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Lorry ' benefactor ' says Minister,
Page 41
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opening ERF centre
• The heavy lorry is an enormous benefactor; if it were to disappear from the UK scene it would mean crucifying our transport industry and many of its customers, said Mr John Peyton, Minister for Transport Industries, on Thursday of last week. The Minister was opening the ilm-plus service centre just completed by ERF Ltd on a 10-acre site at Middlewich, four miles from the company's plant at Sandbach.
Mr Peyton, who praised the building of such a fine service depot and said that the work of such places made a considerable contribution towards a quieter and cleaner environment, also said he would have early news for the industry on the new schedule of gross weights, related to axle spacingss within 32 tons gcw.
ERF's chairman, Mr Peter Foden, in an address at the opening ceremony, attacked Mr Ralph Nader of America for his "unwarranted and inaccurate accusations against the UK commercial vehicle manufacturing industry". Said Mr Foden: "I believe we do try to adopt a responsible attitude towards the environmental problems, and the 1970s will see further strides in making the motor vehicle a more acceptable part of everyday life — but the industry needs time to adapt and change its designs to meet more stringent regulations".
He thought it would be a formidable task to bring together the European vehicle regulations: even after 14 years the Six had not been able to agree on a common transport policy. But he believed the future success and expansion of the British commercial vehicle industry lay in the adoption of common regulations, giving UK manufacturers an equal chance in competing in the enlarged Community.
The new centre — near intersection 18 on M6 — will have two main functions: the storage of over 20,000 different component parts which are distributed throughout the world to ERF dealers and customers, and the repair and service function which not only covers the repair of vehicles but will carry out full DoE-standard checks on noise, smoke emission and braking. The total covered floor space of the centre, including parts, service workshop, technical service and claims department is over 70,000 sq ft. Service workshop and parts stores together cover over 58,000 sq ft. An adjoining two-storey administrative block has a floor space exceeding 11,000 sq ft and houses offices, canteen facilities, technical services and claims department The big service workshop is equipped with eight pits, three of which are 34ft long to accommodate rigid vehicles, while the remaining five are 20ft in length. All the pits are equipped with high and low tension points, high and low pressure compressed air supply and are also provided with couplings to an exhaust extraction system.