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1.11k VIM; operations director Rocor is one of nout 600
Page 52
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packaging companies that supply various industries throughout the UK. Based at St Ives near Cambndge it operates a fleet of four Volvo 12-tonners delivering about £4m-worth of goods to customers across the south of England,
We used to operate 7.5-tonne 814 Mercedes but we recognised a potential problem of overloading the front a>de with a diminishing load so we moved up to the 11-tonner, which coped handsomely" says operations director Nick Plumb.
"About 10 years ago we were offered what seemed a particularly good deal on the FL6 12-tonner and have stayed with Volvo ever since. Volvo prices are probably more expensive than some of the other makes, but the latest FL suits our operation. They're fitted with 28ft curtain-sided bodies and day cabs and their payload capacity accommodates our loads comfortably — we're confined by bulk rather than weight.
"The trucks are on the road five days a week and cover about 55,000 miles a year. A contract-hire agreement makes our budgeting easy. We keep them for five years and we're not faced with the prospect of having to dispose of them as at the end of the term they're returned to the leasing company If we kept them longer than that we'd need to refurbish them instead we prefer to keep a modern fleet that conveys the best image. The dealer gives us good support and as most of our loads are sent south past its premises it's easy for us to drop the trucks in for servicing.
We think the FL is a quality truck that fits well with our quality product. The only fault of any consequence that I can recall is one with the gearbox: soon after we took delivery of the latest version we found that first gear tended to jump out of cog. Other than that they've been very reliable. Our drivers like the day cab and the 180hp engine is adequate for our needs. We expect to replace like with like and that's down mainly to the truck's reliability and product support at dealer level."