Mercedes-Benz unveils new truck engine
With its Blue Efficiency Power range, Mercedes-Benz is now introducing a completely redesigned engine series for light and heavy-duty trucks, as well as for buses and coaches. The medium-duty engines of the OM 93x series, with four and six cylinders and a displacement of either 5.1 or 7.7 litres, span the output range from 115 kW (156 hp) to 260 kW (354 hp). Their outstanding properties serve to underline Mercedes-Benz’s expertise in the field of diesel engines. The new engines set a new benchmark in their class. They are uncompromisingly designed with environmental compatibility, economic efficiency and performance in mind. This is also the first commercial vehicle engine series in which every engine meets the Euro VI emissions standard right from the outset. Daimler Trucks is thus once again leading the way when it comes to environmental issues Exceptional economic efficiency, in the case of the new engines, means longevity of service life, low consumption of fuel, AdBlue and engine oil, plus long maintenance intervals. Powerful means that the new OM 93x engines offer a pleasing immediacy of response, together with impressive power delivery. Such characteristics are the result of some sophisticated engine technology.
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Mercedes-Benz unveils new truck engine
Cab cameras help to cut accident rate
Palletforce member H Young Transport has seen its accident rate dramatically reduce in two years after installing video cameras in the cabs of its trucks. The company, a member of Palletforce, the UK’s leading palletised distribution network, installed the cameras in 25 of its vehicles operating from its hubs in Huddersfield and Eastleigh. The number of accidents involving its vehicles has fallen by 34 per cent. “The main reason we installed the cameras was to reduce the number of accidents and encourage drivers to drive in a professional manner, and it has absolutely worked,” said Russell Webster, Managing Director. “It has driven down our insurance premiums every year so our investment in the cameras has more than paid for itself.” H Young Transport has been joined by fellow Palletforce member S and J European Haulage, which installed the cameras in its entire fleet of 38 trucks a month ago. Steve Haines, Managing Director of the Melton Mowbray based firm, took the decision as a method of protecting the company from insurance scams by people causing deliberate accidents. “We’ve had quite a few of these scams happen. A whiplash claim can be £15,000 and when it’s one word against the other it can be hard to disprove but these cameras should provide us with indisputable evidence,” said Steve.
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Cab cameras help to cut accident rate
DAF Trucks launches bodybuilder information website
DAF Trucks is launching a bodybuilder information website (www.DAFBBI.com) especially designed for the bodybuilding industry. The online platform is available in ten languages and provides bodybuilders in all details and guidelines they need to efficiently build on a DAF chassis. Once a truck leaves the factory, it often travels straight to a bodybuilder that installs a specific superstructure, such as a tipper or cargo body, or to mount a loading crane or support legs. In order to provide optimum support to these bodybuilder companies in their assembly and bodybuilding work, the new website includes detailed chassis drawings, specification sheets and bodybuilding guidelines. Bodybuilders can also consult grid views that can be used when applying striping, logos and the transport company branding to the vehicle. The website aims to support the bodybuilding industry to help in creating the best solutions in the most efficient way. This is why users can also download CAD files from the website that can be used in bodywork development, and 3D files have been created that allow the transport operator to see exactly how the finished truck will look like on the road. The website is available in English, Dutch, Czech, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Spanish and Russian.
