Dameon Grove, 44, has been appointed General Manager of IVECO Retail, the IVECO-owned dealer group in the South East, with full service locations in Croydon, Farnborough, Hayes and Reading.
Grove is a time-served commercial vehicle technician who began his apprenticeship in 1990. He moved to IVECO main dealer Peter Brown Commercials four years later, before the business was acquired by Polar Trucks and later Stormont Truck & Van – where Grove served as Workshop Foreman. Between 2005 and 2015 he was employed by independent Scania dealer TruckEast, initially as Service Manager, before being promoted to Depot Manager and then Regional General Manager.
Prior to joining IVECO Retail he was employed at Ryder as Location Manager for its significant Oldbury depot – responsible for the largest fleet and the largest team within the company’s UK branch network.
Commenting on his new role, Grove says: “I was approached with the opportunity to head up IVECO Retail and I jumped at the chance. My passion has always been within dealerships, and it was clear to me very quickly that IVECO Retail had huge potential to grow.
“Take Reading for example; we’re close to an established CNG refuelling facility which means local operators are ideally positioned to take full advantage of the IVECO Natural Power range. Plus, with Croydon and Hayes, our closeness to London means alternative fuels is a hot topic with customers – particularly on the back of the multiple supermarket trials currently underway with the Stralis NP.”
Grove plans to spend his first six months splitting his time equally between the four dealer sites, with longer term plans to base himself from Hayes by the end of 2019 – perfectly positioned in the middle of IVECO Retail’s area of responsibility.
With a modern network – Farnborough opened on a new site in 2017, just two years after Croydon moved across the road into brand new premises – he is keen to maximise all prospects for IVECO Retail in Hayes, taking full advantage of its prime position close to Heathrow airport.
“There’s a wealth of vans and trucks operating into and out of Heathrow around the clock, and given the airport’s desire to reduce its environmental impact, that means there is a major opportunity for IVECO,” he adds. “We’ve got a big site and there are no local restrictions on opening times, so we have room to look at expanding what we are doing from a sales and aftersales perspective.”
All four IVECO Retail sites hold the prestigious status of being IVECO Truck Stations – part of a network of 250 specialised and highly-efficient dealers across Europe offering advanced heavy truck expertise. These sites have each passed a rigorous set of standards covering staff training, extended opening hours, higher parts availability and a drivers’ lounge, with wash facilities.
In his new role as General Manager, Grove will report to Stuart Webster, IVECO UK & Ireland Business Director.