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'Better than before'
Page 63
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Trevor WiHans. MD of NDL Darlington, in Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham, was approached by an NETV salesman and he was left "semiinterested". Then the lirm was "looking to replace the rigid fleet and an ex-lease deal with a threeyear-old Stralis. with good package and repair and maintenance, came along. NETV quoted for it and it was acceptable."
The firm's 28-strong tractor and rigid fleet was previously 100% Daf.Thc bulk of its work consists of general haulage and pallet distribution with United Pallet Network.Willans buys the majority of his vehicles outright and makes full use of them, with a typical replacement cycle of eight years.
So what use did ND'. Darlington make of the demonstrator Stralis? "It went on pallet work [with double-deck trailers], night trunking to Melton Mowbray and day trunking to Scotland.At 7.9mpg fuel economy was slightly better than the Daf that ran alongside it,and that's including Adlilue.
"It's better [than the previous model]. I'm impressed with it; it's an improvement. I'm impressed with the fuel economy and the build quality. It struggled in mid-power range on hills, that was the one negative -it tended to get bogged dovyn, I'm happy with the auto mated system, but there was a mixed reaction from drivers as some preferred the manual Dal.
"[The transmission] is better with the switch on the dashboard — a huge improvement on the stick. especially when shunting," he says.
"We've got renewal planned for next year, and the Stralis will definitely be considered.We'll be going to the CV Show in April 2008 and we'll decide from there. Iveco is confident with lead times but the proof will be in the pudding." he says.
NDL Darlington has its own workshop but NETV will do service and parts. "Service is good," he says. "It's a consideration."
On the appraisal form marks varied between 'very good' and 'excellent,' with only 'engine flexibility' and 'acceleration' seen as average.