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THEN THERE "'"' WAS ONE...
Page 62
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Lakeland says Ws the only volume spirit tanker
trailer builder left in the UK but it's still joining the 'lite' club. Brian Weatherley reports.
Weight Watchers has a new sub group UK tank trailer makers. Nowadays you're nowhere unless you can offer a tank trailer weighing in at five tonnes. Members of this lite' club include Heil, and more recently Cobo (CM 31 March).
Lakeland Tankers has become the third member with its 42,000-litre capacity, sixcompartment 'Innovator', unveiled at the NEC Show and on its stand at this week's Federation of Petroleum Suppliers show at Telford.Th ere it will rub shoulders with lightweight rivals from Heil, Cobo and LAG.
What makes the Innovator interestingaside from the fact the prototype weighs in at around 5,175kg with 'regular' tyres and equipment is that it's built in Britain. Market leader Heil last year switched production from its plant at Bilston to Poland, while Cobo tankers come from Spain.
That the Innovator is the only spirit tanker being built in volume in the UK is intriguing. With the closure of Heil's Bilston plant Lakeland has recruited former Heil staff, including Doug Watts, Lakeland's sales manager and trailer specialist.
The Innovator's oval barrel is built using what Lakeland describes as "circumferential extrusions" with a double weld/banding between each compartment looking similar to the "doubled banded" design of Heil. Newell says that on seeing the prototype Innovator a major UK fleet engineer said: "it looks more like a Hell than a Heil!" Looking like a Heil is one thing performing like a Heil is quite another.
Lakeland, a division of the Newell & Wright Group (see box) is looking to build 50 Innovators in the first year. N&W boss Frank Newell says: "Whether we sell all of them or not we will have them as stock tankers." Newell says the Innovator is based on a tried-and-tested 'traditional' configuration with design input from a leading independent Continental tank barrel consultant.
So far N&W has invested close to £500,000 bringing the Innovator to market and in developing its Lakeland site at Lye,West Midlands, where the Innovator will be assembled. Innovator barrels will be produced at T&N's Road Tankers Northern subsidiary in Barnsley and shipped to Lye for assembly.
The Lakeland 'lite' features industry standard valves, top valances providing rollover protection and bottom sumps for full product drainage. Weight has been shaved off the all aluminium semi-chassisless design by concentrating on ancillary fittings. Standard running gear is SAF with ROR and BPW available as an option. Newell insists: -Spec for spec we can take more weight out of it and it's a true UK spec."