The 18-tonners all take DAF’s 220bhp engine, while the 26-tonners were specified with the 290bhp power plant, all driving through AS Tronic MTs (automated manual transmissions).
Premier Paper – which runs a mix of trucks ranging from 7.5-tonne to 26 tonne rigids, as well as 44-tonne tractors – has now notched up 100 trucks from Ryder, with these latest rigids being custom-built to Premier’s requirements.
“Paper tends to be a weighty commodity so our trucks were built with low height and compact bodywork to handle weight rather than bulk,” says Adrian Fraser, Premier Paper’s group fleet manager.
“In addition, because virtually all of our trucks operate on daytime deliveries, we specified trucks without sleeper cabs.”
The operator previously purchased its vehicles outright and performed maintenance in house, before moving to Ryder’s proposition for full maintenance contract hire in 2003.
“The positive management and effective communication channels we now have in place with Ryder has seen our contract hire fleet grow from just a few vehicles to the 100 we now have,” adds Fraser.
“In line with business growth, we will shortly increase the Ryder contract hire fleet to 108 vehicles, while retaining a couple of owned vehicles for unexpected peaks in demand.”