Nigel Hutson goes behind the scenes at leisure vehicle specialist BCA Group
INDUSTRY INSIGHT
IT’S QUITE AMAZING, what caravanners take for granted. For example, who’s ever given a thought to how all of those electrical items operate just when we want them to?
I recently visited BCA Group in West Yorkshire, where I was given an informative tour of its three constituent companies by Sales and Marketing Director, Wayne Boyd.
BCA Group is essentially three firms – BCA Leisure makes wiring harnesses, control panels and power distribution units (PDUs) for leisure vehicles, while BCA Motion deals with battery boxes and smaller-scale wiring harnesses for panel van conversion manufacturers.
The third company, Pennine Leisure Supplies (PLS), supplies dealerships and other outlets with accessories such as lamps, kettles, cable reels, water pumps, electrical sockets and switches, as well as easy-fit mains electric kits for van conversions.
BCA Leisure was founded in 1981 by Wim Batist. Before buying the company’s first premises (an old mill in the village of Mytholmroyd, a few miles from BCA’s current location), Wim would travel to the UK with his van and trailer loaded with touring accessories on a Monday morning, drive the length and breadth of the country throughout the week, selling his wares, then return home on Saturday to reload, ready for the following Monday.
Branching out
At the time, the best-seller was Smat towing mirrors, which he imported from Italy.
Wim’s father and brother ran a successful caravan dealership in the Netherlands, so you could definitely say caravanning was in the family’s blood.
On acquiring the old mill, as well as continuing to supply the accessories, Wim contacted some caravan brands, to see if he could supply them with 25m mains hook-up cables (caravan electrics were so much simpler back then!).
Once established in the UK, Wim was approached by one manufacturer about producing 230V wiring harnesses for dealer retrofit into caravans.
About 20 years ago, it was clear that new premises were needed – BCA had outgrown the old mill, and the industrial estate where they are now was in the process of development, so the mill was sold to help fund their new building.
Initially, PLS was also based at the industrial estate, but four years ago, owing to the need for larger premises, a new building was acquired, three miles away. The former PLS building is now rented by the well-known panel van converter WildAx.
BCA Group is still very much a family business. Wim Batist is the Chairman, his eldest son Harrison
