Tachoblog’s Commercial Vehicle News Roundup 5.1.10
Thanks to the good folk at the UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), Tachoblog can bring you a roundup of Commercial Vehicle news for this week…
New fuel anti-siphon device launched – and wins award.
TruckProtect has launched what it says is the ultimate fuel-anti siphon device and won the KillSpills Safety Award for 2009. TruckProtect has applied for patents for its “ultimate” NeckIt!, which has a unique Fuel Anti-Spill Valve within its “world-leading” anti-siphon. Importantly, the valve can be retrofitted into existing devices. “This will interest all companies with CSR commitments – it stops spillages, can save lives and prevents fuel theft,” says Russell Fowler, CEO at TruckProtect. “It also puts paid to any spurious anti-spillage claims within the sector”
More from Russell Fowler on +44 (0)1 753 890 911 or media@truckprotect.com
Click below for the rest of this week’s roundup…
First Conti coach tyre
Continental says it now has its first “dedicated” coach tyre, the HSW2 Coach. This is a 295/80R22.5 unit, designed to give passengers a safer and more comfortable ride and give operators lower overall costs than they will get from truck tyres.
More from Belle Moss on +44 (0) 2 074 948 050 or bmoss@automotivepr.com
Commercial Vehicle Engineer delivers the goods
Commercial Vehicle Engineer, a new independent and online monthly magazine started this month. Editor David Wilcox says it will deliver a unique combination of news, analysis and comment on commercial vehicles and their aftermarket, at www.cvengineer.com. He and managing editor Tim Blakemore are respected road transport and commercial vehicle engineering journalists. “The new title is for engineers and fleet managers running UK-based van, truck, trailer, bus and coach fleets.” Blakemore says the “tremendous response” to their plans shows the “strong demand” for their style of editorial. “Our long-established annual analysis of truck operating costs” is “an unrivalled source” of reliable information. “So the first issue of Commercial Vehicle Engineer includes an operating cost analysis.” The annual subscription is £48 plus VAT.
More from Tim Blakemore on +44 (0)1 428 605 605 or timb@aztecxpress.com
Manage your nuts
Safetytrimworldwide Ltd says its new wheel nut management system is unique and should help cut wheel losses from vans, trucks, trailers and buses. The firm says its system is the only one that shows when a wheel nut is loose and holds it in place until it can be re-tightened. There is one unit per wheel, fitting tightly over the nuts and looking like a wheel-trim but with an indicator to show if a nut has begun to loosen. Made of a tough plastic that has a chemical shape-memory that means it will return to its original shape, each unit can be easily fitted in a workshop.. The firm’s Philip Aerts says the system is better than the commonly-used fluorescent tags because it “clearly points out when a nut is working loose and stops the problem getting worse.”
More from Philip Aerts on +44 (0)2 088 478 038 or philipa@safetytrimworldwide.com
Norbert Dentressangle and Toyota help Zambian training
Norbert Dentressangle Logistics UK and Toyota Material Handling are working together to help international development charity, Transaid. Toyota is giving a 2.5t counterbalance forklift truck to the organisation, while Norbert Dentressangle has arranged for Jason Thornton, one of its forklift truck driver trainers, to fly out to The Industrial Training Centre Trust in Lusaka, Zambia and help train the centre’s instructors.
More from Chantelle Cummings on + 44 (0)2 073 878 136 or chantelle@transaid.org
Whale trailer sets pump up the volume
Solihull-based Whale Tankers recently delivered two more of its increasingly popular Molex pump trailer sets. Industrial Water Jetting Systems, part of the Adler & Allan Group just got its first and Severn Trent Water has another, taking its trailer pump fleet set to more than 20. The units use the Molex-branded cavity pump to handle heavily laden or viscous liquids and sludges and prove very effective in clearing the aftermath of flooding.
More from Paul Watson on +44 (0)1 619 736 763 or paul@wentworthcomms.co.uk
Go-Ahead may buy Ipswich Buses
Busandcoach.com reports that Go-Ahead is in talks with Ipswich borough council about buying the council’s 70 strong bus fleet and bus business. Go-Ahead bought the council-owned Plymouth CityBus operation last December. First Group is the main bus operator in Suffolk.
