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LINE-X: Keep loading damage at bay
Date: 27 September 2013
Line-X's boss Lee Smith says five of the firm's centres are stand-alone sites focusing exclusively on applying the protective coating, six are what he calls upfitters - the likes of Bott and Bristor, which apply Line-X prior to fitting racking systems - and the rest are bodyshops that have added Line-X to their existing businesses. For bodyshops the entry-level costs are much reduced because they will already be equipped with suitable premises, in particular application booths.
"We can supply a full turnkey operation for £40,000," says Smith. "For someone already in business, like a crash repairer, it would be £20,000."
Smith says the stand-alone sites tend to be urban-based where they can attract plenty of trade whereas the add-ons are in rural areas. He also says Line-X coated 2500 pick-ups last year and about the same number of panel vans.
"It's probably about a 50/50 split overall," he confirms.
Smith claims Line-X fared well during the recession because, on the one hand, operators holding onto vehicles longer may have needed to re-line a damaged load bay, while on the other, when it does come to sell, a freshly coated cargo box will increase residual value.
Expansion
The company is set on expansion, with Hull confident it could double the size of its network "without treading on any toes".
"The long-term goal is to have a dealership within one hour of where you are," he says.
Line-X has opened four sites this year, in Merseyside, Norfolk, the Channel Islands and south London, and the benefit of nationwide rather than just local coverage, Hull says, would be that a brand such as Toyota, for example, could offer Line-X as an add-on at all points of sale - just as it does with an option such as satnav.
Hull says the company picks up used business, especially from 4x4 owners, through appearing at trade fairs and country shows such as The North Devon Show.
He claims Line-X only has one direct rival in the UK, Speedliner, but he is quick to point out the claimed advantages of his firm's product. Chief among these is a drying time of just three to five seconds for the tough, rubbery spray-on liner compared with a four-hour span for its competitor's product. Secondly, Line-X is not solvent-based, so it is less likely to harm either applicators or the environment, Hull says.
