In these uncertain economic times, every penny of business investment has to count, particularly when buying a new vehicle. That was certainly Adrian Patrick’s objectives, when he asked Sherwood Truck & Van www.sherwoodtruckandvan.com to help him improve the productivity of his company, Adey Freight Ltd, by supplying a vehicle with a high payload (the total available weight a vehicle can carry).
Adrian specialises in delivering furniture and wanted a van with a gross weight under three and a half tonnes. Anything above this requires extra expense in the form of a tachograph and an operator’s licence. The Fiat Ducato proved to be the perfect choice as it has a light chassis. But going the extra mile, Sherwood then joined forces with Mark Collishaw of NBC Vehicle Solutions Ltd (Nottingham Bodycraft) who promptly built a new box body using a revolutionary honeycomb plastic. As well as being light, the innovative new material has many other advantages over the usual aluminium or GRP, which is far heavier, as Mark explains.
“The plastic panel is approximately 40 percent of the weight of conventional constructions and is fully recyclable and repairable,” he reveals. “It’s very strong and the box itself is made from one panel, so security is better than a curtain-sider. Plus it has good crash resistance. I’ve heard of one rolling onto its roof and staying in its original shape, whereas a conventional body would have collapsed. As the body is much lighter weight, the vehicle is also far more economical to run.”
Since the Ducato was delivered last November, Adrian has enjoyed all of these benefits, but it’s the increased payload which has made the most dramatic difference to his business. On a vehicle with a conventionally built body, Adrian used to be able to carry 600kg, but now this has increased to 1020kg.
“I deliver a lot of flat-packed furniture which can be very heavy, and you can easily fill up a vehicle and be overweight,” he explains. “With a heavier body I’d only be able to half fill it, which would prove costly, but this is perfect and has saved me money already. Also, because it’s lighter, the fuel efficiency is excellent and it’s got better acceleration.
“The Ducato is also a nice, easy vehicle to drive and the service has been very good at Sherwood Truck and Van. Any problems have been dealt with in a fantastic and professional way. I’d certainly go back to them if I ever bought a second vehicle.”
According to Sherwood Sales Director, Mike Lancaster, the lightweight Ducato fulfils the needs of an emerging market.
“There’s more and more demand for three-and-a-half tonne commercial vehicles due to the current legislative requirements,” says Mike. “Adrian’s Ducato is a great example of how important it is to provide the right payload, so customers get the maximum productivity from their vehicles.
“As well as working hard to provide the perfect vehicle, we also take great pride in our after-care service and always do our utmost to help the customer, whatever their problem, 24 hours a day.”
