End Of Year Round Up | 2023

As we say goodbye to 2023, we reflect on another busy year at bott Smartvan. We've been on the move, participating in various trade shows, growing our van racking catalogue, launching new websites for both the UK and USA and connecting with our amazing partners.

Read on to discover our 2023 highlights. Plus, we reveal what we're looking forward to next year.

Toolfair Trade Shows & The Royal Cornwall Show

Throughout the year, we proudly attended several Toolfair Trade Shows nationwide. From Exeter to Coventry, we had the privilege of chatting with tradespeople across the UK to showcase the latest in van racking technology.

Our team were on hand to demonstrate the range of van racking solutions on offer, answer questions, and provide advice on how to best kit out vans with our bespoke racking solutions.

Alongside the Toolfair Trade Shows, we also showcased our expert van racking solutions at the Royal Cornwall Show. Attendees were able to test the latest van racking kits and chat about how our self-fit van racking can take their professionalism and efficiency to the next level. We had a great time and will be attending again next year.

Keep an eye out for more events coming in 2024 on our dedicated events page.

Our New Website Made Van Customisation Even Easier

In May, we unveiled our brand new UK website, designed to make the entire process of customising and ordering your van racking solution smooth and hassle-free.

Our new site sees an enhanced configurator experience. In just four steps, you are ready to checkout with your brand new custom van racking system.

Van Accessories were also taken out of the configurator and put into a newly dedicated collection. You can now shop Van Accessories directly.

Customer Accounts were also added, giving you the option to save and retrieve your van racking designs at a later date. Further, we introduced the new Knowledge Hub where you can learn more about our bespoke van racking, discover how tradespeople have configured their setup, preview the latest tradeshow event dates and read our extensive FAQs.

A New Look For The USA Website

Not content with just a new UK site, we also launched a brand new website for our customers in the USA!

The US site mirrors the functionality and layout of the updated UK platform, boasting the newly enhanced configurator. This site features van racking for popular US brands such as GMC, Chevrolet and Ram vehicles.

You can view the new US site here, just keep in mind we’re unable to ship van racking options from here to the UK.

Improved Electric Van Racking Solutions 

This year we unveiled van racking compatible with the newly launched VW ID. Buzz, the first fully electric vehicle from Volkswagen.

The VW ID. Buzz racking features the usual benefits including self-fit design, no drills required and is fully customisable with the bott van configurator. With our commitment to providing sustainable van racking solutions, we’re proud to continue our efforts to provide van racking for the latest electric vans. 

If you’ve read our post on how to configure custom van racking for your electric vehicle, you’ll know that from 2024, all car manufacturers will be required to sell electric vehicle alternatives. We’re prepared with bott modulo3, the latest in van racking technology, which has been developed in line with the growing range of electric vans.

Our Guest Spot In The UK's Biggest Heating & Plumbing Magazine

We were thrilled to see bott Smartvan featured in October’s edition of PHPI, a fantastic business magazine for heating and plumbing professionals. The article highlighted the advantages of utilising bott Smartvan for EV racking, showcasing the lightweight design and space-saving options available. We detailed the sustainability benefits of lightweight van racking for EVs. And tradespeople, Dave and Glenn, discuss their experience with fitting our kit.

You can read the full article here (see pages 30-31).

Our Valued Van Racking Supporters

We recently caught up with Glen Wakeling, a Plumbing and Heating engineer who's been a strong supporter of bott Smartvan racking over the years. Glenn recently visited the bott facility in Cornwall and during his visit, we installed the latest modulo3 kit into his van.

In regards to his upgraded solution, Glenn had this to say:

“It's got the no drill system now and it’s very quick to put all the accessories into place. Even in a couple of months, if I want to change things, it’s a doddle to do.”

Keep an eye on the Van Builds page in the New Year for our full interview with Glenn and his newly customised van.

What's On The Horizon For 2024?

That’s not all, anticipate an exciting 2024 ahead as we reveal a lineup of upcoming new vans that will seamlessly integrate with our van racking solutions. We’re currently in the process of test-fitting the following to launch very soon:

  • Ford Custom Mk2 L1H1/L1H2 Panel Van (2023 – present)
  • Citan Mk2 (2023 – present)
  • Citran Kangoo Mk3 (2023 – present)
  • Nissan Townstar L1H1 (2023 – present)

Later in the year, we’ll be launching the following models:

  • Ford Custom Mk2 L2H1/L2H2 (2023 – present)
  • Ford Courier L1H1 Panel Van (2024-)
  • Ford Connect L1H1 Panel Van (2024-)
  • Transporter T7 Panel Van
  • Crew Van L1H1 and Transporter T7 (2024-)
  • Panel Van & Crew Van L2H1

We’ll also be adding to our growing catalogue of Van Accessories with the new Top Tray accessory.

Finally, we’ve been busy developing a new website for our French customers ready to launch next year. The site will include the latest version of the van racking configurator which will offer seamless van racking customisation for our French audience.

We hope you enjoyed our end of year round up. Cheers to another fantastic year at bott Smartvan and we hope to catch up with you again in the New Year.