South London civil engineering group Cappagh has ordered 83 Mercedes-Benz vans, most of which will be put to work on utilities duties.

Wimbledon-based Cappagh ordered the vehicles from Mercedes-Benz dealer group Rygor and the operator’s utilities division has begun taking deliveries of the first batch of 25 Medium-length Sprinter 313 CDIs from Rygor’s Heathrow branch.

These vehicles will be on general utilities duties and used regularly to pull trailers that carry 1.5-tonne diggers.

The majority of these vans will be assigned to two-man crews responsible for responding rapidly to pipe leaks, blockages and the like – they are being fitted with jetting units, racking systems, and Hope Safe-T-Bars.

As well as trialling demonstrators provided by Rygor, Cappagh spoke to rental companies and other operators before ordering its first Mercedes-Benz light commercial vehicles.

“The feedback was resoundingly positive, particularly in terms of reliability,” said transport manager David Fahey. “This is the single most important attribute we look for in a van, because given the service commitments we make to our own customers unplanned downtime is something we cannot afford.”

The Sprinter has a number of active and passive features as standard and Cappagh has also specified reversing cameras .

“These are still early days but our first Mercedes-Benz vans were competitively priced and are fit-for-purpose utility vehicles, while they’ve been well received by our crews,” continued Fahey.

Rygor has also supplied Cappagh with 30 FUSO Canter 7.5-tonners over the past 12 months, which are used by tarmac gangs. The dealer services these vehicles under Mercedes-Benz repair and maintenance contracts, and is currently processing orders for another 10, as well as seven 8x4 Mercedes-Benz Arocs tipper grabs.

“You’ll get occasional issues with the best of products, so it’s how they’re dealt with that really counts,” added Fahey. “In that respect Rygor has been very good – the members of its team with whom I deal regularly are extremely helpful.”