Meynell introduce Renault trucks to fleet

Meynell Plant Hire, who supply trucks to Leicester construction contractors Jelson Holdings Ltd., their parent company, have broken the mould by acquiring the first Renault trucks to join their fleet of 50 trucks. The Renault Kerax, Midlum and Premium models will become part of the fleet, which also contains Mercedes, Volvo and new and used DAF trucks. The Renault Keraxs are tipper trucks, and will be utilised in the delivery of stone, as well as transporting debris and earth. The Premiums, meanwhile, will be used to transport breeze blocks for Jelson's subsidiary, Interfuse Ltd., a manufacturer of breeze blocks. The Midlums will be used in the transportation of residential items, for example kitchen sets, across the country, particularly to new developments which are under construction.

Meynell Plant Hire's Operations Manager Troy Harrison, said:

The Renault Premium Lander is versatile enough for delivery to our building sites, with the comfort of a high spec cab and automatic gearbox for motorway driving. One of the best advantages of the Lander is its fuel economy.The first Renault Premium Lander has been on the road for a couple of months now and already we are seeing an excellent fuel return of 8.3 miles per gallon - more than any other truck on our fleet which average at approximately 7 miles per gallon. The Kerax is a great looking vehicle and its ground clearance is second to none. The Kerax offers good bhp and a build quality for construction that is simply made for the job.

Meynell Plant Hire have worked with Renault before, as they operate a franchise for Renault automobiles, but the adoption of the trucks indicates a new level of cooperation. The logic, according to Troy Harrison, was thus:

We had never really considered Renault Trucks before but looking at the quality of the trucks you get for your money, we felt that it was a great value and, with the local support of the new RH Commercial Vehicles depot on our doorstep in Leicester, we thought we would give it a go. This decision has already proved a very positive move, both for quality and for fuel efficiency.

Meynell Plant Hire is one of the subsidiaries of Jelson holdings Ltd., one of the largest construction firms in the UK which is still privately owned. It is a family run firm, and was established in 1889, building residential properties across Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire, for more than 120 years.

Volvo display new FL Narrow Track

A number of luminaries from the petrochemical industry in the UK were amongst the guests at a seminar at the Volvo Trucks headquarters in Warwick. The seminar involved the launch of the new Volvo FL Narrow Track tanker, with the guests being able to view them alongside an FE 6x2 rear-steer tanker. The seminar, whilst focussing on the Narrow Track's specifications, also demonstrated how Volvo can work with their customers on a number of issues. There are a few variables, such as using Dynafleet telematics and Volvo Service Point Online, which can be customised, allowing the customer to reduce their fuel usage and manage the vehicle effectively.

The FL Narrow Track fuel tanker features a payload of 11,000 litres, and the FL Narrow Track gas tanker can hold 6200 Kg of Liquid Propane Gas (LPG). The size of these payloads, and the subsequently less frequent need to reload, mean that they are able to be effective alternatives to a GVW truck, or a Scania P94 fuel truck.

The FL Narrow Track measures 2.1 metres in width over the doors, and 2.3 metres over the mudwings. In order to ensure that the vehicle can be serviced by Volvo's network of dealerships, without recourse to special parts, there have been two modifications: the mirror arms have been made narrower, and the rear wheels and tyres have been replaced by super singles on 8 stud steel wheels. It can also be equipped with Volvo's I-Sync, the automated transmission.

The Narrow Track FL is suited to applications which aren't reliant upon axle loading tolerance, as it is 5.8 tonnes at front and 10.3 rear. Another vehicle that was displayed was the 6x2, which featured a rear-steer tag-axle that is operated by hydraulics, and was there to draw attention to a new rental offer by Volvo and Haartz Tanker Rentals. The offer is a Volvo FE 340 with a capacity of 20,000 litres, replete with pumping equipment, for £804 per week, with a minimum term of 12 months.

Whale Tankers hit Truckfest

This year's Truckfest Scotland saw a particularly good impression made by Whale Tankers. It was the first time that Whale Tankers had been present at the Truckfest, and people visiting the Volvo truck stand had the opportunity to explore their rigid vacuum tankers. The VacuumWhale is a 3300 gallon tanker, the only tanker at the exhibit, at was liveried in the colours of Glasgow's Waste Water Services.

