I would like to thank all at South East Coach works for your professionalism with the conversion or the Welcome Break Routemaster bus. The attention to detail is fantastic and our customers and work colleagues are delighted with the end result. The help and support you have given is exceptional and we really love our bus....many thanks.

Suzie Farquharson - Marketing Manager - Recruitment & Retention writes:
The quality of service that we have received from South East Coach Works has been outstanding, from the start of our project right through until the moment that we left on our new and thoroughly improved bus.

We went to them with thoughts and ideas about what we wanted and South East made this a reality for us in a professional yet friendly manner, making this potentially stressful project an absolute breeze for us at Kelly Services.

The quality and finish of the bus inside and out is outstanding, just what we asked for.

South East have continued with their customer service even after we took delivery of the bus, answering my ad-hoc questions.

Thank you South East

Nick Steadman - Network Manager writes:
In the words of Mission Impossible, "Your mission, if you choose to accept it (like there was any choice!) -Find a bus and turn it into a mobile ICT classroom"

First port of call was to find suitable coachworks. I found a few and rang a few; most seemed dismissive when I mentioned I was from a school, and then I came across South East Coachworks.

"Craftsmanship and Reliability", now there's a tagline that appealed, so with some trepidation I picked up the phone and gave them a call. I explained roughly what I was after, and to my delight I was greeted with an attitude that seems to be sadly missing these days; genuine customer service with willingness to actually deliver what the customer wants…

I believed I had found a winning combination just from a single phone call, and so a trip to view a bus and check out the standard of workmanship was arranged. In the meanwhile, trips to alternative coachworks were undertaken but the dismissive attitude remained. Upon my arrival at SEC, I was greeted with the same level of warmth and enthusiasm that I had received over the phone, Chris (Bichard) took the time to introduce each SEC team member and explain each speciality.

He took copious notes as we talked to get a genuine feel for what I was trying to achieve within a strict budget. He in turn, made sure that I was not wishing for the Earth for free and made general recommendations as to what could be achieved, and believe me, SEC can achieve almost anything you could possibly want.

On the strength of that visit, I was extremely pleased to place an order with SEC for both a bus (Yes, they even found me a suitable bus) and the refit; the date was 27th July 2005.

Over the course of the following weeks, we each kept in regular phone contact and other site visits were undertaken, on all occasions, the desire to fulfil my requirements remained and I was treated as if I was the only customer, even when I made some design changes and additions at a very late stage of the project lifecycle. As much as I enjoyed each visit to SEC, I was grateful that it wasn't too often due to the distance involved, but the infrequency of my visits was only possible of the total commitment and wonderful vision from the whole of the SEC team.

They managed to take my vision and turn it into reality. Another major bonus was the fact that SEC did not promise to do all this work for nothing and then add on "extra's" to boost the cost, quite simply I knew at all times what the current running total of the project was, I was even more pleased that any cost savings were passed back to me. The fact that the whole project was delivered on time, with a better specification than I had originally hoped for and under budget, is a clear testament to the SEC mantra:- "Craftsmanship and Reliability", to this they should also add "TRUST".

Quite simply, I got what I wanted, when I wanted it and at a balanced cost. The work was carried with the utmost skill and care without quibble. There were no snags, no delays and no discrepancies.

Less than eight weeks from my initial visit to SEC, the bus was complete and driven away on the 20th Sept 2005 and was in use on the 21st.

As people, the team at SEC are peerless.

As a company SEC are driven by excellence and I have no hesitation in commending them to anyone who cares to listen. Craftsmanship and Reliability indeed.

Jamie Miller - Information Services Manager writes:
ActiveTEN20, (formally Oxfordshire Association for Young People) have been running a mobile outreach service for the young people of Oxfordshire for over 9 years. The project had been running on an old Bristol VR, in desperate need of replacement. We purchased a 1991 Leyland Olympian from Ensign Bus Company in Essex. It was a personal recommendation from Ensign Bus that led us to Southeast Coachworks. Having already looked for conversion specialists, we had a good idea of cost and levels of service available.

