MOBILE INSTALLATIONS

This premium installation option was developed largely by Commercial Van Interiors, originally to support our fleet customers (cable companies, etc.) on a national level. At the time, OEM factory direct-ship programs were the only option most fleets had. These programs combined the single-source consistency with OEM logistics that satisfied most of the fleet manager’s needs.

We were already highly active in these programs, and, simultaneously, we realized mobile installation could offer an alternative that would provide the same upfit consistency fleet managers wanted, plus a much higher level of personal service that their field-level people appreciated. 

In those early years, most of this work was handled by crews that traveled throughout the country from our St. Louis headquarters. While our people jokingly suggested we were “doing the work that nobody else wanted,” in truth we were accommodating a very special need for many of our customers — and creating a reputation that Commercial Van Interiors approached each customer’s needs with a commitment to doing “whatever it takes” to get the job done.

In the 1990s, General Motors created its CCCP (Commercial Customer Choice Program), becoming the first to offer free upfits to qualified commercial customers. Adrian Steel was the exclusive equipment manufacturer for this program, and Commercial Van was ready. Already Adrian’s largest distributor, Commercial Van was on the ground floor of this program. We dovetailed our mobile installation experience and capabilities to quickly become the nation’s leading aftermarket program upfitter, servicing commercial dealers in our markets as well as in many places where local distribution was not yet available.

As the program grew and other vehicle manufacturers began to offer similar no-charge and incentivized upfits to their commercial customers, many other companies copied our mobile installation approach and techniques. Today, this service is a standard option for commercial dealers in many of the nation’s larger markets.  

Commercial Van Interiors is proud to have been an integral part in the foundation and development of mobile installation for many of the OEM programs and the commercial dealers involved in them. We continue to be a leader — the preferred installer — for our ability to handle larger contracts and provide more specialized field support on a national level for our fleet customers with unique upfits, major retrofits, repairs and safety enhancement projects.