Some guys have all the luck...
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• by Toby Clark It was around CV Show time, back in March last year, when we got together with Renault Vito set a competition with a cracking prize—the use of a Renault Midlum 7.5-tonner for a year, complete with factory-fitted bodywork and a comprehensive repair and maintenance package.
We were delighted that the winner turned out to be a traditional family firm with a mixture of general haulage jobs that will keep the Midlum busy during 2001. And, though the weather was bad enough to justify all the stereotypes of rainy Manchester, there were smiles all round as winner John Beaumont collected his new pride and joy from RVI's marketing director Euan Harron at Salford dealership JDS Trucks.
The prizewinner
Beaumont Transport has been based in Farnworth, to the north-west of Manchester, for about 15 years, but John Beaumont's family started in haulage on the other side of the city in Stockport back in 1935. Beaumont's is a classic small general haulage outfit: just John and his father, Derek Beaumont, driving a Volvo attic—soon up for replacement—and a Mercedes-Benz 17-tonner.
Beaumont will be looking for another driver now, as the Midlum adds to the work that the firm can do. At the moment most of Beaumont's work is general haulage, both local and national, with the bulk of it coming from inks manufacturer Akzo Nobel. The Midlum will enhance Beaumont's ability to do local jobs, but John won't be launching a major marketing campaign: the work is likely to come from existing customers.
He's under no illusions about the difficulties of the haulage business, explaining that he aims to keep his customers by offering the best service possible: "They can always pick up the phone and find someone cheaper."
Beaumont usually buys his trucks, rather than going for contract hire: '11 buy them so the asset's in the books, and I get a quiet period after three years when I don't have to make any payments. I'll run a vehicle for five years or so—the antic does 100120,000km a year; the 17tonner does around 80,000km a year."
He's also a believer in doing his own maintenance: "General mainte name is done in-house, though we go to the dealer for repairs." But that might change once the firm gets used to the luxury of the 24-hour service offered by JDS: "Next time we buy we might look at an R&M package."
The next vehicle in Beaumont's sights is a replacement for the Volvo artic: "We were going to go for a 6x2 but with the change in tax we'll stick with a 4x2—you know the running costs are cheaper".
While CM was there Beaumont was quizzing JDS sales manager Chris Bell and RVI's Euan Harron about the future of the RPC grant and the introduction of Euro-3 trucks this year. As we left, they were well on the way to convincing him to buy a Premium 420 dCi that they just happened to have in stock...
The prize
When John Beaumont saw his prize he said he was "over the moon'', and well he might be; the 150hp 7.5-tonner came kitted out to his specs, with a Boalloy Tautliner curtain-sided body and a 1,000kg-capacity Ratcliff tail lift, as well as a livery Since it was launched at the beginning of last year, the Midlum has made its name as a well-designed, productive truck: one of the first fleet deals for the new vehicle was an order for 500: "Midlum's selling very very well," says Chris Bell of JDS.
With a cab that shares up to 60% of its panels with the bigger, broader Premium, the Midlum family includes a
comprehensive range of models from 7.5-16 tonnes and from 135-250hp. There are six cab options, with five trim types and a range of interior accessories. Like the Premium, the Midlum has dramatically raised Renault's standard of interior design and build. The chassis is modern, too, with disc brakes all round.
The most contemporary feature of the Midlum, however, is the range of factory-fitted bodywork available through affiliated bodybuilders. Two of the most popular options are Boalloy's dry freight box and its Tautliner curtain-sided body This 'one-stop shop" approach minimises lead times, improves quality control and ensures compatibility between the chassis and body—an attractive proposition whether you're an experienced fleet engineer or a one-man band.
• Cl? will be reporting on the progress of our prize Renault and its owner later in the year.