Thompsons joint managing director Scott Burton says: “Loadmaster was first introduced 25 years ago. The original double-skinned design featured corner posts front and rear to provide the maximum possible strength and rigidity. Today though, thanks to ever higher material quality and our more advanced production processes, we are introducing a revised design offering exactly the same performance, but without the front corner posts. Aside from saving a valuable 100kg in weight this new, simpler, design is also easier and faster to build, thereby boosting our factory productivity.”
Wimbledon-based Cappagh is now taking the first 40 examples of this latest Loadmaster, 25 being standard front-end tippers with the remaining 15 specified as tipper grabs. Notable too is that Cappagh was also one of the very first customers of the original Loadmaster when it was launched in the mid 1990’s.
Conor Ferncombe, grandson of Cappagh’s founder Tom Ferncombe, now general manager, explains:
“With tippers, you have to remember that it’s the body that does the really hard work, taking the thumps and knocks when loading and all the abrasion when tipping. So reliability is the key. And when we finally sell the truck on, having a Loadmaster body really does guarantee we achieve the best possible residual value. This latest Loadmaster simply takes the story another stage forward.”
As befits the company’s FORS Gold accreditation, Cappagh’s new Loadmasters introduce further advances too, particularly in regard to safety. For their drivers, all vehicles are now fitted with cab-operated tailgates as well as in-cab, on-screen viewing of the exterior camera images that cover the full 360-deg around the truck. In addition to nearside and offside warning panels and ‘Sidescan’ audible proximity alerts, Thompsons has also fitted front and rear strobe lights as well as flashing indicator lights that run down the length of the bodies.