Drive Green Vehicle Services in Haverhill a finalist in the Top Technician and Top Garage Awards

Less than two-and-half years since opening, a Haverhill garage has been shortlisted to receive one of the top national awards in the industry.

Drive Green Vehicle Services, in Homefield Road Central, is among 10 finalists in its category – garages with one to three employees – in the Top Technician and Top Garage Awards run by Aftermarket Magazine.

The business was opened by Dave Wilson in May 2021, prior to which he had operated a mobile service specialising in diesel particulate filters (DPF).

As the business’ name suggests, it specialises in the repairs and servicing of electric vehicles (EV) and hybrids, and, said Dave, it is the only one of its kind in the Haverhill area.

He added: “We are really keeping up with the times. That’s what we are trying to do. We are making sure we offer the best service that we can.”

The process of getting to the final has already been very involved, explained Dave, who added: “To be fair, it’s a win just being in the finals.

“I have worked my socks off. If you take your mind back to when I took the garage over (there was another garage on the same site previously) we have done a lot of work up here and spent quite a lot of money to make it look more presentable.”

The garage specialises in dealing with DPFs, is a member of HEVRA, the Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Repair Alliance and is part of Avon Tuning, so is able to tune cars to make them faster and, as Dave says ‘more torquier’.

All of these are strong selling points for potential customers.

Of the possible award and the final itself, Dave, who has Dan Wierny, a former master technician for Mitsubishi electric vehicles, in his team, said: “You have to sign up to do it and go through a test online and something else and something else.

“You have to go through three rounds and now we have to go to Warwick, the Adelphi Training Centre, and be interviewed by, I think it is three judges and do a test and a presentation on our business.

“The two people that I know that are also there (in the final) in my category, they have both won it before, so it’s quite a lot of pressure.”

Last year, Dave and his team built the new Haverhill Santa – the sleigh that takes Santa and his helpers around town during December, raising money for charity – in collaboration with the Haverhill Show Committee and the Disco Kitchen.

The final takes place on Saturday, October 21.