Julie Wesson Funeral Directors have taken the plunge and moved from quality used vehicles to a brand new fleet of top specification Pilato Mercedes vehicles from Superior UK Automotive Ltd. Having already taken delivery of a brand new Superior UK Vito removal vehicle last year, the happy couple have just received the ultimate in style, craftsmanship and build quality – a stunning Pilato Mercedes Polaris Hearse.
This small family run firm was founded 15 years ago in Beetson, Nottingham by husband and wife team Richard and Julie Haywood (Nee Wesson) and their 18 year old son Jack. Julie Haywood started out in the funeral industry at just 17 years old working her way up into management. In 2007 Richard and Julie decided that the time was right to go into business for themselves and they have never looked back.
Richard Haywood explains why the Polaris hearse was the perfect choice and why the couple opted for some special additional features.
“We honestly cannot believe how beautiful our Polaris is – we’ve gone for a top specification model with some fantastic features”, said Richard, “we are a small business and we strive to ensure that every funeral we deliver is the very best possible and want our vehicles to be on par with the larger firms – we feel that our stunning new hearse is exactly what our lovely community deserves”.
Richard added, ‘We love the new Vito we took on last year and Superior’s Greg Platt had really impressed us – not just with the beautiful vehicles but also the quality of service, care and attention to detail that match our own brand values”.
In April this year Greg Platt took Richard and Julie out to the Pilato factory in Italy for a factory tour where they met the Pilato family. “It was a wonderful trip, the Pilato factory is incredible, we stayed in Treviso and visited Venice and enjoyed the whole experience very much”, said Richard, “Julie and I are going out to Pilato again in September and we are both very excited for the arrival of our new Lyra Limousine”
Whilst at the Pilato factory Richard and Julie discussed some special options for the Wesson Polaris. Richard commented “They thought about everything – we initially felt that the LED lights might be overkill but they’ve got them just right, very subtle”.
Richard and Julie opted for LED lights to be set into the grill of the hearse as an extra safety feature when running a traditional horse drawn carriage funeral. “The well being and safety of the horses is paramount and although we have the hazard lights on motorists cannot always see which way we are turning” said Richard “the flashing LED lights in the grill draw extra attention to the procession alerting drivers to slow down”.
The couple also opted for an under chassis waterproof sound system for use at graveside funerals; a microphone can be plugged in and passed to the minister or celebrant enabling graveside services to be run directly from the hearse.
Richard and Julie are very proud of their business, their new vehicles and their reputation, Richard remarked, “It takes years to build a good reputation and just seconds to lose it – we work hard to maintain the highest levels of professionalism without losing that personal and caring small business touch”.
Over the past decade and a half the business has grown to become an important part of the community. The Beeston branch is fondly referred to as ‘The Old Beeston Tea Room” as bereaved family members use the space to meet and socialise fully confident that the company motto stands true – “the kettles always on in the office”.