From Design to Delivery: The AKFS Customer Journey Explained

When investing in a specialist commercial vehicle, businesses expect more than a standard conversion. They need a partner who understands their industry, their challenges, and their day-to-day operations. At AKFS Special Vehicles, that understanding forms the foundation of everything we do.

From the first conversation through to delivery and beyond, our customer journey is shaped by our ethos: Built Without Compromise. This is a principle that guides how we design, engineer, and deliver vehicles that meet our clients’ exacting standards and stand the test of time.

With over 30 years of experience, AKFS brings together craftsmanship, precision, and collaboration to create bespoke vehicles for industries as diverse as vehicle logistics, plant hire, and traffic management. 

A Heritage of Craftsmanship

Our story began in 2015, when two established companies, Advanced Minibus and KFS Special Vehicles, merged to form a new business with deeper expertise and a broader product range. While the name may be relatively new, our heritage stretches back decades, with a reputation built on durability, quality, and customer trust.

Craftsmanship has always been at the heart of AKFS. Each vehicle is the product of highly skilled engineers and fabricators who understand that details matter. From the strength of a chassis weld to the positioning of storage lockers, every decision influences safety, usability, and long-term performance.

This human touch is what ensures our vehicles are not only functional but also reliable partners for businesses across the UK. Whether it’s a Plant & Go® van built for tool hire companies or an enclosed car transporter designed for prestige automotive brands, the principles of quality and precision remain the same for every single build that we do.

The Customer Journey at AKFS

Consultation and Understanding

Every journey begins with a conversation. Our customers typically come to us with specific challenges - whether that’s a recovery operator who needs a flexible solution for cars and motorcycles, a council seeking traffic management vehicles for sale, or a plant hire company requiring a carrier that maximises payload.

When our customers reach out to us, our first priority is to listen and understand their unique needs. We invest time in understanding not only what the vehicle must do, but also how it will be used in practice. This ensures that the solutions we propose are not generic, but tailored to real operational needs.

Design and Innovation

Once requirements are clear, our design team translates them into practical, innovative solutions. This is where our experience across multiple industries becomes invaluable. We know that payload capacity, safety, and usability are not optional extras, they are critical to the success of every business we serve.

A great example is our Ultra® Single Car Transporter. Built on a lightweight galvanised chassis with an extended wheelbase, it offers excellent payload and weight distribution. Its torsion bar suspension improves handling, giving operators confidence whether loaded or empty. It is trusted by recovery and logistics professionals because it has been designed with their needs in mind.

Or consider the Drop & Go® Low Floor Traffic Management Vehicle, developed in collaboration with a leading traffic management company. With a bed height of just 550mm, it eliminates the need for a tail lift, making equipment loading safer and quicker. This type of thoughtful design, rooted in real-world input, is what sets AKFS apart.

Manufacturing with Precision

Once the design is approved, our craftsmen and engineers bring it to life. Manufacturing takes place in our dedicated facilities, where every stage is carefully managed to maintain our high standards.

Vehicles like the Iveco Enclosed Vehicle Transporter demonstrate how engineering precision translates into customer benefits. Built on the Iveco Daily chassis with rear air suspension, it provides the low loading angles essential for transporting high-value, low-clearance vehicles. For automotive brands, this level of detail is vital to ensure cars arrive in perfect condition.

Equally, the Plant & Go® Vehicle, with its low 530mm floor height and shallow beavertail loading angle, reflects our commitment to safety and efficiency for tool hire operators. By combining lightweight aluminium construction with robust design, we help businesses deliver equipment securely while maximising uptime.

Delivery and Ongoing Support

When we hand vehicles over to their new owners, it’s not the end of the journey. Each vehicle undergoes rigorous testing and inspection to ensure it meets our standards. Customers receive full support, from guidance on operation to aftercare that ensures vehicles continue to perform year after year.

The feedback we receive confirms the value of this approach. Whether it’s the reliability of the Beavertail Car Transporter, the adaptability of the Drop & Go® Urban Traffic Management Vehicle, or the resilience of the Dropside Vehicle, customers consistently tell us that AKFS vehicles deliver not only on day one but for years to come.

Vehicles That Define the Journey

Car Transporters

Creating car transporters is one of AKFS’s core specialisms. The Ultra® Recovery Transporter takes the proven Ultra® platform and adapts it for recovery operators, adding motorcycle carrying capability and enhanced winching systems. This flexibility reduces the need for larger, more expensive vehicles while still delivering professional results.

At the premium end, the Iveco Enclosed Vehicle Transporter provides robust, secure, and weather-protected transport for prestige cars. Meanwhile, the Beavertail Car Transporter offers unrivalled payload efficiency with its aluminium deck and versatile open design. Together, these models illustrate how AKFS car transporters meet the varied needs of the industry.

Traffic Management

Traffic management demands vehicles that are visible, safe, and easy to deploy. Our Drop & Go® range was created to meet this challenge, and has since become an industry benchmark.

The Drop & Go® Incident Support Vehicle adds specialist storage, lighting, and safety systems to support operatives working in complex, hazardous conditions. The Electric Drop & Go® Traffic Management Vehicle (E-Tech) takes this innovation further, using the Renault Master E-Tech platform to deliver zero-emission performance without compromising capability.

These vehicles highlight how AKFS is helping customers prepare not only for today’s demands but also for tomorrow’s environmental standards, reinforcing our growing expertise in electric commercial vehicles.

Plant & Tool Hire: Payload and Practicality

For plant and tool hire companies, payload is everything. The Iveco Daily Heavy Plant Carrier delivers up to 4,000kg usable payload, with lightweight construction and versatile loading options. This ensures businesses can transport heavy machinery safely and efficiently.

The Plant & Go® Vehicle provides a smaller, agile alternative, perfectly suited to transporting mini-diggers, dumpers, and compactors. Finally, the Dropside Vehicle offers a robust, flexible solution for carrying bulkier tools and materials, making it invaluable for construction and utilities.

Built Without Compromise

At every stage of the customer journey, “Built Without Compromise” is our promise. It means that no shortcuts are taken, whether in material selection, design decisions, or build processes. It ensures that every vehicle leaving our workshop represents the highest standards of durability, safety, and performance.

For our customers, this promise means confidence that their new vehicle will handle the rigours of daily operations, that their teams will be safe, and that their investment will deliver long-term value.

Driving Customer Success

Choosing a specialist commercial vehicle is not just about specifications on paper. It is about trust, reliability, and partnership. The AKFS customer journey - from consultation to design, manufacturing, and delivery - ensures that every vehicle is an asset built to support the success of the business that owns it.

Whether it is a Plant & Go® van, an enclosed car transporter, or one of our traffic management vehicles for sale, customers know they are investing in solutions that are tailored, proven, and Built Without Compromise.

With over three decades of expertise, AKFS continues to deliver vehicles that embody craftsmanship, innovation, and customer care. From design to delivery, our commitment remains the same: to create vehicles that keep Britain’s businesses moving, safely and efficiently, for years to come.

If you’d like an AKFS special vehicle for your business’ fleet, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our team of experts.