Flour miller Whitworth Bros has taken delivery of its first Volvo trucks, two Volvo FH-460 6x2 tractor units complete with Globetrotter cabs.
The tractors join the Wellingborough-based company's 100-strong fleet and are used on curtainsider trailer work, moving palletised finished products.
Supplied by dealer Volvo Truck and Bus Centre East Anglia, Wellingborough, the trucks are on a Gold contract with an uptime assurance – and this was key to the decision, reports Whitworth's distribution manager Colin Spurrier.
"As we deliver to customers who are operating product lines, we can't afford unscheduled loss of vehicle availability," he explains. "That's why vehicle reliability is vitally important to us. Only Volvo offers a 100% uptime guarantee."
The cabs were specified with leather upholstery, both for aesthetic and practical reasons, reports Spurrier: "Leather is easier to keep clean than velour fabric. We are now specifying leather seats in all our new vehicles. Driver retention is important to the company, too, and our drivers take pride in their vehicles."
Other key factors in Whitworth's choice of the FH were fuel economy and maintenance costs.
Whitworth Bros is now considering the Euro 6 Volvo FM 6x2 tractor unit for its bulk tanker fleet.
