Pictured: Dennis Harding, right, and Roger Dyson

So impressed was Dennis Harding when he first visited Roger Dyson's factory in Worcestershire to buy a new recovery system that he came away with two!

That was more than 25 years ago and since then the partnership has flourished. Mr Harding's Essex-based business, D&G Cars, is now one of the country's biggest recovery operators with a fleet of 80 recovery trucks, the vast majority of them built by Dyson.

"I've bought equipment from just about every supplier over the years but Roger's is by far the best," confirms Mr Harding. "In all the years I've been running Dyson recovery vehicles nothing has ever failed on a job and not once have I been disappointed.

"In fact, when I order a new truck these days I don't even see it until the day I pick it up. I know from experience that it will be perfectly finished to exactly the right specification, and will exceed even my high expectations." 

The latest additions to the D&G Cars recovery fleet are a pair of twin-decked Hydraloader slidebacks and an NRC 9735 slider heavy recovery unit - Roger Dyson Group is the sole UK and European distributor for the Canadian manufacturer's range of sliding cranes and rotators, which are widely acknowledged as the ultimate recovery systems.

The slidebacks are both Dyson Hydraloader 4500 models and mounted on new 12-tonne Renault Midlum chassis, which were also supplied by Roger Dyson. Meanwhile, an Iveco Trakker 8x4 chassis provides the platform for the NRC 9735 sliding crane and boom, dual winches, lifting forks and attachments together with a Dyson four-metre Maxi Reach underlift.

All three vehicles were painted and liveried in Roger Dyson's Droitwich workshop and, importantly, are powered by Euro 5 engines that meet the London Low Emission Zone regulations which come into force in January 2012.

"The slidebacks are for police contracts, which represent a significant proportion of our work," continues Mr Harding. "We needed the capability to carry three cars on each one, so I sat down with Roger and we came up with a specification based on  twin decks and spectacle lifts. They are ideal for the role.

"The heavy unit has replaced a previous Dyson NRC 9735 slider, which Roger supplied in 2003. He's taken that back in part-exchange and, as ever, has given us a very fair rate. Dyson equipment always commands strong residual values."

D&G Cars is based in Upminster, with sites in Brentwood, London and Dartford, Kent, and covers a large area both within and outside the M25. As well as recovery work for police forces, breakdown organisations, insurance companies and private customers, the company specialises in forensic evidence preservation at accident scenes, and runs a busy aviation recovery department using a Landoll travelling-axle trailer supplied by Roger Dyson.

Mr Harding adds: "I've known Roger for a long time he has brought a lot of innovative ideas into our industry. He's always ready to listen and take on board what my technicians and I have to say, while the flexible finance packages he offers have also been a great help."