The firm, which now has 185 trucks on the road nationwide, ordered high-specification Actros 2545 BigSpace trucks powered by its 449bhp straight-six engines mated to Mercedes PowerShift 3 automated transmissions.
Supplied by Newtownabbey dealer Mercedes-Benz Truck & Van (Northern Ireland), the new trucks have also also been equipped with fuel-saving Mercedes-Benz PPC (predictive powertrain control systems), which uses 3D GPS mapping to read 3km of topography ahead to maximise fuel efficiency by controlling speed, braking and gear selection.
Other features include colour-coded bumpers, air management kits and fridges beneath the bunks.
“For some time now operators who take trailers from us on long-term contract hire have been asking if we can supply tractors as well,” explains Hireco managing director James Smith.
“We did buy a small number back in 2007 but the market dropped off a cliff, so we didn’t persevere. Now things are picking up again, though, we felt the time was right to dip our toe back in.”
Smith says that many of Hireco’s customers were already running Actros and “had very good things to say about them”, and the same went for those using PPC in terms of its fuel-saving potential.
And he adds: “The package was competitively priced and there was a real feel good factor around the whole deal, so we were more than happy to press the button.”
The availability of the PPC system was, however, key to the decision, as several of Hireco’s customers were considering new Actros units, in part because of for the technology.
“These trucks were intended for long-term contracts – we don’t do spot hire,” states Smith. “So we wanted vehicles specified to match the kind of truck our customers would buy for themselves,” states Smith.
“That decision has been vindicated as they were all snapped up very quickly and the feedback has been excellent. The whole exercise has been an unqualified success.”