“Our work means we often need to access building sites and places with tight access, so we needed robust trucks that offered good ground clearance without compromising manoeuvrability,” explains managing director Neal Waters.
“Frankly, the Volvo FMX with steering tag-axle stood out – and now we have the first one on the road I would say it does indeed give us the best of all worlds,” he adds.
Waters went for the 13-litre 420bhp engine driving through Volvo’s I-Shift AMT (automated manual transmission).
“The driver is really impressed with the overall layout, loves the smoothness of the I-Shift and says the engine provides all the power he could wish for, even when fully laden,” says Waters.
“Furthermore, the all-round visibility is excellent and we really like the way the rear facing camera folds away, so it’s clean when needed – a master stroke from Volvo.”
Unusually, this first FMX has been mounted with a Sayers Road Tankers waste vacuum tank, constructed from stainless steel and equipped with a Gardner Denver pump driven via the truck’s PTO.
“Sayers is generally associated with food grade tankers and semi-trailer vacuum tankers,” agrees Waters. “We approached them just over a year ago to construct a waste tanker for one of our other trucks, and we were so pleased with the quality and lead time that we opted to use them for the bodywork on both new Volvo FMXs.”
The tanks can carry up to 4,000 gallons (18,184 litres) of waste water as well as 400 gallons (1,818 litres) of fresh water. “The pump is remote-controlled from the rear of the tanker, so it is safe and easy for the truck to be single-manned,” comments Waters.
“These two trucks are the first we’ve bought since moving our HQ [to Teesside] just before Christmas, so they are a bit special for us. They are also our first-ever Volvo trucks and I must say the support we’ve had from the Stockton-on-Tees depot of Volvo Truck and Bus Centre North & Scotland, has been extremely helpful,” he continues.
“We were very specific with our requirements, but the dealer liaised closely with Sayers and we’re delighted with the result. We also have a five-year Gold R&M contract with the dealership.”