CEO of Charles Trent shares how you can drive green without the charging point
On 21st September 2023, Prime Minister of the UK Rishi Sunak announced a U-turn on climate commitments, including those around the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles.
In his address, Sunak stated the government will delay its phase out of the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by five years to 2035.
So, what does that mean for those hoping to see more sustainability on Britain’s roads now?
As fate would have it, Business Enquirer had the opportunity to speak with the CEO of one of the UK’s leading experts in vehicle recycling the day after Sunak’s announcement. Fourth generation owner of the family business, Marc Trent, told Business Enquirer that all is not lost.
Breaking the Mould
Established in 1926, originally focussed on scrap metal, Charles Trent are one of UK’s largest and longest established car breakers. Most often, cars are broken down once they reach end-of-life, either due to age or when written off by an insurer.
The business, which currently employs 250 people across two sites, typically collects, stores, processes, and re-sells near to 50,000 vehicles per year. In turn, this allows the business to produce nearly 200,000 parts annually & stock over 80,000 used car parts, ready to give roadworthy vehicles a new lease of life.
Inaugurated in a time where vehicles were far and few between (and initially focussed on scrap metal), Charles Trent has continued to innovate.
“We have broken the mould in how cars are recycled,” explained Marc, “we have developed a reverse production line, which is an efficient process and keeps the integrity of the parts”.
With this method, Charles Trent can break down around 500 cars a week, in comparison to the traditional car recycler which can break just 10% of that.
Now, the business has its sights set on a big target, of 10 X that figure to 5000 cars a week.
Supporting this vision, Charles Trent opened its first-of-a-kind in the UK reverse production facility. The 100,000 square foot facility, which opened in Poole in 2022, enables the business to recover fully tested car parts faster than ever seen before.
Meanwhile, certain parts not suitable for resale can be recovered for remanufacture, including higher-grade scrap commodities such as aluminium & copper wiring harnesses. All of this goes towards the EU’s recycling target of 95% set in 2002, with Charles Trent achieving 96.3% at the last audit.
“The facility was built to be operational 24 hours a day. We are now in the third week of trialling a 24/5 operation and it’s showing positive results,” shared Marc, “its supporting demand and allowing us to supply parts around the clock”.
Now, the car breaker plans to expand this blueprint across the country to achieve its ambitious but achievable target.
“Over the next five years we’re planning to add another five of these facilities across the UK in strategic locations. Each will employ around 300 staff, increasing our headcount by over 600%, which will offer a great employment opportunity across the country,” added Marc.
Driving Growth
For those looking to replace a part in their car, it’s important to be aware of either unregulated or illegal car breakers. Ensuring a safe and satisfied experience, Charles Trent are fully licensed and regulated, and are members of the Vehicle Recycling Association and e2e Total Loss Vehicle Management.
“Charles Trent were one of the first companies in the UK to achieve VRA accreditation. The accreditation is all about the journey of the part from the car to the shelf which includes quality, testing & provenance,” shared Marc.
“With almost 100 years in the industry, we are seen as one of the most trusted vehicle recyclers, and this has been one of the driving factors behind our growth,” he added.
Both the UK and EU fall within the 2002 EU end of life vehicle directive (ELV Directive), which sets clear targets for ELVs and their components. It also sets out minimum standards for operating sites such as impermeable surfaces.
The directive is largely aimed at the operator known as an authorised treatment facility (ATF) and the car manufacturers under producer responsibility. Over 21 years the recycling target for all ATF’s has increased from 75% to 95%. In 2023 the directive has been revised significantly & put forward for consultation.
Marc said, if implemented, this will place more responsibility onto the car manufacturers as it clearly mentions the circular economy and the circularity of parts & materials that arise from ELV.
“This can only work viably through the facilities & processes we have developed,” he said.
Other factors are at play in Charles Trent’s growth too, with Marc witnessing a cost increase of new spare parts at around 10% in the last year. Alongside this, consumers are keeping their cars for longer due to a slower supply chain of new vehicles, therefore needing to extend the life of their existing vehicle.
“Not only do we provide an easy to access solution with parts available 24/7 online and shipped worldwide, we are more cost effective, and of course sustainable,” Marc explained.
Realising that the business must do more than offer a sustainable product, Charles Trent also runs its facilities entirely from solar power.
“Not only are we more efficient than some of our competitors with our unique lean reverse production line, we are a business offering a green solution from a green operation,” said Marc.
The Next Generation of Breakers
Joining the business in the 1980’s, Marc now owns the business alongside his two brothers Neil and Jonathan.
“We spent our childhood working at the family business, at the weekends and in the school holidays, it was a natural progression for us to follow in our father, grandfather and great-grandfather’s footsteps,” shared Marc, “Not only are we family, but our colleagues are family too – a big family”.
But what about the next generation? With six children beneath the three brothers, two are set to follow in their footsteps and join the family business.
“It’s never been forced upon any of the family to take on roles, but there are some fantastic opportunities at Charles Trent, for any of our staff,” said Marc, highlighting that the newest facility in Poole sees the employment of qualified line operators and mechanics.
Ultimately, as long as there are vehicles being manufactured, there are many more years left for the historic car breakers. And, whilst the bulk of the vehicles it sees down its line are petrol, diesel and hybrid, Charles Trent is fully equipped to recycle EVs, too – even if it is some time until they dominate our roads.