Seven new corporate members joined the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) in the first two weeks of June, the organisation has reported.
The new members of the organisation, formed in March by the merger of ACFO and ICFM, are ALD Automotive, Cancer Research, Denbighshire County Council, Kettle Foods, Knowles Associates, Marshalls Leasing and TR Fleet.
AFP co-chair Paul Hollick said that there had been a clear increase in enquiries from potential new members as the fleet industry began to emerge from the coronavirus lockdown.
He said: “While the reception to the creation of the AFP has been very positive, the emergence of coronavirus understandably slowed the pace of new organisations joining up. However, we are now starting to see new corporate members join who were neither part of ACFO nor the ICFM.
“Although the AFP is still very new, we see this development very much as a vindication of the thinking behind its formation. We are attracting interest from new parts of the industry because we can speak credibly with a single voice for the whole sector.”
In a further potential recruitment boost, the AFP has also now launched online membership applications through its new website.
Hollick said: “The online facility makes joining the AFP a very easy process that can be completed in a matter of minutes.
“At a point in time such as the emergence from lockdown and its aftermath, when fleet expertise is vital for organisations who want to contain costs and improve efficiency, the support that we can provide is excellent value for money, we believe.”
Hollick added that existing members of ACFO were being gradually shifted to the AFP as their memberships came up for renewal, while current ICFM corporate members have been encouraged to upgrade to full AFP membership.
He said that reaction to the AFP from the previous organisation’s members had been “overwhelmingly enthusiastic”.