After a meeting with Chris Bichard of SE Coachworks, our minds were made up. SE Coachworks were able to do everything in-house, having an array of very skilled craftsman, a variety of materials to choose from and excellent facilities, to hand. Once we had discussed our design ideas and agreed costs, SECoachworks picked up the project and put to work on all aspects of the conversion.

We were given the opportunity to regularly visit and were kept abreast of any developments by either Chris or Garry White. All the staff at SECoachworks were very positive and motivated to get tasks done to schedule, even when we made last minute changes. The advice we were given by them along the way, was very useful and helped to maintain a clear and realistic perspective on the project outcomes.

The end product has met our expectations extremely well by being practical, well built and a great environment to work in for both our staff and client group.

The overall level of service from the staff at SECoachworks has been excellent. We have been fully supported throughout the conversion and since putting the bus into service. We are now some 6 months down the road from delivery and have experienced no problems with any of the workmanship carried out by the team.

Our thanks go to all at SECoachworks for their hard work and support.

Elaine Webster (LIVE) writes:
Dear Chris, Martin, Garry, Paul, Tony, Mark, Dan and everyone at SEC who worked so hard to bring about the transformation from Routemaster bus to The Potato Story bus.

Our clients are really delighted with the results and so are we. You really have done yourselves proud and the process has been thoroughly enjoyable. I know that Ingrid and Amy join me in saying this:

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Here's to a hugely successful tour and a bright future

Stuart Batson - Designer writes:
I've just seen some of the first pictures of the bus...it looks bloody brilliant!!! I wasn't quite sure whether I was looking at the visuals or the real thing!!! You've managed to keep faith with the original design despite the various obstacles put in your path, well done.

You've done a fantastic job and it looks as good as I thought it would, just a shame I didn't see it in person!!

Pass on my thanks to Mark, the carpentry looks excellent.

I hope we can work together again soon.

Amy Knowles (LIVE) writes:
Dear all, I just wanted to drop you all a line and say thank you for all your hard work in getting us to today. On leaving the client at Countryside Days today, I received some very positive initial feedback from them and congratulations on a job well done. They love the bus and the team delivering it - so thank you!

In addition, having read the evaluation forms from the first three sessions today (both teacher and pupil feedback) I am pleased to report that your sessions today have been received very positively and full marks received in many cases.

Thank you so much for all your hard work, here's to the next few weeks and delivering a successful phase one of a brilliant experience. The work really starts now!!

Good luck, I'm here if you need me!

Malcolm McLaren - Account Manager - Dynamo Marketing writes:
Before joining Dynamo Marketing I was an Project Manager at Bob Marketing Solutions Ltd, one of Scottish Courage's retained agency's. Miller Beer and Miller Genuine Draft is one of their biggest selling draught and bottle lagers and our biggest Client. We were tasked with overseeing the refurbishment of their thoroughly dilapidated American Greyhound Coach and ensuring it arrived at Download Music Festival in Glasgow to be part of the VIP area on time.

After investigating a number of suppliers South East Coachworks proved to be the best value and most skilled of the lot, being able to manage most tasks in house and having access to the best materials. As a result we had no hesitation in transporting the vehicle on a recovery truck from Edinburgh to Faversham.

After an initial meeting with them we were advised of a 7 week refit which unfortunately was compressed to 3 weeks due to a problem with one of Bob's suppliers. South East Coachworks not only made this extremely tight deadline but also on budget and without fuss. The materials were of a first class finish, they were great at problem solving and accommodating with regard to late changes that our Client wanted.

I've never had the pleasure of working with such an enthusiastic and capable workforce. The bus has since appeared all over Scotland and both Scottish Courage Ltd and Miller Brewing (USA) were very pleased with the finished article.

