Volvo Trucks has secured its first new truck order with SugaRich – delivering three Volvo FM 500 6×2 tag axle tractor units into service.
The surplus food reprocessing business has traditionally run with a rival manufacturer but has opted for Volvo this time due to the improved performance and visibility from the latest version of the FM.
Supplied by Ryan Masters, Transport Solutions Executive at Volvo Truck and Bus Centre South & East, the new trucks will join SugaRich’s expanding fleet and be used to deliver surplus food products to the company’s seven reprocessing mills located across the UK.
Ryan Clay, National Transport Manager at SugaRich, says:
“Having had one or two issues with the aftersales support from our usual manufacturer, we were keen to get a new marque on board to ensure we always had the back-up we needed. Volvo was the obvious choice as it is a quality product and we have been really impressed with the competitive price they were able to offer us and the support and guidance from the local dealer.
These new FMs are very impressive. The updates to the interior and the cab have taken it up a level for sure, and we are confident that they will be more than a match for anything we have run before.”
The three new trucks all feature a fully digital dashboard, designed to make it easier to keep the drivers’ hands on the steering wheel and eyes on the road. A 12-inch, high resolution instrument display is supported by a nine-inch side display, providing easy access to the right information in all possible situations – when driving, loading, finding the right route or keeping track of driver times and vehicle status.
The three-star Direct Vision Standard-rated FM Globetrotter cabs have raised A-pillars that provide up to one extra cubic metre of space and more light versus the previous generation cab. A large windscreen, low door line and modern mirrors ensure excellent all-round visibility, which is improved further with an added rear window.
They will be paired with SugaRich’s roll-on, roll-off Cayvol skip trailers and are all backed with five-year Volvo Gold Contracts which will see all servicing and maintenance carried out by the Volvo Truck and Bus Centre South & East depot in Banbury.
Clays says:
“To maximise payload, we prefer to use artics as they can carry around seven tonnes more load than the largest rigid.
We probably use some of the biggest articulated skips in the UK and negotiating the collection can be tricky for the drivers. You have to be inch perfect, so we went for the FMs as the visibility from the cab is so good.”
Powered by Volvo’s D13K engine, providing up to 500 hp and up to 2,500 Nm of torque, the 44-tonne FMs are expected to clock-up roughly 200,000 km per year. They are driven through Volvo’s I-Shift automated 12-speed transmission, to improve safety, driveability and to help reduce fuel consumption.
Clay adds:
“As a business, what we do is really good for the environment so we want to run a sustainable fleet as well and the FM’s fuel efficiency will form an important part of that.”
