Auto safety engineering firm launches finance partnership

SM UK, the Leeds-based engineering firm that designs and installs safety technology and cyclist awareness systems for HGVs and other vehicles, has launched a partnership with Manchester-based finance broker PMD Business.

The deal, which will enable SM UK clients to repay the costs of safety equipment and installation over several years, will see increased numbers of companies installing state-of-the-art safety technology on fleets of trucks or individual vehicles.

“It is a significant investment to kit out several vehicles with equipment that improves their safety and helps protect vulnerable road users like cyclists and pedestrians,” said Steve MacDonald. “But it is being seen as an absolute must-have by responsible fleet owning businesses for whom safety is increasingly becoming an utmost priority.”

“Under the partnership with PMD we will be able to help more of our clients to fit safety equipment such as our HALO system of camera-based, lighting and ultrasonic detection features, which are making the roads safer every day,” he added.

SM UK, which was founded by Mr MacDonald in 2000, was shortlisted in last year’s Brake Fleet Safety Awards for its ground-breaking HALO system. The business employs 60 people and recently opened a 10,000 sq ft vehicle conversion centre and workshop in Leeds. In addition to safety technology, the firm also installs high-tech interior vehicle storage systems for firms of electricians, plumber and utilities services companies, which will also be covered under the new finance partnership.

Peter Dobson, managing director of PMD Business, said: “We are really pleased to be working with SM UK who do such a valuable job in making our roads safer, by decreasing the number of accidents between trucks and cyclists or pedestrians. As an independent broker we are able to be both flexible and competitive, and if that enables more vehicles to be fitted with potentially life saving technology, that is tremendously rewarding.”