Braegate Produce has put its first Volvo into service, replacing a rival manufacturer on the potato supplier’s fleet.
The FH 500 6x2 with pusher axle was supplied by Crossroads Truck and Bus into the Tadcaster-based firm’s seven strong fleet of vehicles.
The purchase follows a successful trial with a demonstrator and will now be working six days a week covering up to 140,000km a year on long distance motorway work. The new Volvo with I-Shift gearbox and I-See predictive cruise control will also collect potatoes from farms in addition to supermarket deliveries and is said to be returning some impressive fuel consumption figures already.
“The main focus for us is fuel economy,” said Brian Whitaker, transport manager at Braegate Produce.
“If the FH can match, or better, the rival manufacturers we’ve got on the fleet then we will go back to Volvo again,” explained Whitaker.
“Obviously, it’s a brand-new truck and it still needs to be run-in, but we’re very happy with what we’ve seen so far. We’ve even had Volvo’s local Fuelwatch Manager visit to make sure our driver was getting the best possible performance from the vehicle. He used to have a Volvo before he joined us, so naturally he’s delighted to get back behind the wheel of a top-spec FH Globetrotter!”
“We spoke with the team at Crossroads Truck & Bus and gave them an idea of what they were up against to win the business. What they came back with hit the mark perfectly in terms of both the vehicle specification and the monthly rate,” Whitaker added.
Year: 2015 | Registration: GN65OED | Mileage: 985,816 km | Power: 2,777 bhp | Category: Tractor units
Year: 2014 | Body Type: Tractor unit | Cab Type: Sleeper | Registration: YN64LGX | Mileage: 840,000 km | Power: 500 bhp
Year: 2008 | Body Type: Chassis cab | Cab Type: Sleeper | Registration: KY08HXK | Mileage: 349,933 km | Category: Rigids
