Vallely shows new shunter
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• by Toby Clark The market for purpose-built yard shunters has become a lot more compficated in the past few months, as importers such as Terberg, Kalmar and MAFI have entered the UK. Now Leeds-based tanker builder Vallely Engineering has joined the competition with a new product, but with a well-established marketing team.
Vallely has been joined by six staff from Reliance-Mercury, the Halifax shunter builder closed down last year by its parent company Dennis, while Reliance-Mercury's Haulmaster product is now built by its sister firm, Douglas Equipment.
Vallely's first two products in this area are the Ledston, a heavy-duty yard tractor with an elevating fifth wheel, and the Beaver, a small towing tractor for industrial and aviation applications.
Gerry Vallely is keen to emphasise that the three vehicles are clean-sheet designs, which make use of the latest components and take advantage of his firm's growing manufacturing resources: at the Vallely factory they are advertising for new staff at the front gate.
"We were looking for a product that was well related to our skills and capabilities but which wasn't bespoke—which fitted into a good production run," says a spokesman. The firm's usual products include sophisticated tankers and waste vehicles.
At the heart of Vallely's marketing effort are Brian Naylor and Geoff Needham, exReliance-Mercury men who have brought their considerable experience to Leeds— along with a recognition that the product could be improved. "We listed every main feature of the vehicle," says Needham. "We asked what was good, where it went wrong and how it could be improved." "We paid particular attention to driver access and comfort," adds Naylor. For instance, the Ledston is fitted with a viscous-coupled cooling fan to reduce noise, and the cab is fitted with an electric tilt pump.
The tractor is powered by a Cummins BSeries engine rated at 174hp (130kW), driving through an Allison World Series MD3060P automatic box to a 16-tonne Dana Kirkstall D62 drive axle, with the option of hydraulic rear suspension. The chassis is a massive box-section affair, fabricated by Vallely and guaranteed for five years, while the fifth wheel is able to lift an imposed load of up to 16.6 tonnes from 1.10m to 1.65m. This helps to explain why, even though the wheelbase is just 2.80m, the Ledston weighs about eight tonnes unladen. The retail price is £47,500.
Vallely Engineering is mainly interested in going after the distribution market. Brian Naylor estimates that the UK market for yard shunters is about 100 units a year—but the Ledston and the Beaver will soon be joined by the Ledsham, a heavier 4x4 shunter primarily for port applications, The firm's marketing effort began only at the start of the year, but Vallely already has 30 orders for the Ledston.