Rhona Paterson, the total solutions executive for Volvo truck trader UK in the North, said, To many in the industry, Volvo Truck & Bus included, Whale represents the very best when it comes to product quality for specialist vehicles of this type. We were delighted to be able to feature the only tanker of its kind on one of our chassis at this year's Truckfest - the popular FE 6 x 4 26-tonne GVW chassis with day cab - and we received many favourable comments about the unit and its prominent appearance. It certainly helped Volvo's truck display stand out from the crowd.

Gordon McShannock, the Managing Director of Waste Water Services, who continues to utilise Whale Tankers, said, Not only is the best that money can buy, so too is Whale's service and support back-up. They do all of our servicing, maintenance and tank testing, and we know that there are two highly-qualified and dedicated service engineers just a phone call away should we need them. We are now looking forward to the new vehicle helping us promote our own quality service to both current and future customers.

Whale Tankers' Area Sales manager for Scotland, Alan Steel, said, As Gordon's comments clearly demonstrate, Whale prides itself on the outstanding levels of service support and back-up it has the capability of offering, not just north of the border but UK wide.

Crossroads complete acquisition of Hartshorne Group

The has been an acquisition in West Yorkshire, as Crossroads Truck & Bus completed the takeover of Hartshorne Group, a Midlands-based company which, like Crossroads, are a truck trader, specifically for Volvo.

The two businesses will continue operate with their own identities, running as individual companies, but within the same group. Martin Cronin, the Managing Director of Crossroads, said:

The addition of Hartshorne to the Group will give us greater opportunity to add value to customer's operations by providing consistency and continuity across the key distribution centres of the Midlands and Yorkshire. We believe, that by working together, we can create even more opportunities for our employees, provide even greater customer service locally and build for the long-term future of both businesses.

Between the two companies, they employ nearly 1000 members of staff across 20 separate Volvo dealerships, and produce a turnover of £200 million per year. Their pedigree is shown in Crossroads' status as former holder of the Motor transport Dealer of the Year award.

Buying at the right time could help avoid Euro-6 price rise

The added cost of purchasing first generation Euro-6 vehicles can be avoided, claim DAF trucks, by upgrading your fleet now, with Euro-5 vehicles. The new emissions control legislation becomes effective in September 2013, and a cunningly timed purchase will help operators to avoid the initial phase of introduction, and its associated costs.

Tony Pain, Marketing Director for renowned truck trader DAF, explained:

Historically there's been an upswing in sales in the run-up to a new Euro-standard, but the difference with the changeover from Euro-5 to Euro-6 will be the significant price increase on the trucks. This is due to the additional exhaust after-treatment systems needed to meet the strict legislation. So if operators renew their fleet now on a three-year lease and then upgrade again on a five-year lease just before September 2013, they will have missed the initial take-up, and added cost, of Euro-6.


The size of the investment that truck manufacturers have made in terms of the development of Euro-6 vehicles means that a price rise is inevitable. Renault UK's commercial director Nigel Butler said, For Euro-6 we are anticipating a pre-buy as operators look to capitalise on the run-out of Euro-5 vehicles in 2013. This surge in sales could mean longer lead times because manufacturers have to gear-up production cycles to meet the peak in demand.

Confidence beginning to grow in travel sectors

Travel, transportation and haulage firms, such as an airline or a truck trader, are a good indicator of the state of the economy as a whole. Air travel is rapidly affected by economic declines, and this was the case in the recession of the last two years, as airlines lost billions of Euros, as both individuals and businesses tightened their belts and refrained from flying. Likewise, when the numbers of these transportation industries begin to pick up, it tends to indicate that the economic climate is improving. The airlines have reported that it has almost returned to the pre-recession numbers, with Asia in particular driving the growth. China, the primary growth economy of Asia, and indeed the world, is vitally important, and although the government has begun to shrink some of the incentives and stimulus offers that were introduced in the face of the global recession, it still continues to grow in terms of its demand for equipment and products. Europe presents a less rosy picture, where the levels of growth are sluggish, and many governments have introduced so called 'austerity' policies in order to cut public deficits.

The industry continues to recover faster-than-expected but with sharp regional differences, said Giovanni Bisignani, Director General of IATA, Business confidence remains high and there is no indication that the recovery will stall any time soon. But, with government stimulus packages tailing off and restocking largely completed, we do expect some slowing over the months ahead.

