As the UK faces an unprecedented time, all sectors are making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the challenges that the next few months could bring.

Police forces are focusing their efforts on clearing their compounds of excess vehicles as part of their planning.

As a result, SYNETIQ has experienced a record number of vehicle uplifts from the Police this week, receiving over 500 vehicles in just two days.

Mike Carey, Deputy Head of Vehicle Recovery & Examination Services at Metropolitan Police, said: “We cannot underplay the importance of SYNETIQ’s work and the impact this has on our operational capabilities. We are facing incredible pressure to ensure there is storage space in the pounds. Vehicle collection and processing by SYNETIQ is a business critical operation with paramount importance to us.”

“We’d like to take this opportunity to state how important this work is for us, how much we value SYNETIQs service and employees and what it means to us that, in our time of emergency, we can rely upon SYNETIQ to continue to deliver this service to us.”

The business works with many of the UK’s Police forces to provide compliant salvage and vehicle recycling services across the country. As the number of Coronavirus cases rise, it’s key to the emergency services that SYNETIQs operations remain open to support them.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), classes employees that work in the collection, processing, recycling and disposal of waste, including scrap metal, as critical workers.

To keep supporting the country’s key sectors and workers, SYNETIQs teams have all had to adapt to new ways of working; social distancing has been adopted as a priority. All those that can are now working from home, and any that can’t have taken extra steps to protect themselves and their families from the spread of virus. Customer facing operations, such as parts counters, have been closed – with the business only selling parts via its eBay store and mygreenfleet platform.

SYNETIQs leadership team continue to work closely with their employees to resource and contingency plan as the scale of the Coronavirus unfolds.

Keeping vital vehicles on the road

It’s not just Police forces that SYNETIQ keeps on the road. It also supports many of the UKs critical services through parts and repair services, meaning mechanical repair and green parts operations must continue.

The mechanical solutions team, previously Motorman Ltd, is still completing engine replacements and other mechanical repairs on ambulances and food delivery vehicles, from a network of workshops throughout the UK.

Mygreenfleet must also continue to deliver; many mygreenfleet clients have been named as critical workers, with large commercial supermarket and utility fleets, and their garage and Bodyshop repair partners being reliant on green parts to stay on the road.

The vital services that SYNETIQ supports have never been more important to our society than right now, and the business will continue to do everything it can to keep them moving at the time we need them most.

Richard Martin, MD of SYNETIQ said “It’s a difficult time for everyone in the UK right now. We are committed to doing everything we can to support our clients, customers, colleagues and their families during this time. The situation will continue to change, and we will work closely with all critical services to ensure we deliver for them and play our part in the fight against Coronavirus”

SYNETIQ has opened a new site in Aldershot, Hampshire, with the first deliveries of vehicles being processed on the same day as the site opening. 

The Aldershot site broadens SYNETIQ’s UK coverage, increasing presence in the South and further increasing the number of vehicles SYNETIQ can handle. Two more sites are also scheduled to open, to be announced in the near future. The news is the latest example of SYNETIQ scaling up its operations through investment in its facilities. 

New racking now in use at Doncaster  

The wettest February on record resulted in an increase to the number of vehicles SYNETIQ processed. Many of these claims were on flooded vehicles – from individual cases to major surge events affecting hundreds of vehicles at a time.  

New racking at its Doncaster site played a major role, following installation last year. The racking offered over 1600 free spaces, allowing flooded vehicles to be processed quickly and safely. 

Recent additions to its fleet of transporters also meant SYNETIQ was able to collect more vehicles than ever; the 25 new DAF transporters increasing the capacity of the business’s in-house Logistics facility. 

Ray Curry, Operations Director at SYNETIQ, said: “We’re investing heavily in our sites to ensure we have the capacity we need in the future. It also gives us the ability to work with new clients, while offering the same excellent service to all our valued existing clients.” 

Here at SYNETIQ our values are Care, Simplicity and Integrity. It’s in challenging times like these that the way we act is more important than ever. We care about the safety of our clients, customers and colleagues, we always act with integrity so it’s important that we do the right things at the right time and keep things simple for everyone. We are here to support you with solutions.

To do this we are closely following government guidelines and will continue to stay on top of everything we need to do at the right pace.

To our Insurance, police, fleet, bodyshop, mechanical services, VRM and software clients. We have confidence in our ability to maintain a good level of service during these challenging times; you will continue to get at least one direct communication per week to keep you up to date. If you need anything else from us just shout, your client contact will be happy to help and provide solutions and reassurance.

