A South Wales commercial vehicle firm has officially launched its new site in Newport.

The commercial transport firm is celebrating the branch opening alongside the milestone of reaching 25 years trading.

The Newport branch is a sister site for the company's Caerphilly site, which has been successfully operating since the early 1990s.

The decision to extend to the new location was part of a strategy to manage growing customer demand. It is a smaller version of Caerphilly and boasts a new vehicle showroom, three-lane drive through workshop and modern customer waiting area.

In addition to its vehicle maintenance and parts and accessories services, Glenside Commercials is a main distributor for Iveco and Fiat Professional in south east Wales, selling the full range of vehicles.

The firm is also a network partner for Carrier Transicold transport refrigeration and, as Carrier Transicold Southern, has fully qualified engineers working on customer sites across the south of England and Wales.

It also has workshops in Avonmouth, Bracknell and Portsmouth, providing support for refrigeration customers.

The Newport branch will service the increase in commercial fleet vehicles crossing the Severn Bridge since the tolls were abolished in December last year. Traffic flow has already seen a 10 per cent increase and a UK government study predicts that by 2022 more than 24 million vehicles will use the crossings, compared to six million less if the tolls had stayed in operation.

The distance from Magor Services to Glenside Commercials, on Esperanto Way in Newport is just 7.7 miles and takes approximately 20 minutes, which makes it a convenient servicing point for vehicles travelling between South Wales, Bristol and south west of England.

Mark Lovering, managing director, Glenside Commercials, said: “We made the decision to publicly announce the official opening of the Newport site alongside celebrating 25 years trading in the transport industry, to make it a double celebration.

"We are extremely proud of the how the business has evolved over those years. We hope by rolling out an expansion to a new location and adding to services, we will build on the quality of service for our existing customers and grow our client base on both sides of the bridge.

“The objective of the Newport location is a purpose-built location from which to start the next phase of Glenside Commercials' development. We are also hiring new staff to support the growing business, all of whom will benefit from regular training so they can be the best in their fields.”

Glenside Commercials currently has a workforce of more than 100 and its customer portfolio includes companies such as Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Veolia, Dawson Rentals Olleco, Freight Movement and Allied Bakeries.