Euro Foods has taken delivery of 11 new Iveco Daily 7.2t chassis cabs, along with three 12t Eurocargo trucks, as part of a fleet renewal exercise.

Payload was a key part of the fresh and frozen food distributor’s decision to opt for Iveco vehicles. The Daily models provide up to 3,345Kg of payload capacity, while the Eurocargos can haul 5,500Kg.

The trucks were supplied by Caerphilly-based dealer Glenside Commercials and mark a return of the brand to Euro Foods’ 52-vehicle fleet. The 7.2-tonne Daily in particular, however, has been on group transport manager, Neill Cannell’s radar for some time.

He said: “We had a 7-Tonne Daily demonstrator on test from Glenside two years ago and the driver feedback was very positive. Levels of comfort and performance were very favourable compared with our outgoing Japanese trucks. Drivers liked the manoeuvrability and high level of specification and most importantly it gave us an impressive payload which is vital across the fleet.

“On new vehicles to the fleet I also like to get second opinion which I did with our friends at Caldicot Group Vehicle  Recovery. They run the 7.2 tonne chassis cab with slide and tilt vehicle recovery bodies which are real workhorses. They have been very pleased with them and two years later we have taken delivery of our first 7.2-tonne Daily.”

The Iveco Daily 7-tonne was recently named Rigid truck of the year (6 - 16 tonnes) at the Fleet News Awards. The vehicle was recognised for its unique truck-like payload capacity combined with van-like drivability.

Bodywork for Euro Foods’ Daily fleet has been designed and built by Solomon. Three of the new Dailys boast boxfresh bodies, while Solomon have transferred the remainder over from de-fleeted competitor vehicles to give them a second life, optimising cost of ownership.

The fleet replacement has coincided with the launch of Euro Foods’ new Kukd brand livery which offers a new online takeaway ordering and table booking system to consumers.

Canell added: “We have spent a great deal of time evaluating what the best specification and body type is for our operation and by working with Solomon we have developed the perfect vehicles for our business.”

Driver comfort is high on the list of priorities and each Daily is fitted with an eight-speed automatic transmission and the new Business trimline, adding fog lights, electrically heated and adjustable door mirrors, cruise control and air conditioning. Additionally, Euro Foods have added full LED headlights, a leather steering wheel, satnav and Traction Plus & Hill Descent Control for difficult delivery locations.

“Daily 7-Tonne is a truly unique string to our bow, bettering conventional cab-over light truck payload with all the driving comfort and manoeuvrability of a lower and more car-like cab. Both payload and TCO are critical to profitability, combining our strengths here with a reactive truck-based dealer network makes Daily 7-Tonne a compelling proposition to those operating at higher gross weights or in urban environments,” added Iveco UK’s light business-line director Mike Cutts.

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