The after service care too has been fantastic as Chris is only a phone call away. I would have no hesitation in using them again.

Ben Cunliffe - Director - RE:Solution Marketing writes:
When our client, Southern Rail, asked us to create a mobile training facility, we new we had the right platform, namely a Dennis Dart Passenger Bus, but we lacked the coachworks expertise to realise our vision. We looked long and hard around the UK for a coachworks company that could fulfil our strict design brief on time and within budget. South East Coachworks (SEC) demonstrated that they had the capabilities to fulfil our brief and assured us that the quality of the workmanship would be second to none and so the relationship began.

The project was successful because it was based on a partnership between our two companies. Throughout it all, SEC has drawn on its broad expertise to bring needed disciplines to the table, and in each case, the team at SEC acted as both a trusted partner and a teacher. The result: a mobile training facility like no other. The project came in on time, on budget and more importantly, completely exceeded client expectations.

I wouldn't hesitate in recommending SEC for its expertise, quality of workmanship and its approach to project management. The results speak for themselves.

Gerard Irwin - Director Products and Services writes:
My project involved converting a Leyland Olympian bus for use as a mobile resource centre in "welfare to work" programmes on behalf of DWP.

The project was planned and refined professionally, and to a high standard. The quality of input from Chris and his team ensured that the design was both functional and represented good value for money. Delivery has been according to schedule, the workmanship has been of a high standard and the materials used have complied to the specification. As is usual during design and build projects, there have been areas of the design which have changed during the build as a result of new information and new requirements by the end-user. SEC have reacted positively and in a timely manner to these changes.

I commend them to you.

If you have any specific questions please do contact me directly.

Richard Bennet - Managing Director writes:
SEC completed a bus conversion for me earlier this year. We worked together closely to design and monitor the project through it's different stages and delivered on-time for my planned launch.

We had queries, problems, challenges along the way, due mostly to the fact this had never been done before to my specification, but throughout and since we have maintained a close working partnership and are now planning to make the next one even better. The people at SEC are honest and professional and therefore easy to work with and easy to trust.

PC Andy Bown - Hounslow Police writes:
We recently used Southeast Coachworks to carry out a conversion of a double deck ex-London bus. This was converted into a community vehicle. You can see it on Southeast Coachworks website under Hounslow Community Safety Partnership.

In response to the questions posed on an e mail to me the following answers apply.

Are/were we reliable - yes, and kept us up-to-date on progress. Did we deliver on time - yes, we even pushed for it to be a bit earlier.

Quality of materials used - very good - lots of MDF used for the build but then covered in a good quality fabric. Electrics all very good.

Flexibility during conversion - As the customer we were a big part of the build and paid regular visits to the coachworks where we were able to change and adapt parts of the conversion as it went along.

Any financial concerns - None

Any snagging not dealt with - None

Would you recommend us - Yes, This is a small friendly business who seem to care about what they do. They are competent in their areas of work and throughout our conversion (and after) have offered us assistance and advice on all areas of the conversion. Recommended.

If I can assist at all please give me a call.

Les Powell - Promotions Manager writes:
South East Coachworks have undertaken various projects on behalf of our company, mainly the refurbishment of our fleet of single decker buses that we use for promotional purposes.

I have always found them a pleasure to deal with at all staff levels. They are courteous, friendly and extremely helpful. They will often suggest different options for materials, styles or equipment that would save us money but have no detrimental effect on quality.

They are very reliable and have met all agreed deadlines, and in most cases delivered early.

The materials used and standard of workmanship have been of the highest quality with no corners cut. Throughout the projects SEC have been able to accommodate our changes to design and afterthoughts with no adverse effects on delivery timescales. Any snagging has been dealt with without question and very timely. We have had no reason to have any financial concerns whatsoever with SEC and would not hesitate to use them for future projects and recommend them to others.

Please feel free to contact me should you require any further information.