Craven Tasker plans to buy a piece of Europe
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• Bodybuilder Craven Tasker, is to move into Europe and plans to buy a Continental factory as soon as possible.
The company, acquired by Ballyvessey Holdings of Northern Ireland last March, will also invest £1.25 million in its four UK factories during the next year, and will launch new products including a 24-pallet capacity dry-freight box van.
Craven Tasker, which celebrates its 175th birthday this year, says the moves are designed to strengthen its base in time for the increased competition and opportunities that Europe could bring. Some £500,000 of the UK spend will go on new jig assemblies, paint and shot-blasting facilities at Woodville, Burton-on-Trent and Cumbernauld.
To overcome difficulties experienced when unloading containers, Craven Tasker has also designed a new skeletal trailer with a pneumaticallypowered rising platform. Its tipper safety device, Safetip, which has been on trial for the past 18 months, is also likely to become available next year.
The tandem-axled aluminium panneled dry-freight van uses RO-R's latest lndair airsuspension.
Floor heights are 1.88m within an overall 4.67m trailer height. It will be introduced with a reefer trailer early in 1989. The van's electricallyoperated Whiting wide-slat shutter has an air-locking arrangement for extra security and, with its Ratcliff internal tail-lift, it is intended for working directly from a loading bay.