Fuso Canter’s beer necessity for Greene King 24 December 2012

One of Britain's biggest and best-known brewers has raised a toast to a pair of 7.5-tonne Fuso Canters, which are now delivering to pubs and other outlets that cannot be accessed by larger trucks.

Greene King chose the Canter light trucks for their impressive payload, compact dimensions and low deck height, all of which make it ideal for local delivery operations.

Both are range-topping Canter 7C18 models with 180hp engines matched to the efficient Duonic twin-plate automated transmissions.

The vehicles are fitted with curtainside bodies by GK Harvey, of Attleborough, Norfolk. One promotes Morland Old Speckled Hen bitter and operates from a depot in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, while the other wears Greene King IPA livery and is based at the company's headquarters in Bury St Edmunds.

"We've been using 7.0- and 7.5-tonne panel vans to deliver to smaller account customers we can't reach with our bigger, 18- and 26-tonne drays," comments Greene King's distribution planning & fleet manager Paul Brett.

"However, it's a tough job and the vans don't last much more than a couple of years. So we decided a 7.5-tonne truck would be more appropriate. But it had to be one that offered a high payload," he continues.

"Orwell's truck sales executive Rob Dale has been telling me for some time about the Canter's outstanding payload, so we decided to give it a try... We've had them on a weighbridge and our new Canters will each carry 4.1 tonnes. That's a very impressive figure, a good half a tonne more than you'd get on a traditional 7.5-tonner."

Brett also says that the Canter's relatively small footprint means it's highly manoeuvrable and "able to get in and out of spaces you might struggle to access in other vehicles in the same weight class".

Usually single-manned, the Canters are now making up to 15 deliveries a day. "It's hard work, which involves a lot of manual handling, so the vehicle's low operating height is another bonus for our staff," states Brett.

And he adds: "We took comfort, too, from the fact that the Fuso Canter is backed by Mercedes-Benz. We intend to run these vehicles for five years but will be monitoring their mpg performance and other operating costs from the outset."

Greene King's new trucks were supplied by Ipswich Mercedes-Benz dealer Orwell Truck & Van and are the subject of a lease agreement with BNP Paribas.

Author
Brian Tinham

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