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Pinbins takes more Volvo trucks: skips from FL to FE

Pinbins, the skip hire division of Dartford, Kent-based Pinden, has taken delivery of four Volvo FE, 18-tonne gvw 4x2 rigid skiploaders with Boughton Engineering bodies.

Three are FE-250s with day cabs while the fourth is a FE280 with sleeper cab, and all were specified with 3.7 m wheelbases, steel rear springs, the 8-litre, ix-cylinder D8K engine and Volvo's I-shift automated transmission.

Director Steve Bishop says the trucks are great but adds that all trucks are only as good as the support network, particularly where large fleets are concerned.

That's why, over the last decade Pinden has amassed an 80-strong fleet, of which 52 are Volvo – 30 FE and FL skiploaders, nine FMX hooklifts, three FH tractor units and 10 FM tippers.

"We like Volvo. Uptime is extremely important and in the case of the new FE skiploaders the payload capabilities and manoeuvrability ideally suit the business," says Bishop.

"In 2005, we decided to diversify into Waste Management. This also coincided with us buying our first Volvo – an FL6 – which was a beautiful little vehicle," he recalls.

"It gave us reliability and longevity as well as being perfect for the work we undertook. This was the beginning of what has been a strong relationship between Pinden, Volvo and MC Truck & Bus."

Bishop says the new Volvo FE trucks were ordered them to a high specification, including heated seats, air conditioning and Bluetooth hone connection.

"And with the added cab space over the FL, we've simply not had any negative feedback," he says.

And he adds: "The FE skiploaders are returning fuel consumption figures in the order of 9 mpg, which is close to what we achieved with the smaller FL units.

"Our vehicles each average approximately 85,000 miles per year and we don't anticipate much change in the fuel costs, despite having stronger and larger trucks."

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