Fleet deals: New vehicles join Groupe CAT, DHL Supply Chain, EJC Contracts, Essential Trading Co-operative and Loreburn Housing Association

Groupe CAT renews fleet with 60 Scania car transporters

Groupe CAT is renewing its fleet with 60 Scania car transporters supplied by local dealer, TruckEast. The order consists of 57 420 P low-roof rigids and 3 420 G 4x2 highline tractor units. Each truck is powered by a 13-litre Super engine and all-new driveline.

Generating a peak torque of 2,300Nm for the P cabs and 2,500Nm for the G, all trucks feature the latest powertrain including the lighter R756 single reduction rear axle, partnered with a two-pedal Opticruise G25 gearbox.

The first 16 have already entered service, with the P cabs equipped with short-low rigid drawbar 11-car transporters.

The bodies, supplied by both Rolfo and Transporter Engineering, have been built to Groupe CAT’s own design with load flexibility in mind.

Its latest trucks, both tractor units and rigids, are the first to wear the company’s updated white and blue livery and rebrand as Groupe CAT.

Joining its 150-strong fleet, the trucks will support all major automotive manufacturers in the UK, delivering cars the length and breadth of the country.

Groupe CAT UK’s managing director, Steve Reynolds, said: “Quite simply, it’s the best truck for our operation and has been for a long time.

“Its reliability, comfort and overall suitability have yet to be matched. And arguably, more importantly, we’ve always had the aftersales support.”

The remaining trucks are scheduled for delivery throughout 2024 and early part of 2025 with the latter half of the order featuring Scania’s new Smart Dash and digital eco-system.

DHL Supply Chain rolls out 50 new biomethane trucks

Tesco Ireland has taken delivery of 50 state-of-the-art biomethane fuelled trucks which will operate across its country-wide distribution network. 

The trucks will immediately replace 50 diesel units and will be operated by DHL to transport produce to stores from Tesco’s distribution centres in Dublin.

The renewable fuel for the trucks will come from Irish and European anaerobic digestion plants, and the trucks will refuel at the newly opened BioCNG refuelling station operated by Flogas at nearby St Margaret’s in north Dublin.  

DHL Supply Chain’s David O’Neill said: “This is such an important project to demonstrate the role biomethane can play in Irish commercial transport and a significant step towards decarbonising Tesco’s fleet.

“Our partnership with Tesco shows what can be achieved through a shared commitment to sustainability and we’re looking forward to continuing this journey together.

“DHL is fundamentally decarbonising a significant proportion of the retail transport sector in Ireland, and this partnership with Tesco Ireland is a big part of that story.

“This project is a great example of our Green Transport Policy, guiding the transition of 30% of our own fleet to a green alternative by the end of 2026, an important enabler in achieving our sustainability goals.”

Tesco Ireland head of sustainability, Andy McGregor, said: “Transitioning to biomethane from diesel will significantly reduce our transport emissions and is an important step towards reaching our goal of net zero emissions across scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2050.”

New Daf tippers join EJC Contracts fleet

Northern Ireland-based EJC Contracts has taken delivery of three new DAF CF 450 8x4 32-tonne tipper grabs from MV Commercial, each equipped with Thompsons bodies and Palfinger Epsilon cranes.

The new trucks follow an identical order MV Commercial supplied into the business last year and join a mixed commercial fleet of around 150 vehicles, which includes 3.5-tonne vans through to tippers and agricultural units.

Run by father and son, Edward and Daniel Connolly, EJC Contracts has been a returning MV Commercial customer since 2019.

Paul Marley, transport manager at EJC Contracts, said: “The reason we keep coming back to MV Commercial is because we know we can rely on them to deliver the vehicles we need with minimal lead times. On top of that, the after-sales support we receive is always excellent.

“For any issue we may have, the team at MV are always available and work hard to get any problem – no matter how big or small – sorted extremely quickly.”

Of the three vehicles, one is a new addition to the company’s fleet and will be based in Northern Ireland, helping to meet growing demand for services there. The remaining two are fleet renewals, replacing older assets and are based at the EJC Contracts depots in Bath and Southend-On-Sea.

Essential Trading Co-operative takes delivery of new trucks

Food distributor Essential Trading Co-operative has taken delivery of the first of five new Isuzu trucks from local dealer AK Commercials.

The new trucks – comprised of one 11-tonne F110.240(E) and four 7.5-tonne N75.190(E) rigids – will replace older Isuzu models in the company’s mixed commercial vehicle fleet, which also includes a larger 13.5-tonne F135.240(E) model.

Mounted with curtainside bodies, the larger vehicles also include a bespoke split-body design that features a standalone refrigerated box section at the front.

Rob Baird, transport manager for Essential Trading, said: “We had tried many different manufacturers before the team at AK Commercials introduced us to Isuzu Truck back in 2015.

“It didn’t take long for us to see that their versatility and reliability would make all the difference with the type of delivery routes we operate.

“Other vehicles with similar payload capacities are substantially larger, which makes them difficult to operate on the smaller winding roads in the Bristol area. We also noticed that the Isuzu vehicles spent significantly less time in the workshop, which obviously helped to improve fleet efficiency and allowed us to better serve our customers. We genuinely haven’t looked back.”

The new vehicles will be supplied on a five-year Full Repair & Maintenance contract as part of Isuzu’s Care programme, with the dealer managing all scheduled services, MOTs, and any non-scheduled repairs from its Bristol base.

Clocking up an average of 70,000km annually, the new trucks will be used primarily for local multi-drop deliveries, with occasional longer distance trips as required.

Loreburn Housing Association strikes fleet deal with Fraikin

Loreburn Housing Association has renewed its commercial vehicle fleet with the delivery of 25 new 3.5-tonne vans, supplied into the business for the first time by Fraikin on a five-year full-service contract hire agreement.

Winning a competitive tender process, Fraikin was able to demonstrate an acute understanding of Loreburn Housing Association’s operations, including how it would use that knowledge to meet a range of specific key performance indicators designed to minimise downtime and ensure the availability of the fleet.

Billy Coupland, head of repairs and maintenance at Loreburn Housing Association, said: “The new vans will significantly enhance our operational efficiency, helping us to continue providing excellent support to all our valued tenants.”

Fraikin’s full-service contract hire package includes comprehensive servicing, repairs, road fund licensing, regular safety inspections, annual MOT testing, tyre management, roadside assistance, and 24/7, 365 customer service support.

The vehicles are all equipped with Fraikin’s Mysmartfleet platform, which offers data-driven driver behaviour analysis and safety features such as instant crash alerts. Additional compliance support features include digital tachograph downloads and walkaround checks.

Loreburn Housing Association can also access Fraikin’s online web portal, Fraikin View, which provides a complete overview of all scheduled maintenance work and the ability to track and monitor progress.