THE HARDWARE-TRUCKS AND TRAILERS
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in the past, Nicholls fielded a British-built fleet of FRFs; today a single Olympic-cabbed ERF remains as a yard shunter. Badgeengineered MANs followed and the last are being disposed of; despite being well maintained, they have, says Paul Nicholls, virtually no residual value.
The company runs its own workshop, including tyre fitting, under the stewardship of Don McClead, who has been with the firm 25 years.But why not just use main dealers? "Because if a radiator goes, we can do it in two hours and an injector in half a day. We can schedule our own servicing to fit operational priorities," says Nicholls.
Nicholls is considering offering workshop services to outside clients, he has started an apprenticeship programme and applied for grant funding.
Workshop staff opinions are carefully weighed and have an influence on buying policy. Nicholls tended to employ two makes, Renault and lveco, until wear issues with the French trucks' brakes. "The Dci Premium was a good truck," says McCleod, "and the Dxi was the worst. At 250,000km, discs had to be replaced, a longstand
ing braking problem. It's not the dealer's fault. We would have stayed with Renault; I wouldn't have expected a chassis with Volvo parts to give grief."
Renault's loss has been Iveco's gain with a decision to standardise on the Stralis, most of the fleet having 10.3-litre, 450hp Cursor engines. The newest units are Euro-5 6x2s, with automated shifts as standard. Those working on the Continent are fitted with blindspot cameras to reduce the risk of accidents.
Owning the trucks means a flexible approach to renewal. "We write off, but don't necessarily dispose of at five years," says Nicholls. A Renault on an 03 plate has done one million miles and, being trouble-free, is retained.
"It's not always the oldest [that is sold. We buy accident-damaged chassis from our insurers and use them for parts."
Trailers are all curtainsiders for flexibility (although some customers — such as Nestle — specify back-door loading), and are built by Montracon and SDC. There are two heights, 4m and 4.4m, the latter marked with a distinctive yellow band as a visual reminder to drivers.