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154 
Boughton wins battle
Page 15
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• After a three-year assessment, the army has finally chosen the Reynolds-Boughton RB44 for its two-tonne Truck Utility Heavy (TUH) contract, although the decision must gain ministerial approval before an official announcement can be made.
Reynolds-Boughton's vehicle faced stiff opposition from the last remaining contestant in the race, Stonefield. Micheal Hendrie, managing director of Stonefield, acknowledges his company's defeat, but says: "I don't envy Boughton. Quantities have been slashed, and I don't think the Ministry of Defence has allowed them to put their prices up," despite the three year wait.
Reynolds-Boughton is understandably tight-lipped about the decision, following the debacle over the Demountable Rack Off-loading and Pickup system (DROPS) contract, which it lost to other manufacturers. A spokesman for the company says: "The contract has been decided, . . not against us."
The MoD says: "An official decision has not yet been made. . . ministerial approval is currently being sought, although you are speculating along the right lines."
Commercial Motor understands that the contract will be
for around 1,000 vehicles over three years, which will be worth around £20 million. The official announcement is expected soon because the truck is needed to pull the army's new field gun which the army's long-wheelbase Land Rovers cannot handle.
The original contestants for the nominal two-tonne payload contract included the vee-eight Esarco, and the forwardcontrol Land Rover "Llama". Both vehicles dropped out of the running in the early stages
and Stonefield proved to be the only real opposition to the Perkins Phaser-engined RB44. Stonefield's Hendrie has strong views on the way the contract was being decided for some time (CM July 2-8 1987). He says: "Whichever side the contract went to, it has been very shoddily handled".
Former Ford UK chairman, Sam Toy is to join the Stonefield board of directors. His exact role is still to be decided, but it is expected that he will commission a search for a new chief executive while he occupies that position himself. When a chief executive is found he will step down, but remain a board member. Managing director Michael Hendrie says: "It is a major coup for us and adds much needed muscle to the board."
See roadtest, pages 42-46.