Simon Ward
Director
Simon is our general manager and repository of obscure Unimog facts & figures.
If you have any Unimog questions, the chances are that he’ll know the answer.
Frank Atkinson
Director
Now retired Frank retains a keen interest in the engineering side of Atkinson Vos. His no-nonsense approach and wealth of real world experience is invaluable.
Chez Edmondson
Finance
Chez is our accountant and has been with us since 2012. Her career at AV started off as a book keeper and administrator with an active role in parts sales too.
After displaying a real aptitude for figures and being an absolute whizz on Excel, she took on the role of being our accountant and, in 2019, passed her AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) Level 4 qualification with flying colours!
Chez keeps the money coming in, ensures our suppliers are paid on time and, most importantly, makes sure we're paid on time.
She has a great understanding of the business which she gained from "front line" experience and is very useful when it comes to ensuring our accounts are in good order.
Paul Harris
Sales & Marketing
If you give us a call and press Option 2 for Sales then you'll most likely speak to Paul.
With a background in sales, Paul loves a good barter and a bit of banter and has a great rapport with our customers!
Paul joined us in 2016 and since then, has grown a great understanding and knowledge of the Unimog, which enables him to help our customers, new and old and from across the globe, get the right Mog for their needs.
A key part of Paul's role at AV is to keep our website and social media accounts up to date with new stock, workshop updates and anything Unimog so you guys know what we're up to here.
If your Mog has been up to anything exciting or you have some good snaps of it at work, send them over to Paul. He loves a good Mog story!
Emma Carter
Workshop Co-ordinator
Emma joined the Atkinson Vos team back in 2002 as Business Admin Apprentice.
Over the years she's worked in many areas of the business including reception, finance & now her current role as Workshop Co-Ordinator.
Emma's experience in all areas of the business means that she knows many of our customers well and has a good overview of how the business works.
She has responsibility for scheduling all work in our workshop, providing estimates and liaising with customers whilst their vehicles are in the workshop.
We are very proud that Emma completed her MBA in 2019 and this has given her the confidence and knowledge to improve our business processes and offer even better service to our customers.
Gabi Feather
Receptionist
Gabi is our receptionist and the lynch pin of the Atkinson Vos office.
Gabi has years of experience in different businesses but this is her first encounter with Unimogs!
Always with a smile on her face and a "happy to help" attitude, Gabi will go the extra mile to help our customers get the answers they need from technical queries to chasing up the delivery of spare parts orders.
She has a very thorough approach to all things; from arranging shipping all over the world to booking accommodation for customers.
Rebecca Chaplow
Parts Advisor
If you press 1 for parts then it'll be Becca who answers your call. She joined our team as an administrator bringing solid experience and skills gained in previous jobs. Having a partner who loves old tractors & machinery proved to be the ideal apprenticeship for the parts advisor role at AV as she already knew a con-rod from a caliper. Becca is still learning about the weird & wonderful ways of Unimog but she's picked up a remarkable amount in a short time. She's a great addition to the team and has recently masterminded the biggest ever spare parts order in the history of Atkinson Vos. Give her a ring or a WhatsApp and she'll be pleased to help you.
LOUISE FORWOOD
Stores
Louise joined the AV team and has a background in dealing with stock, processing deliveries and customer service. Louise spends her day lovingly packing your Unimog spares to make sure they get there in one piece (couriers permitting!), keeping our yard and goods areas spick and span and whizzing around on the forklist unloading and loading lorries! She has made a great impact on our stores, making sure everything has its place so our mechanics can get what they need quickly to keep your mogs running! We also send her out and about in our pickup, delivering and collecting various orders from our suppliers and the very important Monday morning milk run! She has definitely cemented her place in our team with her wicked sense of humour and ability to the get the job done!
Mark Milner
Workshop Supervisor
Mark is our Workshop Supervisor and Technical Specialist.
He's been part of the Atkinson Vos Team since 2011 and has built up a wealth of experience over that time.
