Wickes customers are now receiving home deliveries from six new 7.5-tonne trucks that combine what the firm believes are market-leading payloads with minimal footprints – making them ideal for residential areas operations.
These are Wickes' first Fuso Canter rigids, and have been fitted with lightweight, fast-access curtainslide bodies by West Midlands dry freight specialist Bevan Group.
Constructed around aluminium frames at Bevan's factory in Halesowen, the 20ft bodies were designed for multi-drop applications, with curtains tensioned from front to back by sliding door panels and locks at both ends.
The result: drivers have no time-consuming straps and buckles to contend with. To gain access, they simply slide back the curtains, concertina-fashion.
Bevan also fitted each vehicle with a 1,000kg Anteo tuckaway tail-lift, yet each truck still achieves a 3,300kg payload.
"We introduced our delivery service direct from stores to customers' homes a couple of years ago and it's gone from strength-to-strength," explains Wickes Group fleet manager Sean Cooper.
"Much of this work is assigned to 3.5-tonne Mercedes-Benz Sprinters but the 7.5-tonne Canter allows us to increase efficiency and save fuel by making more drops per run," he continues.
"It's also more compact than a traditional 7.5-tonner, with a narrower cab and a reduced visual impact, which makes it more appropriate for home deliveries."
As for the choice of Bevan bodies, he says: "Bevan was recommended to me by a colleague from our Benchmarx and City Plumbing operations. "Its bodies are clearly built to a high standard and look well able to stand up to the eight-year working lives we anticipate for these vehicles."
Wickes operates a total fleet of more than 300 commercial vehicles, including some 60 tractor units used primarily for delivering from its warehouses to stores, and a number of 15—18 tonne rigids, many of which are equipped with cranes.
The range-topping Canter 7C18 chassis were supplied by Wellingborough-based Mercedes-Benz dealer Intercounty Truck & Van.
Based at stores nationwide, the trucks are nowdelivering the full range of Wickes products, including standard and big, bulky items, such as sand, cement, timber and sheet materials.
