Rugeley, Staffordshire-based Hawkins Logistics’ new flagship Volvo FH16-750 features a stunning airbrush artwork tribute to what some would say are the top six 21st century legends of Moto-GP.
With the theme ‘Hitting the Apex’ – named after the Mark Neale documentary about Moto-GP that was released in 2015 – the larger than life artwork on the Globetrotter XL cab of the FH16-750 was created by truck artist Matt Paint.
The ‘Hitting the Apex’ documentary follows legends Valentino Rossi, Dani Pedrosa, Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo, Marc Marquez and the late great Marco Simoncelli, as they compete for the Moto GP crown. All these riders are featured on the cab of the FH16-750.
Although Hawkins Logistics’ new flagship can be seen out on the roads of the UK, earning its keep, following an invitation from the organisers, it will also soon be on show at the 36th Truckstar Festival, which will be held at the Assen TT Circuit in The Netherlands, at the end of July.
To distinguish its flagship status in the 33 strong fleet of Hawkins Logistics, the cab is finished in Arctic White. This acts as a new and distinctive base for the high profile racing colours of the world class riders and their machines.
Customisation of the FH16-750 was carried out by Tor Trucks who fitted the side skirts, chassis infill and sun visor extension, together with colour coding the mirrors, wiper arms and detailing of various cab panels in Arctic White.
Ex-motorcycle enduro competitor James Lockett, who drives the FH16-750, describes it as: “A dream come true. I don’t get that Monday morning feeling now I’m driving the FH16-750. It really puts a smile on my face. Going north on the M6 over Shap, fully loaded, it just sits there at 56 mph in top gear all the way. Fuel is in the upper eights so that is good too.”
“The ‘Hitting the Apex’ theme was chosen as it is all about being the best. Our business is all about customer service and we want to be the best at everything we do,” asserts Hawkins Logistics Director Paul Hawkins. “For us, Volvo represents good fuel economy – our fleet average is currently 8.8mpg and we carry out a wide range of haulage, including low loader work. Hartshorne at Newcastle-Under-Lyme give us great service and we find that our Volvo tractor units attract a very good residual value when we sell them on after four or five years.”
Paul Hawkins reports that the company is enjoying a period of sustained business growth in both its haulage and warehousing services. “The company is expanding fast. In addition to the fleet of 33 HGVs and 12 vans, we offer our customers 140,000 square feet (13,000 square metres) of warehousing. We are currently extending our operating centre facility in Rugeley, which will soon cover an area of 10 acres (4 hectares). We are FORS Bronze and also ISO9001 and ISO18001 accredited.”
He adds, “Seventy per cent of the fleet are on R&M contracts. So far this year, we have ordered nine trucks, including six Volvo tractor units. Apart from the FH16-750, the Volvo tractors are all FH-500s.”
“Some are double-shifted and turn in around 250,000 kms a year. We have a company target of zero downtime, so we take them on Volvo’s Gold R&M contracts and Hartshorne, who supplied the trucks, service them overnight or on Saturdays.”
