The vehicles are all Elite 6x2 wide rear-steer chassis with Olympus 20 bodies and Terberg OmniDEL Xtra bin lifts, and are operating from Norse’s Petersfield depot.
“We took over the East Hampshire operation on 30 September and we had to have all the vehicles in place and ready to roll by that date,” says Chris Davison, group fleet manager.
Dennis Eagle was the only supplier able to guarantee delivery, he says, “and they not only successfully did that but also carried out all the staff training and ‘trained the trainers’ in plenty of time, too”.
Davison adds: “We also think the Olympus body and Terberg lift provides the best combination. And add to that the chassis coming from the same source, and the advantages of a one-stop shop are really significant in terms of managing the spec, the build and the delivery.”
Most of the operator’s other RCVs are also from Dennis Eagle. “We like the product and we get excellent back-up. The drivers and crews like the vehicles, too – they have excellent cab layouts – and it helped that they were already familiar with the product.”
The Norse contract for East Hampshire District Council also includes street cleaning and grounds maintenance for which the company has invested in a new fleet of 38 vehicles. The Dennis Eagle vehicles are the only rear-loading RCVs in the fleet.
The vehicles are used for weekly domestic kerbside collections which alternate between waste and recycling.