The firm said the investment has addressed key pinch points in the defleet process, which is becoming increasingly complex as manufacturers add more options and fleets evolve to keep pace.

Paragon has reported a 30% increase in the requirement for wheel refurbishment in the last year. The range of alloy wheels is becoming increasingly complex, with painted, polished and shadow alloys becoming commonplace on modern fleets.  

In addition, in-vehicle technology has changed the nature of loose items that are increasingly complicated and expensive; memory cards and sat nav systems in particular require careful attention.

The investment addresses these key developments with a dedicated wheel facility with polished alloy wheel lathes, to handle more wheels on site and speed up the refurbishment process.

Paragon has also developed a secure facility to provide a traceable, fully managed loose item solution, which saves both time and money for its customers. In addition, further smart inspection capacity has been developed to process more vehicles more efficiently.

 Ian Carlisle, chief executive officer at Paragon, said: “We are continually investing to shape the most efficient way of moving a vehicle off of fleet to a sold car. With volumes continuing to rise and vehicle technology rapidly evolving, it is important we remain ahead of the curve by thinking smarter and investing for our customers.” 

Carlisle continued: “We are focused on shortening the time from defleet to dealer forecourt. While spending on land can build capacity, it is a focus on smarter thinking and technology that will deliver significant change in our industry. By linking defleet with remarketing and adopting sales led production we are able to drive more efficiency for our clients to create a flexible, cost-effective and greener solution for fleet operators and OEMs.”