The new man at the helm of the giant car, bike, electrical appliances and garage group, HWP Group, has vowed to improve service.

Alan Brooks, who was yesterday appointed chief operating officer, admitted that service was not always “timely” because the company was short of space to work on cars.

But he said that after the company, which is the largest garage in Bermuda, bought Terceira's on North Shore at the end of last year, there were now more bays where technicians could work on customers' cars.

And he said that this would allow the company to “improve the service we can offer”.

Mr. Brooks is due to take over the day-to-day operations of the whole HWP empire as part of an overall plan to strengthen and advance its position in the Bermuda market, according to a company release.

“This plan consists of a series of initiatives that are very exciting and will help bolster our automotive, cycle and electrical divisions' positions in the Island's business sector,” he said.

“Some of these initiatives are already underway.

“For instance, we have already begun to place greater focus on our customer service efforts within the automotive division. We are fully cognisant of the role that we have to play in the Island's automotive sales sector and, with that, our responsibility to provide appropriate levels of service.”

And he said that the new overall plan would not stop there, but improvements would be made to all divisions.

“Similar initiatives to this are planned across all divisions and will be made public in the future,” he said. “They will focus on improving business efficiency and raising and maintaining a high level of customer service to our valued client base.”

Mr. Brooks comes from New Venture Holdings, the parent company of HWP, where he has worked since 2000. He will take up his new post on May 1.

“I am absolutely delighted to welcome Alan to the HWP Group,” said Jonathan Brewin, president and chief executive officer. “

His appointment compliments the fine management team we already have in place and his abilities will allow us to meet our upcoming challenges and succeed in our goal of becoming a world class company.”

Mr. Brooks said he was looking forward to working with the HWP Group executive and staff to put parts of the new strategic plan into place.

Mr. Brooks said: “These are exciting times for the HWP Group and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be involved in the process of developing the business in these challenging economic times.”