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Truck News - Commercial Motor
April 16, 2020
MPB Structures of Corby, which specialises in concrete frame construction, has taken three new Volvo FH tractor units on an increasingly popular four-year contract hire package, replacing earlier Volvos on a three-year deal. Their work means that they cover a relatively low mileage of around 80,000km per year, but have to be available every day.
During the week, two of the new trucks, FH 500 6x2s deliver building materials on flatbed trailers, while the third, an FH 540 6x2 transports heavy construction equipment on a low loader, while at weekends all three have to be available to move tower crane sections to building sites around the country.
MPB transport manager Mark Price said “Vehicle reliability is our number one priority. When we’re moving the sections of crane, every component has to arrive in order. If one load gets delayed due to a breakdown, it can cost the business huge sums of money in delays. Quite simply, we find things work better when you run Volvos. The trucks these replace didn’t miss a beat in service, so it made sense to plan on keeping their replacements for a little longer. Aside from a puncture, we simply never had a breakdown - and the only workshop which ever saw them was our local dealer in Wellingborough for routine maintenance.”
Supplied by Volvo Truck and Bus Centre East Anglia, the high-spec FH Globetrotters are on contract hire from Volvo Financial Services with a Volvo Gold Contract R&M package including 100% uptime promise. The FORS Silver and CLOCS compliant spec includes nearside Sidescan cycle safety system, 360°.cameras, white noise reversing alarm and LED beacons
MPB Structures’ drivers make good use of the Volvo My Truck smartphone app. Price said “Our trucks can frequently stand for a couple of days between jobs, so the team use the app to check fuel, oil, coolant and fluid levels as well as battery and light status before they need to set off. It gives us additional confidence in the truck’s pre-trip readiness, plus our drivers love being able to pre-warm the cab on colder days. It’s a really nice feature for them.”
