J&M Murdoch gets Thompsons-bodied Volvo FMX tipper in 10 days12 April 2013

Over the last year, three new Thompsons-bodied Volvo FMX eight-wheelers have joined J&M Murdoch's tipper fleet – and, in each case, the firm used Volvo's 'ex stock' fully bodied vehicles to get them fast.

"In our business, we need to be able to react quickly to new opportunities," explains Andrew Murdoch, director at the Glasgow-based firm.

"[That], in turn, means when we want new trucks, we want them as quickly as possible. With Volvo, we can get a new tipper on the road in about 10 days, rather than the standard order to delivery time of around three months."

Murdoch's 400bhp, I-Shift gearbox FMXs were all fitted with Thompsons all-steel Loadmaster Lite tipper bodies – for strength, reliability and payload capacity, he says.

"There's no point in having fully built up trucks if there's a mismatch between the chassis and the body," insists Tony Cairns, Murdoch's operations manager.

"The whole truck has to work as one unit, with no compromises. The Loadmaster is absolutely ideal for the FMX chassis, being tough, durable and extremely reliable," he continues.

"As a complete vehicle, we've proven that the Volvo-Thompsons package gives us an unrivalled level of performance."

Cairns says payload is around 19.5 tonnes, which works well for muckshifting, soil and aggregate supply, recycling etc.

"As we use and hire out our vehicles for the widest range of services, we have to know that they're fully up to each and every job," comments Murdoch.

"In turn, we spec them to the highest practical level. In past years, we've already speced our tippers with Volvo chassis and Thompsons bodies as our prime choices, so we're obviously delighted that this is a combination that Volvo itself chooses and has available ex-stock. All we have to do is get the trucks painted."

Author
Brian Tinham

Related Companies
Thompsons Group
Volvo Group UK Ltd

This material is protected by MA Business copyright
See Terms and Conditions.
One-off usage is permitted but bulk copying is not.
For multiple copies contact the sales team.