Ercol stays stylish with Sunrent DAF Bevan21 box bodies 23 December 2013

Furniture manufacturer Ercol's latest suite of 18-tonne trucks is based on DAF CF chassis, fitted with fixed body streamlined Bevan21 bodies, under a contract hire agreement with Sunrent.

Ercol's new bodies, which Bevan claims can cut fuel bills by 15% – using a combination of curved roof, moulded air deflector and cab collar – also offer a weight saving of almost 1,000kg, compared to the demountable boxes employed on Ercol older vehicles.

Ercol decided to switch to fixed bodies following consultations with Kent-based Sunrent, which has a rental fleet of more than 500 commercial vehicles.

"We realised that, while it made good business sense for Ercol to specify its previous vehicles with demountable boxes, because its manufacturing and distribution operations were then on different sites, the fact that they had since moved to the same location meant this no longer applied," explains Sunrent director Jason Saunders.

"So having gone through the figures with Bevan ... we recommended that Ercol switch to lighter, more aerodynamic Bevan21 bodies, [which] offer higher payload capacities and should also deliver some worthwhile mpg savings," he adds.

Ercol's transport & logistics manager Malcolm Mullett confirms that payload and fuel performance have improved through serious weight saving: "For example, the new trucks have standard 24mm GRP panels, instead of the previous 28mm thickness, and side-hinged rear doors, rather than heavier roller shutters," he says.

"This, coupled with the fact that we're no longer using the demount system, means our Bevan-bodied vehicles are the best part of a tonne lighter than their predecessors, despite having higher, heavier cabs," he continues.

"Their combination of increased payload capacity and aerodynamic efficiency is already contributing to the increased cost-effectiveness of our distribution operation."

The new trucks are now distributing furniture from Ercol's production facility in Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, to retailers and independents nationwide, with the Sunrent contract covering 75,000km a year.

Author
Brian Tinham

Related Companies
Bevan Group Bodies Ltd
DAF Trucks Ltd

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