Meet Scania UK’s Picasso: where it’s all about the details

The man behind the paint brush

The comparison to world famous artist and sculpturer Pablo Picasso may seem farfetched, but actually the similarities between Lee and Picasso are closer than you think.

One example is their beginnings. At a young age, it was well known that Picasso’s talents were being readily recognised. Although never reaching the heights of the Spaniard, Lee’s talents for designing, detailing and restoring vehicles to their former glories started early too.

From the age of 10, while his parents were busy running their chip shop, Lee would often be found around the back in the double garages fettling with British cars. Whether it was a Mark I or II Escort or a Triumph Spitfire, he was focused on one thing restoring those vehicles to their former glories.

Lee explains that for him it’s all about getting the aesthetics right.

“The Picasso of Trucks? I’ve never been called that – but I do like it,” he says. “Art was one of the subjects that I really enjoyed. It probably started from there to be honest.

“For me it’s not about the money, it’s about thinking how to make that truck look better. If it’s right for the customer – then job done.”

In much the same vein as Picasso, Lee continued following his passion, but his was for vehicles rather than art. From school Lee got into the world of trucks and started his career by becoming a technician. Before working in transport operations through to repairing vehicles.

In fact, his story has come full circle, as Lee is back doing what he started as a hobby, repairing, restoring and painting vehicles – only this time he makes a living from it.

“It must’ve been an underlying interest, because when we finished doing repairs on cars, we always liked to make sure the car looked nice as well.

“That meant putting different colours on the Escorts, and make them nice and shiny. I think it is the child coming out of me. When you’re small you play with little toys and now I’m playing with big toys.”

It’s all about the little touches

And playing with big toys doesn’t get much bigger than playing with trucks, and in some cases, buses and coaches.

Lee is a very focused individual and is keen to help customers deliver their vision of their truck. From the design work to the consultation, and even giving progress updates, he is involved in all those processes. While his team deliver the vision Lee has created through design and CAD software.

When it comes to personalising a vehicle, especially a truck, Lee and his team have seen their fair share of random colour combinations and ideas. But for him, it’s all part of the challenge to refine their vision into one that is more beauty than beast.

Whether that’s simply rationalising the colour choices to those that complement each other, or suggesting not spending money on painting parts nobody will see, through to suggesting key details that will finish off the vehicle nicely.

What drives Lee’s desire to be a perfectionist is, ironically, his OCD. It’s something that’s been apparent throughout his life from drawing clean lines on a page, through to maintaining a tidy workspace, and even ensuring a finished truck looks a million dollars before it rolls out of Scania Sheffield’s yard.

“It’s quite a good thing to have that kind of OCD in the business I’m in, to make sure everything is spot on,” says Lee.

“I always think it’s best to walk around the truck with the customer, because they will tell you what they want. It’s up to me to help them visualise it and suggest other areas they may want to paint, which they may not have considered before. For example, the door mirrors, the plastic trim around the windows or the spotlights.

“They tell me what they want, and I tell how they can enhance the effect. They start to picture it themselves, and to help I write on the vehicle with chinagraph pencils.”

But not every project is the same. There are simple jobs where parts or accessories need fitting and respraying to match the vehicle, to full paint jobs where the exterior colour changes completely.

Then at the far end of the scale is restoring and repairing vehicles, which is at the other extreme of his art form.

Giving heavy vehicles a second life

Another side to Lee’s job is assessing restoration and accident repair work. And while this may seem mundane and not in keeping with his artistic flair – Lee and his team have made it a habit of delivering the impossible.

Restoration work is a labour of love and fits neatly within the artist’s remit of re-sculpting a vehicle from its current funk into a new, original version of itself. One example is the full nut and bolt restoration of an original Scania Vabis, also known as the Bulldog, which is co-owned by Scania CV and Scania UK.

But when it comes to accident repair or big structural adjustment jobs, the Bodyshop team at Sheffield don’t shy away from anything.

From twisted chassis, trailers and cabs to removing doors on a bus – all seem crazy and impossible to do. But for this team – this is their bread and butter.

“It makes me smirk to be honest,” says Lee. “Because if there’s anything we think can’t do or we will find difficult to do I know the team will find a way to do it.

“We always end up making it work and getting that end result. It might take time, but I know the lads can do it.”

Sheffield sees a lot of trucks and trailers that need a bit of straightening up. To many, it’s a job not worth doing because it’s time consuming, and you need the correct equipment and knowledge to get it right.

Just to be clear, the team don’t see just minor twists. But things at the extreme end of the spectrum such as twists beyond 60mm. A tough challenge to overcome. Especially when the end result may not show itself for two to three weeks, as Lee explains:

“You’d think a bent chassis was a game over, but you can use chains around it and use rams to push and pull metal.

We put heat spots down the chassis using an induction heater while we’re pulling. It’s like manipulating the steel. Then we push and pull with 80 tonnes of pressure. It takes time to do, but I have the right team who are trained to do it and straighten it back up.”

The link to the great Pablo Picasso may seem a farfetched idea when you first meet Lee outside his office. But first perceptions can be deceptive.

The main difference is, rather than residing in Catalonia, Lee and his team are forging their own style right in the heart of Britain’s Steel City.