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Southfields gets Busy with Bodies
Page 19
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by Colin Barnett Southfields' new plant at Lagar, Nottingham, is paying off in terms of flexibility and speed. It has just completed a batch of 15-tanner box bodies off-chassis, without the recipient trucks needing to be present.
The 45,000ft2 plant incorporates a network of overhead cranes which allows bodies to be built and stored away from the main production line, then retrieved for chassis mounting and final trimming as and when the trucks arrive.
This batch comprised 60 Busy Body van bodies for Harveys Furnishing Group, which were fitted to Mercedes-Benz Atego 015s. The 24ft bodies feature plastic/plywood panels on a galvanised steel underframe and rear door frame, with aluminium front pillars and a GRP one-piece roof.
The off-chassis system could be applied to other types of body, too. The advantage is that it provides a buffer against potential vagaries of chassis supply. which, with rigid production planning schedules, can cause the vehicle to miss its line slot and escalate delays to delivery times.