Somers Vehicle Lifts and sister business Totalkare have merged following a management buyout from parent Triapt Holdings.

The £5m turnover garage equipment supplier, which specialises in mobile lifts, axle stands and transmission jacks, is now trading as Somers Total-kare, under the control of managing director Tim Jackson, sales director James Radford and service director Mick Gilliam. Based at Halesowen in the West Midlands, it has retained all 36 staff.

Radford says when the banks supporting Triapt recently expressed the desire to recoup their investment, he and his colleagues decided to act.

“We were fed up with propping up the French, American and Spanish businesses within Triapt every time we got some money in the bank,” he adds.

Initially, the company will continue to supply products from Triapt, however Radford hopes Somers could eventually recommence production of its own lifts. The ProLift brand was included in the buyout.

“Hopefully we can take it back to where it was before the Triapt buyout in 1999. But our concern for the moment is to keep the business we already have,” says Radford.

Somers is preparing to launch its Series V mobile vehicle lift in the spring.