More from www.busandcoach.com
Truck operating costs: the inside story
What really happened to the cost of running trucks in the UK over the past year? The first issue of Commercial Vehicle Engineer, a new online monthly has just gone live and has the answers. Editor David Wilcox has an impressive 11-year track record for annual operating-cost analyses, widely seen as unrivalled for detailed accuracy. Many big operators use them for reference, as do universities like Leeds and Westminster. One surprise Commercial Vehicle Engineer found is that the average UK price of bulk diesel was 10% lower in 2009 than in 2008, but still 9% up on 2007.
More from Tim Blakemore on +44 (0)1 428 605 605 or timb@aztecxpress.com
Wrightbus wins new Routemaster contract
Busandcoach.com reports that Wrightbus is the preferred maker for London mayor Boris Johnson’s new Routemaster. The design should be finished soon; probably as a watered-down version of the original Borismaster half-cab bus. It will have three doors, with the third including a rear platform that can be opened and closed. The half-cab is unlikely to appear, with the new Routemaster probably fitted with a conventional front end and passenger entrance in the overhang.
More from www.busandcoach.com
Glass’s warns of scruffy vans
Glass’s expects December data to show strong demand for medium-sized panel vans costing between £2,000 and £4,000 as small businesses sought low-cost solutions for short-term delivery needs in the lead up to Christmas. “The increase in demand for panel vans over the festive season was bound to support this market over the first fortnight in December, before coming to an abrupt stop. However, this poses the risk of an influx of scruffy, 3.5-tonners returning to the market in the New Year,” said George Alexander, chief commercial vehicle editor at Glass’s.
More from Kate Hudson on 01 622 766 528 or kate.hudson@pfpr.com
Truck & Driver tries pimping
“Truck pimping that is,” says editor Will Sheirs. He plans to get a truck, customise it and then auction it and give all the profit to the Help for Heroes charity. He says that sounds simple but “the difficult bit is an incredibly small budget.” To deliver a truck worth serious money, “we’ll need to do some serious chugging” (charity mugging). So T&D staff will call some of the UK’s best aftermarket accessory makers and customisers, “armed only with a begging bowl.” The project is “off to a great start,” thanks to truck dealers J & L Commercial Vehicles, Trucks 2 Go and D W Vehicles, who gave a “fantastic” 2002 6×2 tractor. “Truck & Driver, in the shops now, tells all.”
More from Will Shiers on +44 (0)2 086 523 721 or will.shiers@rbi.co.uk
Super single drive axle tyres “here to stay”
Speaking to UK journalists just before Christmas, Continental says it believes super single drive axle tyres are “here to stay.” The firm says the benefits of better payload and lower fuel bills are clearly helping convince increasing numbers of previously sceptical operators. “Like all tyres, super singles will perform better when supported by a “proper” tyre management programme such as the ContiLifeCycle deal available through the ContiNetwork.” Continental also cites the recent Ricardo study of truck efficiency; this showed a “key role” for super singles in cutting road freight fuel use and thus CO2 emissions.
More from Belle Moss on +44 (0) 2 074 948 050 or bmoss@automotivepr.com
Lombard wins sole supplier deal again
Lombard Vehicle Management says it has won a repeat deal as sole supplier to Power Tecnique Ltd, a power supply systems business. The 12 vehicle deal involves vans supplied on a 36-month contract hire basis but with pooled mileage to help manage costs. Each van is delivered through one of Lombard’s preferred dealer partners, fully liveried and fitted with vehicle tracking, tail lifts and current inverters necessary for maintaining power supplies in the field. Because of the critical nature of Power Tecnique’s service, the fleet solution also includes gap insurance and daily rentals.
More from Mark Carbery on +44 (0)1 832 272 197 or mark.carbery@longshoreconsultancy.com
Prohire upbeat
Contract hire specialist Prohire says it ended 2009 strongly “despite the tough economic climate” in the commercial vehicle sector. The firm says its fleet has grown on the back of contract wins with blue chip operators. These have either ordered new vehicles on contract hire or asked Prohire to handle repair and maintenance on new and existing vehicles. New customers included office2office (Banner Business Services), E.ON UK Plc and Global Draw. David Barlow, Prohire chairman is “confident that the contract hire and managed fleet business will continue to grow” through 2010.
