It’s not just about the vehicles, but the people, says Scania as its online series returns to introduce long-standing operators who love the brand
Scania Family returns to your screens, big and small, for a fourth series. In it, we’ll take you behind the scenes of our UK operations, and meet some of our customers.
Throughout the three episodes, you’ll get to meet some of Scania UK’s coach and bus customers, as they give you exclusive access to see how they keep the UK moving. Get a glimpse into how they run their operations and how Scania has supported them, and continues to support them on their way.
A tour of the UK
To showcase the diversity of our Bus & Coach customers, we’ve decided to do a mini tour, to reveal the variety of businesses that Scania UK work with. Starting off close to home, the first episode focuses on Bill’s Minibus & Coach Hire, based in Milton Keynes, as is Scania UK’s Head Office.
We meet former taxi driver Bill who founded the business after noticing a lack of wheelchair accessible taxis servicing the city. In 2004, it became a true family business enterprise as his wife, son and daughter all joined the firm. Together Bill and son Ryan give us a guided tour around their fleet of coaches and explain why they’re proud to operate Scanias.
Next stop on our tour of the UK, we head south. Following the M1 towards London, before taking the M25 to Essex. We arrive at Rochford near Southend-on-Sea to visit Stephensons of Essex.
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Started back in the mid-1970s, the company now operates a fleet of more than 100 coaches and buses throughout Essex and west Suffolk, with one sole ambition to provide a personal service for its passengers.
We go behind the scenes to see its fleet of Scania buses and what it takes to consistently run a comfortable and timely service for passengers.
The final leg of the trip sees us leave the South and take a long trip up the M1 and A1 (M) to the North East. Our destination is Birtley in Chester-le-Street, where we meet the team behind JH Coaches.
With more than 35 years’ experience transporting people across the UK and Europe on day trips, excursions and holidays, the company now runs a fleet of more than 50 vehicles. We meet the team behind the business to see what it takes to keep the wheels of an operation as diverse as this moving.
It’s all about the family…
You may be thinking ‘how are these customers one of the family?’. The answer is simple. Scania was started on the principle of putting its people first more than 130 years ago, and that family business ethos and close connection runs throughout our global organisation.
The Scania Family is a unique institution, which makes the brand so special. And it encapsulates all our people, our customers, partners, fans and even those who merely interact with us. Everyone is welcome into our home, and everyone is treated the same – just like one big family.
It’s a mix of our own people who’ve developed and maintained this culture for more than 130 years, which is why we continuously innovate, engineer and dare to try. Because together as one we can succeed for a better tomorrow. Together it provides us with a rich tapestry of stories, opinions, views and approaches all with one end goal – making sure the customers, our customers, can focus all their attention on their business.
Only when they succeed does Scania succeed also. And powering this sense of loyalty and togetherness is the Scania Family.
What is the docu-series?
Back in 2022, we opened the doors to the public about who Scania UK was. And that’s how the Scania Family docu-series came about. We took cameras behind the scenes to meet the people and the characters who make Scania in the UK what it is today.
The first series focused very much on our Scottish family. Viewers got to see Scania Scotland’s operations first-hand, as the series visited the region’s eight branches, from the Scottish Borders in Dumfries, up to the northern reaches of Inverness.
Throughout the six episodes, we witnessed Scotland’s new regional headquarters take shape in the form of a new, sustainable, state-of-the-art facility at Eurocentral. And we followed the team tasked with opening this new future-proof operation in time for Scania UK to host its own Net Zero Conference during COP 26.
James Colbourne, Services Director for Scania UK, says: “Scania Family gives viewers a unique insight into the world behind our vehicles. Without the energy and passion of all our teams across Scotland and the UK, Scania wouldn’t be the same as it is today or for our many valued customers.”
Away from the branches, the programme also delved into some of the many Scania customers who operate in Scotland. We gave more than a glimpse into their business, the challenges they face day-to-day operationally, and the strong working relationships they have fostered with Scania Scotland. In some cases, it even got emotional.
Earlier this year, following on from the pilot, the series was back for a second season. This time the focus was very much on our valued customers from across the UK as we give viewers exclusive access into their operations.
The 11 episodes provided the perfect showcase to share the passion and determination of the people who are constantly striving to keep the UK moving, and how Scania helps them on their way.
We travelled the length and breadth of the country to meet different customers and their individual businesses, including in Scotland and Northern Ireland – to show the spread of our customers and their uniqueness too. Viewers got to see first hand the diversity of our customer base with some operating in construction, road freight, and even street cleaning.
This summer saw Series 3 make its début. This was a special trio of episodes. Unlike the others it focused on one location and one business. Scania Assistance. The unknown entity within our business is the saviour of drivers when a distress call comes in.
This series also acknowledged the 25th anniversary of our in-house assistance service, originally started in August 1998 with one support centre based in Södertälje, Sweden, dealing with 5,000 cases per year. Now its operations have expanded to 15 locations globally, supporting all Scania customers in 52 countries, with the team handling more than 250,000 cases per year.
For decades, Scania Assistance has provided a crucial link between our customers and our service network. The episodes centred around Scania Assistance’s Bradford-based centre, which is home to a group of experienced service coordinators dealing with SOS calls from across the UK, Europe, North America, New Zealand and Australia on a daily basis.
This special Scania Family series focused on giving viewers greater insight into the lives of the team on our front line. One episode was focused solely on our army of expert field technicians, who specialise in all Scania’s products, including truck, bus, coach and our Power Solutions powertrains.
To celebrate their work and the special occasion, a trio of technicians were crowned the ‘Heroes of the Road’ by their colleagues, for their commitment to keeping our customers moving.
Where can I watch?
Hopefully we’ve got you salivating for more. Thankfully watching all the wholesome episodes from across all four series of Scania Family is easy. Either visit Scania UK’s YouTube channel for the ultimate docu-series binge. Or go to Scania UK’s website for a more complete Scania Family experience.
Well… what are you waiting for? Get comfortable, grab a cuppa and some popcorn and see first-hand the people keeping the UK moving.