To all our Auction, Parts, and Car Sales customers – we know you need to keep your world moving so we are here for you. You can contact us via email and phone as well as Facebook messenger, twitter and Instagram – this way we can all support social distancing. If you need to come to one of our sites be assured that our teams are following hygiene guidelines. As the situation progresses, we might need to rethink the way we interact with you – if we need to make changes to keep us all safe, we will let you know.

Finally, to our colleagues. We couldn’t do this without you – we are proud of how you are keeping calm and doing a great job. We know it’s not easy to manage your day job and the worry that you feel in your personal lives – your family, your workplace and your communities. Keep talking to us so we know how to make this work for you.

We can do this together – keep talking, keep listening. When you need us, we are here with the right solutions.

Northern Ireland based TAS Racing is delighted to welcome SYNETIQ as the team’s new lead partner for the 2020 Bennetts British Superbike Championship season.

BMW Motorrad UK’s official British Superbike Team, TAS Racing, will adopt the title, SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad, for the forthcoming BSB series – with riders Bradley Ray and Taylor Mackenzie campaigning the team’s S1000RR machinery.

Philip Neill, Team Principal, TAS Racing: “We are understandably delighted to announce our new partnership with SYNETIQ, especially as this will be their first experience as a sponsor in motorcycle racing. The British Superbike Championship provides a great platform for brand exposure and we look forward to entering this new chapter together as SYNETIQ BMW. 2020 marks a significant landmark for TAS Racing – being our 20th anniversary year and together with two dynamic young riders, we hope to mark the occasion with some success.”

Richard Martin – Managing Director, SYNETIQ: “We’re thrilled to announce our new partnership with TAS Racing. Many of our employees are huge motorbike racing fans, myself included, so this is a particularly proud moment for all of us. We’re looking forward to following the team’s campaign this season and wish them the absolute best of luck.”

Scott Grimsdall – BMW Motorrad UK Marketing Manager: “We’re very pleased to welcome SYNETIQ into the TAS Racing team for 2020 in what we hope will be a very exciting and competitive British Superbike Championship season. With two young and ambitious riders we have high hopes for a successful season onboard the S1000RR.”

SYNETIQ has hosted a Road Traffic Collision (RTC) training day for West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

The training day, held at SYNETIQs Huddersfield site, was an opportunity to practice vital skills for real emergency situation. Firefighters are called to RTCs regularly as part of the emergency response they provide across West Yorkshire. Practicing rescue skills like these means they maintain their training to a high level in working across a range of situations.

SYNETIQ donated three vehicles and staged an RTC for the team, creating a challenging and realistic situation. West Yorkshire firefighters were then able to practice rapid extraction methods using their specialist tools.

SYNETIQ’s relationship with West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service can be traced back to Motorhog, which previously hosted training days before becoming part of SYNETIQ in March 2019. SYNETIQ was delighted to continue this relationship and is looking forward to welcoming the team back in the future­.

In the week that SYNETIQ celebrate their first birthday they are excited to announce the complete rebrand of Motorman Ltd.

SYNETIQ is the UK’s largest vehicle salvage and recycling business, which acquired Motorman in October 2019. Since the acquisition, the two businesses have been busy integrating teams, harmonising processes and taking full advantage of the increased resources available through SYNETIQ.

SYNETIQ Mechanical Services can now access a huge stock of quality, certified OEM green parts, offering fleet clients improved cost-effective repair solutions, product availability and choice.

Joining SYNETIQ has also meant the expansion of the existing UK network of mechanical repair workshops. Group mechanical repair sites in Cheshire (Winsford) and Gloucester (Cinderford) are now being utilised with great success, increasing the already comprehensive UK coverage of workshops.

SYNETIQ is delighted to be equipped with the specialist knowledge and experience of the Motorman team. Coupled with increased capacity and coverage, the business is on hand to offer a more comprehensive service than ever before.

Severe weather is causing a chaotic start to 2020, with many areas of the UK continuing to suffer the effects of major storms.

On Sunday 16^th February, the fourth storm of the year hit Pontypridd, South Wales. Over a month’s worth of rain fell in 48 hours, resulting in significant flooding across the area. Over 1000 homes were damaged within the borough, with many businesses also left underwater.

The local motor trade and repair centres are badly affected, returning to work on Monday 17^th February to find thousands of vehicles and multiple businesses damaged by flood water. SYNETIQ received notification from its insurance client with several policy holders in need of urgent assistance the area.

SYNETIQs Major Incident team was deployed to the area on Tuesday evening. At first light on Wednesday, a recovery strategy was developed with the Insurer and policy holders, with a strict timescale agreed.

SYNETIQ immediately deployed a fleet of vehicle transporters, forklift trucks, telehandlers and sweepers. By the end of the week, SYNETIQ had cleared 4 primary sites, recovering over 300 vehicles using over 100 transporter journeys.