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DAF Trucks launches bodybuilder information website
Volvo promotes blue corridors for long haul trucking
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a viable lower-carbon alternative to diesel for heavy-duty long-haul trucks, but the necessary infrastructure for it in Europe is lacking. As a consequence Volvo Trucks is involved in efforts to establish ‘blue corridors’ with strategically placed filling stations to make the fuel more widely available. The transport industry accounts for around 25 per cent of Europe’s total carbon dioxide emissions, so competitive alternatives to diesel are sorely needed. Natural gas is one such alternative; admittedly it is also a fossil fuel, but it offers many environmental advantages over diesel – and it’s cheaper too. But when liquid biogas (LBG) becomes more widely available, the carbon footprint of the vehicles using it will be reduced by up to 70 per cent. “We are confident that liquefied gas will come to be used as a fuel throughout the world. It is a clear trend in meeting energy needs and we are part of this”, says Lennart Pilskog, director of public affairs at Volvo Trucks – a member of the Natural & bio Gas Vehicle Association (NGVA Europe); the first and still the only manufacturer in Europe with a methane-diesel system. Manuel Lage, general manager of NGVA Europe, says that the technology for driving on LNG is proven and that there exists a will among haulage firm owners and gas suppliers to push the issue forwards. “When it comes to long-haul transport with heavy vehicles, no other alternatives can match LNG at present,” he says, adding, “We feel it is the perfect solution for long-distance transport needs.” In many European cities there is an expanding infrastructure for compressed gas – including biogas made from waste products – on a local level. But it is not possible to run heavy long-haul operations on compressed gas because the tanks are heavy and take up too much space. However, in liquid form, gas has a lower volume, thereby making it more suitable for long-haul operations. However, in order to run long-haul transport on LNG throughout Europe, a filling station infrastructure must first be established. And so the idea of ‘blue corridors’ came about, offering a network of LNG refuelling stations for heavy vehicles. Establishing such an infrastructure will not be simple, because gas suppliers, vehicle manufacturers, haulage firms and various political/administrative organisations at both regional and national levels have to have their say, and extensive co-ordination will be needed “The challenge is that this has to be co-ordinated between various parties,” says Pilskog, adding that Volvo has been active in the Swedish BiMe Trucks demo project, which is similar to the blue corridor project, but on a smaller scale. “Right now the focus is on locating large customers who are willing to test and build up specific routes. Interest among smaller customers will grow when they see that it works and when they appreciate the economic benefits. But this will take a few years.” There are already a number of LNG filling stations in Europe, so the work of establishing blue corridors is already underway. Using these stations as a starting point, it is possible to identify a number of potential corridors suitable for development. “If you take a map and mark the sites of the existing filling stations, you can easily draw various possible transport routes and then identify whether a filling station is missing on any of these routes,” says Lage. In order to boost that process, the EU Commission is currently setting up an €8 million (£ 6.7m) project for a large-scale trial of LNG corridors. “I hope we’ll have around 200 trucks driving in these blue corridors to demonstrate that LNG is a well-functioning alternative for long-haul transport in Europe,” says Manuel Lage. “This is no pipe-dream – all the necessary technology is already available. The market is ready for the commercialisation of LNG.”
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Volvo promotes blue corridors for long haul trucking
Continental announces changes to ContiTread distribution
Continental and Marangoni Group, the Italian supplier of retreading systems, have announced that as of April 2012 ContiTread (cold cure treading), will be promoted and sold by Continental Tyre Group Ltd in the UK and Ireland. “The addition of ContiTread to our core sales offering, further underlines Continental’s commitment to the ContiLifeCycle concept,” said Commercial Marketing Manager Tracey Hyem. “Customers will now have one contact for all elements of ContiLifeCycle, and can rely on comprehensive advice to help reduce costs through better fuel consumption and longer tyre life.” The ContiLifeCycle encourages operators to extend tyre life through a series of proven methods. After regrooving, Continental offers two options for retreading. The first ContiRe, is a full bead to bead hot retread, and is traditionally the option most used in the UK market. The alternative, ContiTread, is a cold cure retread used extensively in the Irish and European transport markets. Grant Willman, Retread & Brand Manager at Continental Tyres commented “The UK truck market is unusual in that it comprises a number of very large own account fleets. Fleet managers have historically preferred the appearance of the hot cure tyre as even the sidewall is remoulded, but we believe that offering a full range of options means that we guarantee our customers the best solution for their individual business needs.” Thanks to the quality of Continental’s casing and its hot and cold retread processes, regrooving can also be carried out for a second time, to further extend the life of the retread. Applying the full ContiLifeCycle concept can produce cost savings for operators of up to 25% as opposed to using solely new tyres. Continental Tyres and Marangoni have been in collaboration in Europe since 2008, with a long standing licensing agreement for the provision of tread liners to truck and coach operators.
