Container company helps quad bikers take off after lockdown

Container Sales Centre, which has bases in Oswestry, Shrewsbury and Newtown, has supplied three new storage units for Tile Farm Off-road, in Guilden Sutton, to house its increasing fleet of all-terrain vehicles when they’re not roaming round 250 acres of Cheshire countryside.

Pandemic restrictions forced it to close for four months earlier this year but since then and until the latest England-wide closure its customer mix of motocross bikers and quad bike enthusiasts had kept it busy.

The use of the three storage units supplied by CSC has justified their decision to increaser their fleet of Honda and Yamaha 250cc quad bikes to 17 and also to add three new Yamaha 90cc junior quad bikes, a brand new Honda CRF250 MX Tuition bike.

Container Sales Centre’s Lisa James said: “It’s a really impressive set-up here and Katie and Will have worked very hard to improve what was already a great business model.

“They’ve expanded and we’ve been delighted to have been able to help them do that because containers are really versatile and there has been a real surge in demand for them.”

It’s a story of success for Katie Arden and partner Will Bayman who took over Tile Farm Off-road set up by Katie’s dad and brother as a diversification from their arable farming and haulage operations.

Katie said: “We took over the business 18 months ago and made a big investment in the bikes and the containers and it has paid off and we’re using the current lockdown to make improvements to the facilities here.

“The service from CSC has been excellent and the delivery, communication and condition of the containers has of a very high standard and exceeded expectations.

“We’ve been so busy since the first lockdown ended – I think people have been stuck at home and just wanted to get out and do something with their families and friends in the fresh air.

“We have had to limit numbers because the Rule of Six meant we couldn’t run groups of up to 12 for the quad-trekking and where we used to have up to 75 for the motocross on Wednesday we had to limit it to 20 and have been gradually building it up since then.”

Tile Farm’s quad-bike adventures take full advantage of the rolling countryside around the River Gowy and feature log climbs, wetlands and some of their very own challenges.

Will added: “Katie’s dad and brother were really keen off-road motorsport enthusiasts and I grew up on them as well before coming here in 2015.

“Since Katie and I took over we’ve grown the business and we’ve seen the motocross track grow in popularity and the quad bikes have also really taken off and even though we thought the coronavirus would affect us badly we’ve been surprised by just how popular it’s been.

“We take real pride in delivering a personal experience, we have a real passion for bikes and deliver the experience you want – obstacles and mud are optional.

“The containers have also worked well for us. We have two 20-footers and a 40-footer which give us plenty of storage space and they’re watertight and very secure.”

Container Sales Centre specialises in the sale of new and used shipping containers which range in size from 10-feet long up through 20-footers to 40-foot units, all eight feet high and eight feet wide, from 640 to 2,560 in cubic feet in volume.

The new units supplied are watertight and they can also be insulated plus they provide versatile storage options or for the more ambitious, a range of possible uses including office space and even as component parts of innovative new homes.

Lisa said: “Our containers have been used to house a flight simulator and even as an indoor coffee bar and with our specialist lorry we can deliver containers up to 40 feet long and can also arrange to move units to different site locations.

“An advantage of buying outright is that you can also paint the exterior to your own taste including having your company branding if you are launching your own business.”