Hodgson is a driving force in showroom expansion

Oct 22 2009 By Christopher Knox, The Journal

THE BOSS of a North East motor dealership has joined forces with a builder to make and sell towers so hard-pressed car dealers can cheaply expand their showrooms as the beleaguered market recovers.

Steve Hodgson, boss of Newcastle-based dealership Hodgson, has formed a new business Autopod Solutions UK with Tony Whelan of Newcastle firm Whelan Construction, which will provide modular units that can be stacked in a tower to allow firms to increase capacity at a fraction of the cost of building an extension.

The pair have launched the venture after Mr Hodgson struggled to find the space and investment to open up an additional showroom, a problem that he said had faced the industry long before the onset of the economic downturn.

With a small tower measuring eight metres high and 10 metres across allowing room for nine cars, the pair believe the new business will prove a big hit among dealerships in the North East. They are looking to provide additional solutions to the motor trade, including mobile prefabricated workshops and small scale multi-storey parking systems, which will be manufactured by German firm Nussbaum – which are also providing the display units.

Hodgson now plans to install all three structures between its sites in Swalwell, Gateshead, and the Silverlink, Newcastle, with Whelan already completing the groundwork for an eight-storey tower at the Gateshead site, which will create 20 jobs and grow the car dealers profits beyond £1m.

The tower’s eight levels will hold 32 vehicles and will be held together by a central lift, and is also being sold as a more environmentally-friendly way of adding extra showroom space.