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Continental announces changes to ContiTread distribution
FTA calls on government to cut fuel duty
The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has called on the Chancellor to cut fuel duty by at least five pence per litre and scrap the increase planned for August. In its pre-Budget submission to the Treasury, the leading trade body argues that such action could save consumers and businesses £3.6 billion and prove to be a vital shot in the arm for the UK’s ailing economy. Following sustained and concerted lobbying by FTA and its partners in the Fair Fuel UK campaign, the last Budget saw two planned increases in fuel duty deferred and an unprecedented cut in fuel duty of 1ppl, a move which saved businesses some £500 million. However, despite this the price of diesel increased by 7ppl in 2011, adding £3,284 to the annual operating cost of a typical 44 tonne articulated vehicle. James Hookham, FTA’s MD of Policy and Communications, said: “Never mind quantitative easing, cutting the still-disproportionately high amount we spend on diesel, which is, after all, a business essential, would be a simple and effective way to stimulate the economy. The billions that industry and consumers will save over a year would be invested elsewhere in the economy, giving the impetus to growth that is so badly needed. “George Osborne gave industry a lifeline in the last budget, but with the economy still in the doldrums and a new round of duty rises looming, we are asking the Chancellor to extend this logic further for the sake of businesses, consumers and UK plc. It is clear that the economy still needs it.” FTA’s Budget submission calls for tax on road fuel gases to be fixed relative to diesel rates for at least five years to provide confidence for truck operators and investors to commit to use of lower emission vehicles. Hookham continued: “Logistics is helping to decarbonise the economy; members of FTA’s voluntary Logistics Carbon Reduction Scheme are on track to meet their self-imposed eight per cent greenhouse gas reduction target by 2015. But much more could be achieved with greater government support. For example, biomethane from landfill sites could be a real option for articulated truck operators, but uncertainty over duty rates on natural gas and biomethane is a bar to investment in this sort of technology. We are simply asking government to help industry help the environment by fixing duty rates for the next five years.” The uneven playing field between domestic and foreign hauliers could be addressed by introducing a time based lorry road user charge or UK Vignette, according to FTA’s Budget submission. Hookham concluded: “It is only right that foreign lorries pay for their use of UK roads. But the industry’s support for a ‘UK vignette’ will be entirely contingent on how the Department for Transport can ensure that it does not impose additional costs on domestic hauliers; the only solution as far we can see is through a rebate on VED – the Chancellor needs to confirm this is what will happen in his Budget statement. Until a workable rebate mechanism is confirmed by government, I expect our members’ reception for a UK vignette will be only lukewarm.” (FTA) has called on the Chancellor to cut fuel duty by at least five pence per litre and scrap the increase planned for August. In its pre-Budget submission to the Treasury, the leading trade body argues that such action could save consumers and businesses £3.6 billion and prove to be a vital shot in the arm for the UK’s ailing economy. Following sustained and concerted lobbying by FTA and its partners in the Fair Fuel UK campaign, the last Budget saw two planned increases in fuel duty deferred and an unprecedented cut in fuel duty of 1ppl, a move which saved businesses some £500 million. However, despite this the price of diesel increased by 7ppl in 2011, adding £3,284 to the annual operating cost of a typical 44 tonne articulated vehicle. James Hookham, FTA’s MD of Policy and Communications, said: “Never mind quantitative easing, cutting the still-disproportionately high amount we spend on diesel, which is, after all, a business essential, would be a simple and effective way to stimulate the economy. The billions that industry and consumers will save over a year would be invested elsewhere in the economy, giving the impetus to growth that is so badly needed. “George Osborne gave industry a lifeline in the last budget, but with the economy still in the doldrums and a new round of duty rises looming, we are asking the Chancellor to extend this logic further for the sake of businesses, consumers and UK plc. It is clear that the economy still needs it.” The FTA’s Budget submission calls for tax on road fuel gases to be fixed relative to diesel rates for at least five years to provide confidence for truck operators and investors to commit to use of lower emission vehicles. Hookham continued: “Logistics is helping to decarbonise the economy; members of FTA’s voluntary Logistics Carbon Reduction Scheme are on track to meet their self-imposed eight per cent greenhouse gas reduction target by 2015. But much more could be achieved with greater government support. For example, biomethane from landfill sites could be a real option for articulated truck operators, but uncertainty over duty rates on natural gas and biomethane is a bar to investment in this sort of technology. We are simply asking government to help industry help the environment by fixing duty rates for the next five years.” The uneven playing field between domestic and foreign hauliers could be addressed by introducing a time based lorry road user charge or UK Vignette, according to FTA’s Budget submission. Hookham concluded:“It is only right that foreign lorries pay for their use of UK roads. But the industry’s support for a ‘UK vignette’ will be entirely contingent on how the Department for Transport can ensure that it does not impose additional costs on domestic hauliers; the only solution as far we can see is through a rebate on VED – the Chancellor needs to confirm this is what will happen in his Budget statement. Until a workable rebate mechanism is confirmed by government, I expect our members’ reception for a UK vignette will be only lukewarm.”