More from Andrew Morley on 08 447 703 810 or andrewmorley@prohire.plc.uk
CM reveals transport’s most powerful person
This week’s issue of Commercial Motor, out on 7 January, shows the most powerful person in UK road transport. The Power Players 2009 series, also at www.roadtransport.com/powerplayers shows the 20 most powerful people. Its 17 December issue showed those in 20th to 11th place. That list included Dick Denby of Denby Transport, Sally Traffic, the heads of the Road Haulage Association and the Freight Transport Association and Lord Adonis, the secretary of state for transport. This week’s issue shows those in 10th to first place. Justin Stanton, editor at CM says, “Our Power Players list is by no means objective, but we have debated long and hard the merits of those on it and where they appear. And if you don’t agree, let us know!”
More from Justin Stanton on +44 02 086 523 251 or justin.stanton@rbi.co.uk
First Renaults for Micheldever
The UK’s largest independent tyre wholesaler, Micheldever Tyre and Auto Services just got 15 Renault Master vans, the first Renaults into the firm’s 200-strong mixed fleet. The firm will use its new vans on nationwide wholesale delivery work to 12 UK depots and 4,500 retailers. Renault Trucks Midlands price and service won the deal, with the Master’s low unladen weight “clinching the deal.” “The Master van offers a greater payload than its competitors which means that our delivery operation is more cost effective, with lower running costs,” said Malcolm Turnbull, fleet manager.
More from Penny Randall on +44 (0)1 582 479 619 or penny.randall@renault-trucks.com
Open Forum
The SMMT plans another of its successful Open Forum events. This one aims to show supply chain firms how the newly formed Automotive Council can help them. It will be on 25 February, at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills in London. Confirmed speakers include Richard Parry-Jones, co-chair of the Automotive Council, Bill Parfitt, chair of the Supply Chain Council and Jerry Hardcastle chair of the Technology Council.
More from Claire Balch on +44 (0)2 073 441 636 or cbalch@smmt.co.uk
Transformer oil tanker for CE
CE Electric UK, which delivers electricity to nearly 3.8m properties across the North East of England, just got a new rigid road tanker from Solihull-based Whale Tankers Limited. The new truck delivers and collects electrical insulating oil from sub-stations, mostly in South Yorkshire. Mounted on an MAN TGM 18-tonner and built to ADR “AT” specifications as defined in Part 9 of the regulations, the vehicle has an 11,000 litre, twin compartment stainless steel tank, half for reclaimed clean oil and half for collected waste oil. The vehicle’s specification came from a joint effort by CE Electric, their fleet specialists, Vehicle Lease and Service Ltd and the design and engineering team at Whale.
More from Paul Watson on +44 (0)1 619 736 763 or paul@wentworthcomms.co.uk
New bosses at Lombard
Lombard has added two more directors to its strategic accounts team, which handles big fleet customers and those with non-standard needs. Peter Butler joins as development director and Ian Banks joins as a relationship director. Butler comes from VW and Banks from Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank. Lombard’s strategic accounts team is now around 20 strong and its customers include British Gas, BSkyB, Ikea, St Gobain and the AA.
More from Mark Carbery on +44 (0)1 832 272 197 or mark.carbery@longshoreconsultancy.com
Directors buy JDS Trucks Renault dealer
Mark Griffiths, Peter Glover and Richard Davies, directors at JDS Trucks have bought the firm from Peter Harper. The dealer has sites in Manchester, Blackburn and Leeds and has been part of the Renault Trucks network since the early 1990′s. Started in 1965 as J Douthwaite & Sons, JDS Trucks was sold to Peter Harper 20 years ago.
More from Penny Randall on +44 (0)1 582 479 619 or penny.randall@renault-trucks.com
First specialist truck for tail lift tests
Willesden-based tail lift engineers Double 4 Limited have put a modified Mercedes Mitsubishi Fuso light truck to work doing Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations tests on tail lifts. “As far as we know this vehicle is a UK first,” said Peter Davies at Double 4. “It will eliminate a lot of double handling and make the test process more efficient.” The firm says the truck has a payload potential of 3.75t and has a Fassi F5O crane capable of lifting 2.25t at two metres. It will work in the Greater London area. Rygor Commercials supplied the truck and JC Payne did the body, working with Fassi’s UK agents, Walker Cranes.
More from Peter Davies on +44(0)1 767 317 683 or peterdavies@double4ltd.com
New men at Prohire
Contract hire specialist Prohire has appointed David Gillott as business development director and Graham Jackson as business development manager as part of its UK expansion plans.
