SUCKLING TRANSPORT
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SUCKLING TRANSPORT has brought forward its vehicle procurement process to avoid having to pay for the expected cost hikes of Euro-6 technology.
The Essex-based company has ordered 27 tractor units to be delivered over a five-month period beginning February 2013, which includes 18 MAN TGS 440s and nine Daf CF85 460 FTPs.
Fleet engineer Dan Bauckham says some of these replacements were due prior to the implementation of Euro-6 (due 1 January 2014). However, the majority have been pulled forward by around 10 months so that the company can avoid the impending Euro-6 cost increases and the expected detrimental fuel-efficiency effect with Euro-6. Bauckham assessed whole life vehicle costs for its current Euro-5 vehicles on the fleet against the forthcoming technology.
“This decision was made after investigating what implication Euro-6 solutions would have on our business, using the information from various sources within the public domain,” he says.
This process has resulted in the first orders for Daf by Suckling Transport in more than two years. “Historically, we have operated the CF85 FTP 410hp. This time I ordered the 460 Advanced Transport Efficiency version, due to fuel efficiency advantages over the 410,” says Bauckham.