The West Thurrock, Essex-based business has traditionally operated with vehicles from two other manufacturers. However, it opted for Volvo for this order after monitoring the performance of six seed Volvos integrated into its 58-strong fleet during the last two years.
Steve Barclay, director of Warton Freight Services, said: “We’d heard good things about Volvo and we wanted to see how they would perform. I was invited for a visit to the Volvo factory in Sweden by our local dealer and I was really impressed with the design and quality of the product. This led us to take on two FH tractors, two FM 8x2 rigids and two FM 6x2 rigids and compare them closely to what we had been running previously. It was the real-world performance that put them in pole position for this latest order.
“For our 30th anniversary we wanted to do something a bit different and to have a big crane fitted on to a new eight-wheeler. It was a big jump compared to what we had done in the past, and I wanted to make sure that stability-wise it was the right truck for the job – the FH came out on top.”
Supplied by MC Truck & Bus, the 8x2 rigid is powered by Volvo’s Step D Euro VI engine, producing 493bhp and a peak torque of 2,500Nm.
Expected to be in operation between five to six days a week and clock up roughly 50,000km each year, the haulage firm will use the FH to deliver a wide range of heavy loads to sites across the UK. “The crane has the fly jib on there as well, so that allows us to get an assortment of loads onto the truck,” adds Barclay. “It might be moving steels, generators, cabins; anything.”