Leyland Trucks, the Lancashire-based manufacturer of the full range of DAF trucks, has celebrated the production of its 500,000th vehicle. The half million milestone truck – a 16-tonne GVW DAF LF 210 – was handed over to customer, Minoli, at a special production line ceremony on 2nd December.
Attending the hand-over were Minoli’s Managing Director, Jonathon Minoli, Marketing Manager at DAF Trucks, Phil Moon, and Leyland Trucks Director of Operations, Phil Jones, alongside representatives from supplying DAF Dealer, HTC.
The DAF LF 210 is the first of four new vehicles for Minoli – a leading importer and distributor of Italian porcelain tiles – two of which are spec’d with a 210bhp PACCAR PX-5 engine, ZF AS-Tronic six-speed gearbox, rear air suspension, adjustable roof spoiler and cab collars. Minoli, with its headquarters and distribution centre in Oxford and offices and showrooms in Marylebone, London, has remained an exclusive and loyal DAF operator for almost 40 years.
The DAF LF remains one of the UK’s most popular lightweight fleet trucks, offering benchmark levels of payload potential and driver comfort, alongside outstanding vehicle handling and manoeuvrability.
The Leyland Assembly Plant was constructed in 1979 with full production starting in 1980. Today, Leyland Trucks occupies an 86-acre site with 93,000 square metres of covered production space. A workforce of 1,000 includes several fourth and fifth generation employees. The current vehicle ranges include LF, CF, XF models and now also the New Generation DAF range of XF, XG and XG+ vehicles – International Truck of the Year 2022.
In a relationship that spans several decades, Minoli has chosen HTC Group and DAF to meet its requirements for reliable, robust vehicles that have been purpose-built in harmony with the company’s exacting and often changing needs. Increased demand for Minoli’s products, a drive for greater efficiency and a concerted effort to reduce emissions has required an ongoing cycle of investment in expanding the Minoli fleet and upgrading their trucks. With the latest additions, Minoli will be running 14 DAF trucks and a further eight supporting vehicles, giving a daily delivery capacity of over 100,000KGs.
“We as a company and a family, feel very privileged to have been invited to Leyland Trucks to mark such a momentous milestone in the company’s history,” said Jonathon Minoli. “We’re proud to know that our trucks are built in Britain and that we are supporting British industry. We’ve been a DAF operator for almost 40-years now – and our relationship with the brand has been built on quality and reliability, that in turn allows us to meet our customers’ needs, day after day and year after year.
The lightweight LF range was entirely designed, developed and engineered at Leyland Trucks, while the factory is also home to a unique in-house body-building programme. With Leyland Trucks delivering the highest quality products in the truck industry, the Lancashire-based manufacturer has contributed significantly towards DAF Trucks’ 26-year position as UK truck market leader above 6-tonnes GVW – last year standing at 32%.