The IATA said that air freight had grown by 26.5 percent, which points to a general increase in business. The world's largest steel-maker, ArcelorMittal, posted quarterly profits of €1.31 billion, which was a surprising level of growth, considering the figures for the commensurate period last year recorded a loss of more than €600 million. The reason for their 43 percent increase this quarter from the first can be accounted for by the return to profit of automobile groups. PSA Peugeot Citroen reported earnings of €680 million in the first half of the year, compared to a loss of €962 million in the first half of last year. Truck manufacturers are also superb indicators of the economic state of nearly every sector, and both Scania trucks for sale and Volvo trucks have been reported as being surprisingly robust. In Germany, the largest market in the EU, confidence in business rose remarkably, with the IFO Institute, a Munich based organisation, said, Firms are reporting significantly more favourable business conditions. The German economy is in party mood again.

Recovery begins in the truck industry

The gradual worldwide recovery of the trucking sector is finally beginning to be felt further down the line, with automotive parts dealers in London seeing a small upsurge in business.

London, Ontario based wheel manufacturers Accuride have been forced into staff cuts in recent years, but recently was able to recall 40 workers who had been let go, making the staff numbers up to 130. Four years ago, the Accuride facility had 500 employees, and so the levels are still much lower than the pre-recession years. However, the beginnings of a recovery are an encouraging sign, with Tim Carrie, president of Canadian Auto Workers Local 27, saying, It is a good sign. It is good news when a company that supplies the trucking industry recalls workers — that is positive.

The fortunes of a company which is a truck trader is generally a good arbiter of wider economic situation, as a successful trucking industry indicates that goods are being purchased which require transportation. Someone buying used DAF trucks represents a pyramid of spending. The recovery is slow; as Carrie puts it, It is coming back in dribs and drabs.

Ceva logistics, which transports items for General Dynamics Land Systems Canada, is another firm which has recently been able to resume hiring new staff. They are recruiting 30 new employees, in various capacities; warehouse, shipping, forklift drivers and administration. To this end they are hosting a job fair on the 5th of August.

The Cami car facility, located in Ingersoll, is working to keep up with a large demand for two utility vehicles, the Terrain and the Equinox.
As a result it is looking employ a further 200 staff by the end of the year. As the recovery trickles down, Cami' supplier Rieter Automotive is also able to add staff, with 40 more jobs created. Carrie is cautiously optimistic, saying, I don’t think we will ever rebound to the level we were at, but this is a good sign. I measure a rebound in workers getting their jobs back, and that is happening now.

Ryder acquires new vehicles for rental fleet

Ryder have acquired 100 new trucks, after investing £4 million in expanding their stock available for rental. These include a number of vehicles from renowned truck trader DAF.

The new acquisitions include 7.5 ton boxvans, 18 ton boxvans, 44-ton tractor unit lorries and curtainsiders. Ryder's commercial vehicles sales director, Nigel Martin, indicated that many firms are opting for renting vehicles as opposed to purchasing one of the DAF trucks for sale, primarily due to the impact of the economic climate upon the haulage industry, saying, The trend for operators renting vehicles for six to 12 months is growing at a phenomenal rate, with many extending contracts for much longer.

Ryder's fleet now stands at 2200 vehicles, following this purchase and the £18 million replacement programme that they undertook in the spring. The importance of these refresher programmes was underlined by David Hunt, the vice-president and MD of fleet management solutions for Ryder Europe, who said, We are seeing a significant uptake in demand for premium quality Euro-5 vehicles, and this additional investment will ensure that Ryder is in a position to fulfil this increased demand.

DAF CF85 wins Fleet Truck of the Year for the third time

The Motor Transport Awards have awarded the Fleet Truck of the Year to one of the DAF trucks for sale, the DAF CF85, for the third year in a row, and it is the tenth time overall that one of the CF series has won the award. It is the first time in the quarter of century that the awards have been running that a hat-trick of consecutive wins has been achieved.

The trophy was presented to Ray Ashworth, the managing director of DAF Trucks UK, at a dinner and reception for 1400 luminaries of the industry.
Ashworth was delighted, saying, We are proud that the DAF CF85 has earned this important industry award. Everyone in our industry and throughout the DAF team recognizes the significance of this award since it is an accolade from the fleet operators themselves. To win in 2008, 2009 and 2010 – three of the most challenging years the UK transport industry has ever experienced – underlines the value of this award. It highlights the exceptional fuel economy and overall efficiency of the CF85, together with the outstanding in-service support provided by our nationwide network of dedicated dealers.