International logistics operator Brian Yeardley Continental is buying more Volvo FH low-height tractor units, because of their "excellent fuel economy" and the back-up of Volvo dealer Crossroads.
Three new FH-500 4x2 tractor units have recently gone into service and, since 2009, the haulier has bought 14 FHs, including two premium quality, used trucks, also sourced from Crossroads.
Managing director Kevin Hopper says that fuel figures up to 10.65mpg are being achieved by its latest FH-500 artics on European long-haul duties at 40 tonnes gcw – in part due to Volvo's Dynafleet Telematics.
"We were impressed with the FH-480's fuel performance, but the latest Euro 5, 13-litre 500 has improved even on that," says Hopper.
All Brian Yeardley Continental's Volvos are now fitted with Dynafleet, including two 05 plate FHs. Its package includes remote downloading of digital-tachograph cards, driver and vehicle performance data, fuel economy and environmental reports on carbon emissions.
The haulier's package also utilises Geofencing and the tracking facility produces 'snail-trails', as a security measure to identify deviations from specified routes.
"We worked closely with Volvo and Crossroads to tailor the specification of the latest low-height tractor units to meet our needs – from the fitment and monitoring of Dynafleet, to help us manage fuel costs and environmental performance, down to specifying snow chains, separate air conditioning and gas detectors and a panic button linked to our head office base, to protect our drivers," comments Hopper.
"We always scrutinise costs very carefully, but are also very focused on quality of service, and the quality of the equipment we use is paramount. We use Krone straight frame mega-cube trailers, which are specified with knife-proof, armoured curtains, which are pretty much as secure as a box van. The trailers come with Load Securing certification to the latest EN12462/XL standard, which is the toughest in Europe. When coupled to our Volvo FHs, we believe we can provide our customers with a highly reliable, innovative and cost effective means of delivery for the widest variety of products," he adds.