Workshop profile: Talleres Jofrauto – lorry servicing and airport technology near Madrid

Two brothers-in-law founded Jofrauto after having already worked together in the industry. They started out carrying out small jobs and repairs. Today, the workshop and manufacturing facilities form part of the family business. The trade publication Airside International describes “Tecnove by Jofrauto” as a manufacturing unit for airport ground support equipment that works in partnership with Jofrauto.

The family business has grown into a workshop and a production facility. There are now 60 people working in production and 14 in the workshop. The production facility is currently being expanded.

For Mellado Alonso, commercial vehicles form the basis of the family’s livelihood: the team knows this business inside out and makes a living from it. Integrity, professionalism and a sense of responsibility underpin their dealings with customers.

GSE is the abbreviation for Ground Support Equipment and refers to airport ground handling equipment. At Tecnove by Jofrauto, this includes, amongst other things, catering lift vehicles and ambulifts. Catering lift vehicles lift in-flight meals right up to the aircraft door, whilst ambulifts assist passengers with reduced mobility in boarding. The family-run business’s operations therefore encompass not only the commercial vehicle workshop but also the manufacture of such vehicles for airports.

Mellado Alonso describes the transition to production as the greatest challenge in the company’s history.

According to Mellado Alonso, the family tackled this challenge with enthusiasm, expertise and many years of experience. Added to this were financial commitment, family solidarity and the dedication of everyone involved. He also explicitly cites the organisation of the business as one of the key factors behind this development.

According to Mellado Alonso, his customers particularly appreciate the prompt service and the quality of the workshop’s work. The business maintains their trust through its commitment: Jofrauto provides customers with full guarantees for its work.

At the same time, he has observed increasing demands on repair and maintenance. The technical changes in day-to-day workshop life particularly affect electronic components. He therefore cites continuous professional development as a prerequisite for effective, high-quality work.

Jofrauto chose our network so that it could be part of a larger community of garages. The aim was to provide customers with additional support.

Today, Mellado Alonso values the technical support, the brand image of Bosch and Knorr-Bremse, and the opportunities available within our network. He describes the relationship with other partner garages as collegial and characterised by mutual support.

According to Mellado Alonso, collaboration between partner workshops takes place when support is needed. He describes this collaboration as interesting.

Looking ahead, Mellado Alonso cites further growth, ongoing professional development and technological challenges. The quality of service is set to evolve in line with rising customer expectations.

He expects us to further develop technologies and tools, and to promote further training. In addition, he would like to see cross-organisational customer agreements that enable the business to achieve a higher workshop utilisation rate.

He offers young people a personal recommendation as they enter the commercial vehicle sector.

Jofrauto’s next steps involve expanding production and further developing its workshop services. We will take the points raised during the discussion on board in the work of our network.