Ford's Lend-a-lorry Plan
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THE free loan of a complete articulated 1 outfit for proving runs to factories or distribution centres on the Continent is now being offered to selected British industrial companies by Ford Motor Co. Ltd., Dagenham. The companies are being selected in liaison with the Export Council for Europe, and the outfit is a Thames Trader 17-ton-gross tractive unit with a semi-trailer built to TIR requirements by Taskers of Andover. For the proving runs the outfit is manned by a member of Ford's London sales staff who has gained experience on Ford's previous Continental ventures.
The first journey in an initial series of six was made last month and involved moving a valuable and fragile load of furniture from Vono Ltd., Tipton, Staffs, to the company's German distribution centre in Cologne.
The vehicle left Tipton at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, February 18, was sealed by Customs at Tilbury, crossed on the " Cerdic Ferry" (Ford is using the Transport Ferry Service) and, despite a long delay at the Dutch/German border at Venlo, was in Cologne at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, February 19. The load was Customscleared and unloaded next morning and the return journey proved much quicker because border delay was less; it would have been possible to complete the Tipton Cologne-Tipton round trip in 31 days had the outfit made for an earlier ferry from Antwerp than the Friday boat which was booked for it at Rotterdam. The 800-mile road journey, says Ford, was completed at an average running-time speed of 32 in.p.h. and a fuel consumption of 12.2 m.p.g.
The company sets out the cost of the journey as: Vono Ltd. have said they were well pleased with the demonstration and are looking very seriously at the possibilities.