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FTA calls on government to cut fuel duty
Bevan ICONs help McCarthy & Stone customers
Britain’s biggest developer of new-build retirement homes has launched a dedicated removals service with a fleet of state-of-the-art Luton vans. The initiative is relieving customers of McCarthy & Stone of much of the stress and aggravation that moving to a new home can entail, particularly for those who may have been settled in their previous property for 30 or 40 years. The service is being co-ordinated and delivered by removals specialist House to Home UK, which commissioned the vehicles. The 10 fuel-efficient 3.5-tonne Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 313CDIs are fitted with streamlined ICON bodies that offer market-leading payloads of more than 1,200kg. The chassis were supplied by Birmingham dealer Midlands Truck & Van while the bodies were fitted by leading manufacturer Bevan Group, of Halesowen, West Midlands. Wearing eye-catching McCarthy & Stone liveries, and manned by uniformed staff, the vehicles are among the most distinctive on Britain’s roads. Bournemouth-based McCarthy & Stone will sell over 1,300 homes this year and expects to provide a removals service for around 80 per cent of these. Its National Sales Director Lorena Brown says: “We spoke to a lot of potential customers and were shocked to discover how many of them found the prospect of moving out of the family home just too daunting. So we set out to help them through the process and the House to Home service is an important part of that. It’s a great benefit for the customer and a great benefit for us. Our branding looks great and we’ll be adding to the fleet as demand increases.” House to Home UK is part of the Vogue Group of companies and operates from headquarters in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands. Managing Director James Sandbrook explains: “The ICON-bodied Mercedes-Benz Sprinter combines high levels of productivity, user-friendly-practicality and safety, with excellent environmental credentials.” The Euro 5 Sprinter 313CDI is 15 per cent more efficient than its Euro 4 equivalent, this improvement equating to an extra 4.5 miles per gallon, while CO2 emissions are down by 13 per cent. Like all Mercedes-Benz vans, it also offers a driving experience more akin to a luxury car than a van, and is equipped with a comprehensive armoury of active and passive safety features, including the Adaptive ESP® anti-skid program; this monitors a vehicle’s changing load status and is thus able to intervene with even greater sensitivity and precision in critical situations. The ICON body was developed by Bevan Group in partnership with independent aerodynamics experts from Cranfield University and Hatcher Components, and launched at the 2011 Commercial Vehicle Show. Its innovative, modular panels – moulded cab deflector and collar, side walls and roof – were created using three-dimensional CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) technology then honed in a wind tunnel, and are manufactured in a lightweight and recyclable composite GRP material. Adds Mr Sandbrook: “To contain costs we’re naturally keen to make maximum use of the available loadspace. The ICON offers impressive volume and payload capacities, while its aerodynamic design contributes to improved fuel economy. It also has a fantastic on-road presence allowing our vans to double as highly visible mobile advertising spaces, reinforcing consumer awareness of the McCarthy & Stone brand.”
Mark Lonergan Transport adds four Volvos to fleet
With a fleet now totalling 15 trucks, Mark and Lynda Lonergan were delighted to accept delivery of four new Volvo FH460’s at Irish Commercials, Naas, Co. Kildare recently. Mark and Lynda Lonergan and family The 6×2 tractor units are replacing vehicles that are being taken out of service and increase the number of Volvo trucks in Mark’s fleet to 50 per centof the total. The company focuses on refrigerated container haulage and distribution, with his customers based in Ireland and on the Continent. Mark told HGV Ireland.com: “The new trucks are vital to our business to ensure that we operate a fleet of vehicles that we know and trust and are efficient to run especially in times of rising fuel and operational costs for hauliers like us.” Mark Lonergan Transport is a member of the Irish Road Haulage Association and strongly supports the ethics of the association in terms of promoting excellence, professionalism and safety in the operation of road transport businesses. Mark had considerable experience in the haulage industry prior to going it alone in 2003 with just one truck. The growth and success experienced by the company in the last eight years is down to the dedication of this husband and wife team in the smooth running of the business. As they say themselves, “small enough to care, big enough to cope”
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Mark Lonergan Transport adds four Volvos to fleet
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