Essex-based quarrying and construction material supplier, Brice Aggregates, is embarking on a significant fleet expansion, with the addition of two brand-new Mercedes-Benz Arocs 8x4 concrete mixers, with another mixer, plus four Arocs tippers on order for delivery by the end of the year. The mixers are equipped with 9m3 Liebherr drums, while the tippers will have Charlton steel bodies.
Bodies apart, the new trucks are identical Arocs 3240s, with the Classic Space M extended day cab. They are being supplied by Motus Truck & Van on four-year Mercedes-Benz service contracts, and funded by Daimler Truck Financial Services.
The company was set up in 2017 at Colemans Quarry in Witham, to supply quality aggregate products, but as trade increased, it diversified into construction haulage services. Today, Brice Aggregates offers ready-mixed concrete, sand and gravel, and muckaway services, alongside its inert soil tipping facility and aggregate recycling capabilities, covering Essex, Suffolk, south Cambridgeshire, East London, and eastern Hertfordshire.
Brice Aggregates' shift to Mercedes-Benz vehicles represents an opportunistic conquest after deliveries were made to the Motus construction site at Witham in 2021. Managing director Oliver Brice recalls: "Motus sales executive Ben Sheldrake noticed we were turning up to pour concrete at the site in mixers from a rival brand - so he took the opportunity to start talking to us about the Arocs. He impressed us with his knowledge of the product and understanding of the requirements of our application, and also made all the right promises regarding the level of back-up Motus could provide. We could see that the Arocs was well suited to a business like ours, and the opening of the Witham dealership so close to our own operating base was also a significant advantage.
“I’d already been considering adding a second brand to our line-up, and really only Mercedes-Benz and one other manufacturer were in the running. The fact that the Arocs is well proven as a construction chassis, and backed by a dealer situated just a couple of miles away, was enough to swing us towards the three-pointed star. Motus were also able to quote an impressively short lead time, given the supply problems that still exist in the industry, which sealed the deal in their favour.”
