Browsing News: Coleman Milne
W C Parson Fleet of Coleman Milne vehicles
Walter C Parson of Plymouth have recently expanded their fleet with the purchase of 6 new Mk11 Cardinals and Dorchesters to serve the needs of their expanding business.
Steven ware, chairman of the company, selected the Coleman Milne vehicles as he felt their visual impact around South Devon and south East Cornwall would best represent the companies modern, forward thinking image.
Howard Chadwick Funeral Service recently took delivery of a new Coleman Milne Cardinal Hearse. The vehicle handover took place in front of Howard’s new premises which he largely built himself, can be seen in the photo.
Howard strives for perfection in everything he does, and the Cardinal Classic hearse represents to him the nearest thing to perfection in a hearse and his clients have always appreciated the Coleman Milne vehicles in the past.
Whether it was the horse drawn hearses of the early days or the sleek limousines of later years, one feature resisted the advances of time. The caring and professional service given by E W Brown & Son, funeral director, remained a constant for the last five generation. The various alternatives surrounding choice of funeral vehicles fleet gave the company the opportunity to study the market and make the best choice for their clients and their community.
The imposing elegance and the unique design of the British built E-Class fleet of funeral vehicles combined with a very advantageous price was the perfect combination that convinced E W Brown to once again choose a Coleman Milne.
Coleman Milne, were happy to host a factory visit of the NAFD Yorkshire Area Federation. The President, Mr Phil Barr and 30 of the members arrived at the Westhoughton headquarters of the coachbuilder on Tuesday, 13th March 2012, and were greeted by the Directors of the company. The group was then taken on a guided factory tour, going through all the stages of building a hearse or a limousine. Visitors saw vehicles being stripped of all their components and mechanical parts, cut in two and then rebuilt into a spectacular funeral vehicle that has been around for decades.
“It was our pleasure to meet this small group of industry friends to walk around the factory and see firsthand what it takes to create a hearse and the level of bespoke requirements we can accommodate. Everyone showed a real interest in the build process and we are eager to invite even more people as our guests in Westhoughton“ said Geoff Hudson, Sales and Marketing Director of the Woodall Nicholson Group of which Coleman Milne is part of.
“We were all very excited about the visit and it has certainly lived up to our expectations. We had some idea about what it takes to build a hearse, but we were really astonished at the sheer size of the factory and realized how much work goes into building our vehicles” said Phil Barr, the President of the NAFD Yorkshire Area Federation.
Coleman Milne is eager to host this sort of events in the future and is looking forward to welcome other funeral directors that would like to know more about the process of building a hearse or a limousine.
John Haggerty handing over the vehcile to Gordon Fisher
With over 90 years experience Fifeshire Posting Company Ltd. offer a professional, personal and sensitive approach to the community throughout Fife and beyond. Gordon & Son William take pride in delivering the best to each and every customer and that is why they always choose Coleman Milne funeral vehicles. The photo shows Gordon Fisher receiving their brand new Coleman Milne Hearse based on the Mercedes Benz 212 E-Class. Gordon is very impressed by the new vehicle and said the original classic design is admired by his customers.
Coleman Milne Hearse
Lodge brothers, the family run Funeral business based in Feltham, Middlesex has yet again placed its trust in Coleman Milne when it came to replacing their funeral vehicle fleet. The order for 22 Mercedes E-Class based funeral vehicles, represents an investment of over £2million pounds. The purchase, led by Operations Director Janet Lodge, and ably assisted by her brother Mike Lodge, Finance Director was concluded late December 2011 for delivery during the summer months of 2012.
Commenting on the decision, Janet said “with such a huge investment, it was right that we considered all alternative vehicle types and suppliers. It is not only the vehicle, but the operational support that matters when you run an operation such as Lodge Brothers. Having carried out an in-depth review of all the options open to us, we are delighted that Coleman Milne and Mercedes came out on top as the best solution for our business”.
Geoff Hudson, Sales & Marketing Director for Coleman Milne added “We are thrilled that after lengthy negotiations, Lodge Brothers have yet again placed their faith in Coleman Milne to deliver their requirements for funeral vehicles. Everyone at Coleman Milne will work hard beyond the point of delivery to ensure the after sales service and support is available if required”.
Lodge Brothers was established in the late 1700’s by James Lodge and is still run today by the 7th generation of family members to the same principles and objectives established by their ancestors.
John Haggerty of Coleman Milne handing over the E-class Hearse to Mr Purves
William Purves established his business in 1888 and the company remains one of the few family owned companies in the Edinburgh area and have now come to the fifth generation of the Purves family to join the business. The photo shows Tim Purves, of William Purves Funeral Directors Edinburgh, receiving one of his two, Silver Coleman Milne Hearses, based on the new Mercedes Benz 212 E-class from John Haggerty at Coleman Milne’s head office Westhoughton. Coleman Milne would like to thank William Purves Funeral Directors once again, for their support over the years of Coleman Milne products.
Sean Healy of Healy Brothers of NI sign for a 212 E-Class Fleet
Healy Brothers, owned by Tom and Sean Healy, who between them have a combined experience of 44 years in the funeral sector, have achieved much in their relatively short trading existence. To offer a grieving family a quality service, delivered with compassion in a modern funeral home environment is the backbone of the company. To support this high level of customer service, they always had the desire to operate Coleman Milne funeral vehicles. Starting the business in August 2005 with locally sourced pre-owned vehicles, they ordered their first new Coleman Milne Mercedes E-Class hearse in 2007, followed by a new Galaxy removal vehicle in 2010. Now, in preparation for the next stage of their growth, the brothers are the first in Ireland to order a fleet of Coleman Milne E-Class 212 funeral vehicles. If success comes via hard work and a clear vision of where they are going, the brothers will do well.
A devoted employee, Mr R
obert Graham, known to his colleagues as Bob, has recently celebrated 25 years with Coleman Milne. Working in the fibreglass department during this period, Bob has seen many changes to both products and staff whilst he is currently involved in the building of the Mercedes Benz E-Class and Ford Fairlane Funeral Vehicles. “A real gentleman, a very hard worker, experienced, helpful, polite”, are just a few of the words used by his colleagues to describe him.
Coleman Milne announces the retirement of Mr Alan Brooks from the company in August with a presentation held at our Westhoughton Factory. Alan started with the company at the age of 15 and has been employed by Coleman Milne most of his working life, before finally retiring to enjoy more free time with his wife and grandchildren. Alan is just one of the many dedicated employees of Coleman Milne who have worked hard to help create the successful company that we see today and for that, the Directors and Management extend their appreciation.