Over 100 tonnes of river silt and debris was moved from forecourts, enabling policy holders to continue repairs to the property. SYNETIQ will have the remaining areas cleared by the end of the week, helping to assess 150 vehicles as part of a further claim. As a result, the total number of vehicles SYNETIQ has recovered from the Pontypridd area will be over 1000.

Unpredictable weather remains a risk to businesses in the motor trade across the country, but SYNETIQ remains on hand, reacting quickly whenever necessary. Regular investment in equipment and infrastructure also helps SYNETIQ offer the best possible service to its Insurance clients.

A pioneering Racing Academy for drivers with disabilities is set to grow in 2020 thanks to support from the UK’s largest vehicle salvage and recycling company.

SYNETIQ Ltd, which is based in Doncaster, has become the latest supporter of Team BRIT, which aims to be the first all-disabled team to race in the Le Mans 24 hour.  Through its Racing Academy, set up in 2019, it supports people with physical and psychological challenges in accessing motorsport.

The Racing Academy enables any disabled driver with a full UK licence to access professional coaching and tuition at race tracks all over the country using the team’s world-leading hand control technology.

SYNETIQ is supplying Team BRIT with salvage vehicles from its market-leading online auction, plus any parts the team require. The BRIT team of technical experts will then re-build and upgrade these cars, specially adapting them for the Racing Academy.

SYNETIQ’s support has enabled the team to purchase its second Academy car, a BMW M240i – F22, meaning even more clients can take part in these opportunities.

SYNETIQ Ltd was created in March 2019. As the largest UK-owned salvage and vehicle recycling company, SYNETIQ creates intelligent solutions for some of the country’s leading insurers, fleets and police forces.  SYNETIQ is trusted to reuse and recycle vehicles through their online auction, green parts, and recycling processes and are also a provider of software and VRM data solutions.

Having grown significantly since the business merger that saw its launch, SYNETIQ is now raising industry standards in compliance, innovation, value and customer experience. Headquartered in Doncaster, SYNETIQ has over 590 employees at locations across England and Scotland.

Mark Schofield, Director at SYNETIQ said: “We’re delighted to announce our new relationship with Team BRIT – an inspiring and truly unique racing team. In doing so, we are helping to make motorsport accessible to current and future Team BRIT drivers, who previously may not have dreamed of such an opportunity.”

Dave Player, Team BRIT Team Principal said: “We are incredibly grateful for the support SYNETIQ is providing our team and our Racing Academy.  As industry-leaders, their confidence and belief in what we are trying to achieve means so much.

“Their support will allow us to increase the number of Academy sessions we can offer, so that we can welcome even more disabled drivers to our track days.  For many, these opportunities are something they never thought would be possible for them, so by helping us, SYNETIQ is opening the door to motorsport for so many people.

“I’d like to thank them on behalf of everyone at Team BRIT and look forward to working with them throughout 2020.”

SYNETIQ has appointed a new Financial Controller, brought in to support the management and development of the SYNETIQ Finance Team.

Jonathan Pervin brings a wealth of relevant experience gained across both professional services and industry, having previously held senior roles at Deloitte, KPMG, Fulcrum and Wilko. His role is key to helping SYNETIQ further develop their financial governance and reporting to support the businesses growth aspirations which will be achieved through investment, acquisition and business development.

Jonathan will work closely with SYNETIQ’s Finance Director, Leigh Manton, who joined the business in September 2019.

Jonathan said: “I’m delighted to be joining SYNETIQ at such an exciting time. I’m looking forward to working closely with the management team to ensure we maximise the significant opportunities available to us now and in the near future.”

Executive Chairman Tom Rumboll said: “I am very pleased to welcome Jonathan to SYNETIQ as we continue our efforts to lead the industry. To attract someone of Jonathan’s calibre is a great endorsement of our business and strategy and I look forward to working with Jonathan and Leigh to deliver on our ambitious medium-term plan.”

West Yorkshire Police’s brand-new Crime Scene Investigation training facility has received a donation of two vehicles from SYNETIQ.

The relationship between West Yorkshire Police and SYNETIQ is well established; the dismantling and recycling business already ensures the compliant processing of the Police’s salvage and end of life vehicles.

The new training facility is based at Wetherby Police Station and will be used for practicing and skills development by Crime Scene Investigators. Vehicles used in crimes can contain key clues, such as fingerprints, hairs or other physical evidence. Regular training is key for all CSI teams, as the job they do can make a huge difference to the outcome of a case.

SYNETIQ donated two undamaged vehicles, a Volkswagen Golf and Polo. The cars were drained of fuel and batteries disconnected before being delivered free of charge. The vehicles will be exchanged once West Yorkshire Police have completed the training.