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People have been writing off LDV ever since the company was rescued from the ashes of Daf Trucks in 1993. For the past 12 months as CEO Steve Young has been working to prove the doubters wrong and get LDV back in the black. At the CV Show earlier this year the company revealed that it was boosting production. The build rate is up 63% to 300 vehicles a week, and year-on-year sales are up 65%.

What's  more, dealers are re-investing in the franchise new dealers are joining the network. A new range of Maxus chassis-cabs, minibuses and dual-purpose vehicles will hit the road later this month, and the Maxus is selling so well on the Continent that it's been added to the shortlist of nominations for the International Van of the Year 2008. At the Moscow motor show last month LDV's parent company Gaz unveiled the Maxus to an expectant Russian public and the initial response is promising. Steve Young comes across as a thoughtful individual. He's well respected on the international automotive field and, alongside Martin Leach formerly of Ford, is spearheading the market development of Gaz as a company outside the former Soviet Union under the Gaz International banner. Clearly Gaz is a company with funds the management team have a clear brief to explore opportunities for growth.

Ironically the biggest acquisition to date - LDV - happened almost by accident. "I'd previously been  a non-executive director at Ashok Leyland in India and we were aware LDV could be on the market as a potential acquisition target," Young explains. "Ashok Leyland chose not to go forward as Sun Capital were already engaged in the acquisition. "When I joined Gaz I flagged it up as a potential target. I was convinced Sun Capital would not go the distance, although I didn't expect them to back out quite as quickly as they did."

The fall-out from the Sun Capital ownership created a degree of turbulence for the new management team as all existing contracts with suppliers, dealers and customers had to be re-negotiated. The worst times are now a bitter memory and LDV is moving forward at a fair rate of knots. "We recapitalised the business in November 2006, giving the company a fresh injection and underlining the fact Gaz is in this for the long-term," says Young. "We've made clearly demonstrable progress. The dealers are now investing in the brand, the workforce is extremely loyal and flexible and the customers consider the Maxus as a legitimate consideration for their business. We're now well above our break-even volume and I'm confident we'll return to profit this year."

Young is confident that the newcomer will spearhead the company's growth over the next three or four years: "Maxus is a fantastic product. It has one of the best payloads in its class and that's because it's built to a no-compromise design to suit the customers in the European 3.5-tonne sector. We've now added the chassis-cab to the range, and the order book is building rapidly. The range will continue to evolve, but we will stay focused on the needs of the customer. "To go down the weight scale I think you need a substantially different product approach, and we have some plans for that. We will also look to extend up the weight range, but not in a way which will compromise the product."

The dealer network has always been one of the company's strongest points and that continues with the Maxus. A number of independent dealers have recently been added to the fold - Volvo Truck dealer Thomas Hardie Commercials has signed up with five outlets - and many of these recruits, notably Aquila in the West Midlands, are investing in new branding and signage. The truck heritage continues at LDV, but the traditional alliance with Daf dealerships does not appear to be as strong as it once was. "Those dealers with the Daf franchise are still very important to us," says Young, "but we don't see ourselves restricted to any one make. It's the quality of service that's the important factor both to us and the customer. We're looking to add a further 20 sales points over the next year. We're open to discussions."

As well as launching in Russia, LDV is has a clear sales development strategy for Western Europe. An average of five new sales points a week are opening on the Continent - predominantly in Benelux, France and Spain for now, but there are plans to move into Germany, Austria and Switzerland later this year and Italy is in LDV's sights for 2008. "We've ramped up in France," says Young, "and we're now developing in Spain and the Benelux. The country manager in Benelux is ex-Daf Trucks and Mercedes in Spain we've hired an ex-Hyundai person while in France we have recruited someone from Mitsubishi to run the territory. These are all experienced people. We'll roll out east and south from here.

"We wanted to have 70 dealers in Europe by the end of this year... we'll exceed that." Nobody at LDV is under any illusion that international market growth is going to be easy, but the early signs are promising. It's unfortunate the latest Maxus was overtaken by new models from the major European manufacturers, but it remains a totally credible player in the market. LDV now has an owner that's prepared to stake a few quid on its future - something that's been missing for over a decade - and is also looking at ways to expand and regenerate the company and its products. We won't be writing them off just yet.