Lorne Stewart Engineering has commissioned a new fleet of Mercedes-Benz vans.

The construction specialist says it has upgraded its image while achieving valuable fuel cost savings and CO2 reductions with the new vehicles.

Following a comprehensive tender exercise last year, Transflex Vehicle Hire beat off the challenge of several competitors to win its prestigious contract hire business.

In the single biggest ‘roll out’ of new vehicles ever conducted by the Lorne Stewart Group, Transflex has delivered 210 vans to its high-profile customer. Most are by Mercedes-Benz and arrived via North-East Dealer Bell Truck and Van, an established supplier to the fast-growing flexible rental specialist.

The line-up includes a number of Sprinter models but with more than 100 examples now in service, it is the small Citan which forms the backbone of the new-look fleet. All 109 CDI models with a 90PS engines that return up to 65.7 mpg.

The Citans have made a major contribution towards the 23% reduction in carbon emissions which Lorne Stewart has achieved since standing down its previous, ageing fleet.

Paul Booth, Lorne Stewart’s Group Support Services Director, said: “Our engineers are certainly enjoying their comfortable new vans, which look great – the three-pointed star can only help to reinforce our image as a quality business. Most importantly, though, their impressive fuel-efficiency has allowed us to achieve a substantial reduction in CO2 emissions, and the process of moving towards an even greener fleet will continue as we start to take on our first Euro 6 models.”