More from Andrew Morley on 08 447 703 810 or andrewmorley@prohire.plc.uk
Tell Stoneridge
Tachograph maker Stoneridge says it has new “feedback” section to its website. The move follows the firm’s successfully launched SE5000 Tachograph. “The new features and improvements” on this unit are all “as a result of valuable customer feedback” so now it has a “have your say” area on its website, www.se5000.com, so that customers can leave comments and ask Stoneridge to contact them. “We want to make communication with our customers as easy as possible”, says Amanda Robertson, sales and marketing manager.
More from Vicki Giacopazzi on +44 (0)1 382 866 400 or vicki.giacopazzi@stoneridge.com
Tyndale wins with Newcastle
Tynedale Group Travel recently got its first Neoplan Starliner 2 luxury touring coach. The delivery comes after the Northumberland-based operator won a long-term deal with Newcastle United FC to handle the club’s travel arrangements. These include match-day journeys for the first team squad, reserve squad, academy sides and staff. Tyndale has already placed an order for another 36 seat three-axle Starliner 2, due for delivery soon. “The new Starliner 2 will work with Newcastle United until early May when it will then revert to our front line tour coach. The second Starliner 2 will become NUFC’s dedicated team coach when the team is, hopefully, back playing in the Premiership,” said Andy Sinclair, managing director.
More from Paul O’Malley on +44 (0)1 263 715 900 or paul@hallspr.com
Awards for Truck & Trailer Components
Unipart’s Truck & Trailer Components business recently won two industry awards. These are the Automotive Distribution Federation Commercial Vehicle Supplier award and an Independent Motor Trade Factors Association Supplier award. “This is a fantastic accolade for the TTC business and recognises the company’s recent investment in logistics and e-commerce trading,” said Darren Miller, general manager at Truck & Trailer Components.
More from Nicole Appleton on +44 (0)1 865 383 424 or nicole_appleton@unipart.co.uk
Eight more Isuzus for ALD
Associated London Distribution Limited has put eight new Isuzu N75.190 7.5 tonners to work, making the firm’s fleet now almost 50% Isuzu. ALD put its first Isuzus on the road just over 18 months ago and says that the truck maker’s customer service was a big selling point. ALD delivers copies of the Metro newspaper to underground and overground railway stations in and around London and the Home Counties. The new trucks will each do some 80,000km a year for four years.
More from David Nash on +44 (0)1 614 567 870 or quadpr@globalnet.co.uk
Stagecoach cuts gas bills by 35%
Stagecoach Group says it has cut annual heating energy consumption at its UK Bus division by more than a third in the past three years with a hi-tech energy management system. The system, which is now in place at 108 Stagecoach sites in Scotland, England and Wales, has cut heating gas use by around 35%, saving some 20,000 tonnes of CO2 a year. It also cut electricity use by 11.5%.
More from Steven Stewart on +44 (0)1 738 442 111 or steven.stewart@stagecoachgroup.com
New VW Transporter from £239 a month
Volkswagen says its Van Centres are offering new Transporter models from £239 a month, plus VAT and deposit on a contract hire and lease deal. The firm says it aims to make all its vans “as affordable as possible in 2010″ and so will continue or improve its popular offers from 2009. These start at £189 a month for the Caddy and rise to £349 a month for a top of the range Crafter. VW is also offering contract hire and lease deals on seven-seat Caddy and Caravelle people carriers. The offers run from 1 January until 31 March 2010 at Volkswagen Van Centres and can be tailored to suit individual customer’s needs and budgets.
More from John Rawlings on +44 (0)1 908 601 478 or john.rawlings@vwcv.co.uk
Wrong answer
As some of you spotted, I gave you the wrong answer to question 24 in the recent quiz. A male swan is definitely a cob, not a pen. So if you got it right, well done. I apologise for that and hope that you enjoyed the rest of the quiz. I’m pleased to say that apart from my mistake, it has proved as popular as ever. My thanks for the many kind comments.
More from Robin Dickeson on +44 (0)2 073 449 222 or rdickeson@smmt.co.uk
And finally
New Scientist’s Feedback page says that Alan Hickman saw the following in BBC East Midlands news: “Government minister John Healey announced 2000 new homes will be built in England on Wednesday.” Prefabricated homes, presumably.
More from www.newscientist.com
