The operator is based in Matlock, Derbyshire, and purchased the latest additions to its fleet from East Midlands Dealer Mertrux Truck & Van.
Key to the contract was the fuel-efficient performance of a pair of dealer demonstration units, which also attracted very positive driver feedback.
BJ Waters’ new trucks are both Actros 2551 variants with flat-floored, aerodynamic StreamSpace cabs – at 2.5m they are in the wider of the two widths available – and 12.8-litre, in-line six-cylinder engines that produce 375kW (503bhp).
By choosing the steel bumper instead of the standard plastic item, and the same straight front axle and headlight arrangement as a flat-floored unit from the Arocs construction range, the operator has endeavoured to restrict repair costs. This option offers up to 85mm (depending on tyre choice) of additional ground clearance, so carries a lower risk of underbody damage caused by ‘bottoming out’ or getting stuck during off-road manoeuvres.
The new trucks came with MirrorCam, the manufacturer’s replacement for conventional mirrors, the latest version of the fuel-saving Predictive Powertrain Control system, and Active Brake Assist 5 with enhanced pedestrian recognition capability.
Its new trucks are also equipped with telematics hardware by FleetBoard, which, like Mercedes-Benz Trucks, is a member of the Daimler Truck family. Fleetboard records and processes data from the vehicle, then rates the driver’s style at the wheel. Criteria monitored include speed, braking, stops and idle times with the engine running, and use of the Mercedes PowerShift transmission’s Eco-Roll function.
Operators can use this information to incentivise their drivers and initiate targeted training where shortcomings in behaviour at the wheel are identified. Improvements in driving style lead inexorably to increased fuel-efficiency.
Established in 1927, BJ Waters was originally a general haulier but has evolved over the years and is now heavily focused on transporting a broad range of bulk commodities, including non-ferrous and scrap metals, aggregates, coal, coke and solid fuels, plastics, marble, glass and batteries, as well as hazardous goods, throughout the UK and Europe.
The new Actros work primarily with bulk trailers, for which both were fitted with hydraulic tipping kits by Commercial Vehicle Hydraulics, of South Normanton.
BJ Waters and its sister company Geo Siddall (Transport), which was acquired during the 1960s, run a combined fleet of almost 100 trucks, the overwhelming majority of them 6x2 tractor units, which is currently dominated by two other brands. All of these vehicles wear variations of the operator’s distinctive, two-tone green livery.
BJ Waters’ new units are now being inspected and serviced under Mercedes-Benz Complete Service contracts, at Mertrux Truck & Van’s Derby workshop.