Big wheels in Gloucestershire, the South West and Wales came together yesterday (February 5) when Enterprise Mobility (EM) threw open its doors to reveal the story on its colossal operation in Gloucester.

From Glastonbury and across every mile of the UK's motorway network – and just about every transport application in between – Enterprise has refined its business offer to keep pace with the increasingly diverse needs of business.

James Goodall, EM's Sales Director, invited Punchline-Gloucester.com Editor Mark Owen, along with 70 transport executives and fleet managers from both private and public sectors, to discover the breadth of the brand's work at the Flex-E-Rent open day.

Gloucester is a pivotal location is the firm's UK operation and with more than 3,000 vehicles of mind-bogglingly variety (from 44-tonne refrigeration trucks even down to golf buggies) the site is more of a hive than a mere transport hub.

James said: "Being a Gloucester-based company, today has been wonderful to offer people from across the region and Wales the opportunity to understand our enterprise and the impact on the Gloucester area. This is one of our biggest sites, with all functionalities, and we have multiple lines of business through leisure, vehicle replacement and insurance non-fault work, as well as a large flexi-rent division. From Postman Pat sized vans right through to HGV refrigerated rentals, we have everything for every application!"

Enterprise also offers a Car Club service for pay-as-you-go use, which helps ensure the firm delivers on its diversification quest, he said.

"What we aim for is to offer a service and a location for our work to anyone, anywhere, and this commitment is seen through our services which range from public transport through to our Car Club. We even work with last-mile solutions for people commuting through public transport who then need that last connection."

James added: "Our business message is simple: reach out to us for anything to do with transport; our USP is moving people and goods, not just as a mobility partner but also as a consultant; we can look at a company's travel behaviour and work with policies to offer solutions, reducing address risk, efficiencies and cost saving."

Ryan Bushell, whose role as Head of Public Sector for the UK and Ireland Enterprise Rentacar sees him liaising with public sector organisations, central and local government and emergency services, said coming up with the right ideas – and gear – to move people and goods more efficiently was the essence of the business.

Now based in Surrey, Ryan's journey with Enterprise began in Eastbourne, some 24 years ago, working as a management trainee and he made his way up to his leadership role after learning the core components of running a successful business.

Ryan said: "We cover a broad spectrum of vehicles, from small cars hired for 30 minutes to regular SUVs for months, from 18-tonne tractor units for five years and all the bizarre kit in between."

A showstopper to the event included an array of resplendent Golf buggies, which Enterprise rents out for open-air events, including events such as Glastonbury, as well as offering this nifty solution for corporate days when guests need to move around estates and large off-network areas.

Ryan said: "In all, we have 3,000 vehicles here, from gulley suckers which are used by highways operations to empty drains, to cranes and tip-loaders. We have HGV traffic units, traffic management vehicles with collision management specialisation and, of course, light commercial vehicles, as well as wheelchair-accessible solutions for local authority provision for school-to-home transport and a range of more exotic specialist vehicles."

For Tom Bittle, a Business Rental Sales Executive at EM, matching the challenge of increasingly diverse transport needs gives him a buzz every day.

Tom said: "Customer service is our way of life. Cheesy as it may sound, it really does show from day to day in how we work - we love our customers and we love getting people around for days like today, when we can build life-long friendships and relationships which just happen to be business. A day like today is all about seeing old and new faces and working out how to help people. How to travel better is everything for us.

"To ensure that, we have really got everything here from from golf buggies to 44 tonne tractor units - pretty much everything with wheels, including electric vans all the way up to lifting platforms. Being a one-stop shop is central to the business, so we also cover everythng to do with fleet here, maintaining both our own vehicles and customers' vehicles."

Tom began his EM career as a 22-year-old graduate trainee in Plymouth, flying through the company's graduate trainee scheme to become a branch manager before joining the sales and corporate team four years ago: "I have been with the business for just over six years it's been an enjoyable journey. One of the big things about us is that everyone buys into the ethos; we have a lot of founding values that connect our business to everyday life: values such as rewarding hard work and management's door always being open."

Are days like these worthwhile? Certainly so, according to Jo Hammonds, who is Head of Fleet Services at Worcester-based Sanctuary Housing Association. With some 125,000 properties to get around and maintain, Sanctuary is a top-three operator in UK care.

Jo said: "We use Enterprise for the national coverage that they offer, hiring vehicles as needed for our drivers to ensure our fleet stays on the road. Their coverage works from Scotland right down through the South West and they meet our specific needs for the service we maintain, including across a few hundred properties here in Gloucestershire."

● As a familiar name to the city, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, on the A38 Bristol Road, is part of Enterprise Mobility – its parent company Enterprise Holdings Inc having changed the name in October 2023. Now in its eighth decade, the business started out in Saint Louis in 1957. For more information on  Enterprise Flex-E-Rent, you can contact the team on 01452 524843 and here.