As well as being an expert mechanic, Mark is a talented fabricator & welder. If you have a design or something you want to fit to your truck, he will modify, move and adapt the truck to make it work for you.
He also has a great understanding of the UGN & UHN models and their fault diagnosis.
Another aspect of Mark's role at AV is using Solidworks CAD to design everything from small brackets to complete Camper boxes and subframes.
Mark's combination of practical experience, coupled with design skills is really invaluable and Mark has an important role in all of our more complex projects from initial concepts to completion.
Kris Kaniewski
Mechanic & Bodywork Specialist
Krzy is a very experienced mechanic on all kinds of heavy vehicles and started working with us in 2015. His knowledge of trucks makes him our first choice for all kinds of repairs, including crown wheel & pinion upgrades and gearbox repairs and makes him a key part of our team. As a talented metal worker, Krzy carries out a lot of our welding work, including all cab repairs & restorations on older cabs as well as bespoke modifications such as cab extensions, double cab conversions and fitting a higher cab roof. Krzy is renowned for his "special" hammer and love of an angle grinder - we always know where he is. We just follow the noise!
Andy Milner
Mechanic
Andy has been part of the workshop team at Atkinson Vos since 2016. Since that time, his knowledge of Unimogs has grown and his ability to work on a wide range of Unimogs from the old 404 to current U430/530 models, means he can work on anything that graces our workshop! Andy has shown a real flair for repairing gearboxes and is our go-to man when a Unimog comes in with a gearbox fault or customers send us their gearboxes for repair. Andy has completed a TIG welding course and is soon to undertake his HGV driver training. With a great attention to detail and always with the customer at the forefront of his mind, Andy is a great asset to our workshop team.
HENRY PILKINGTON
APPRENTICE MECHANICAL ENGINEER
Henry joined us as an Apprentice Mechanical Engineer in 2021. He grew up locally and was keen (or at least his Mum was keen!) not to move out of the area. We try to encourage young talented people in our area and provide a fulfilling career with real prospects. Henry attends Kendal College one day a week where he learns engineering principles and design. His four days at AV might be spent in the workshop honing his MIG and TIG welding skills, working on customers trucks or working on Solidworks designing anything from a simple bracket to a complete Unimog subframe. He's a friendly and willing young man and is a great asset to our team.
Edward Dale
Design Engineering Manager
Ed joined AV in 2021 after completing a successful project with us in the final year of his Meng at Lancaster University. Having proved himself in his first year with us he now overseas our design & engineering department. He's skilled with Solidworks CAD and FEA (Finite element analysis) but also brings a keen eye for mechanical design to bear on all the projects on which he works. It's a great combination which fits in well here at AV. Solving problems with the simplest & elegant solutions is something which Ed particularly enjoys. One of the best things about working at AV is that Ed can turn his ideas into reality and he derives a great deal of satisfaction from this. He's also flexing his Project Management muscles by introducing new project management software to help keep design & engineering projects to timescale and on budget.
Tom Pagen
Design Engineer
Tom recently returned to AV after a 3 month internship in summer 2021. He brings a serious and thorough approach to everything he works on from the simplest bracket to the most complex build. A graduate from Lancaster University with Master of Mechanical Engineering MEng Hons Tom has advanced Solidworks skills and a keen interest in design and mechanical engineering. His involvement with Formula Student during University increased his enthusiasm for automotive engineering and gave him some useful grounding in Project Management. Tom has undertaken extensive adhesive and composite panel testing for us. This has provided reliable data which has led to improved processes and technical improvements.
James Talbot-Smith
Design Engineer
After completing his 12 month Placement with us during his Mechanical Engineering Degree at Harper Adams University James has joined AV on a permanent basis. He's a very practical, hands on guy who loves to get stuck in with the welder or spanners but is equally at home using Solidworks CAD. He brings a "can do" attitude to everything and always strives to solve a problem for a customer. He's well liked by all who meet him and we're pleased to have him back on the team.
