Jack Richards & Son has embarked upon a programmed delivery from Daf for 130 Euro-6 XF 460 FTG Space Cabs, one of its largest ever orders.

All units are being supplied through Daf’s Liverpool dealer, North West Trucks.

Jack Richards & Son has specified a number of product enhancements on its new vehicles, including optional Predictive Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning and Advanced Emergency Braking. 94 units come as fleet replacements while 36 are added onto newly-won contract work with an existing blue-chip customer. A three-year funding package with Paccar Financial was supplied on a number of vehicles.

The company is installing DAF Telematics across its entire 220-strong fleet. Utilising Microlise technology, the company has stated its desire to ‘future proof operations’. Capability includes remote download of driver and vehicle tachograph information, visibility of vehicle location against plan, and comprehensive management of delivery information.

“We’ve enjoyed a great working relationship with DAF for 15 years,” said chairman Tony Richards.

“We entered negotiations with our eyes wide open and aware of other truck makers’ products and services. However, the Euro-6 DAF was the clear winner on fuel, and the whole-life package over three years was extremely attractive. Plus, with our close bond with North West Trucks, our partnership with DAF looks set to continue.”

“Our drivers are very important to us,” added Richards, “so, we’ve provided Space Cabs and a number of safety devices to underline their worth to the company. They’ve responded very positively to their new trucks.”

Lisa Richards, regional director at Jack Richards & Son’s Northwich base, is responsible for the company’s telematics operations.

“We had to step-up to the mark on fleet utilisation.”

“A better understanding of vehicle movements is the only way we can better utilise them, and DAF Telematics is really the only way we can achieve that. We want to future-proof operations.

“DAF Telematics provides us with such a wealth of information. In addition to knowing where our vehicles are at any one time, we know how many hours our drivers have left to work and we can download their tachograph information. Also, we can see vehicle location against plan and, by using geo-fencing, deliveries are recorded automatically thus drastically reducing the 1,500 calls from drivers made into the business each day.”

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