A three week demo that delivered a fuel improvement of up to 20% has landed an order for six new Volvo FM11-450 tractors from GRS Bagging.
Specialist suppliers of bagged sands, gravels and decorative stone to builders merchants, from Newcastle to the south coast, GRS has lifted its fuel economy from “the mid-fives” to 7.3mpg with the new Volvos.
Operations Director for GRS, Rick Faulkner, says, “This is heavy work and although we only do between 45,000 and 50,000km each year, we operate at 44 tonnes every day. I am always looking for cost reductions, and after three weeks of tough work the FM11-450 we had on demo turned in a fuel figure I couldn’t ignore.”
GRS operate 55 artics with 50 drivers and these new Volvos will be working from their Rainham, Essex depot, where they will be maintained on a Volvo Gold R&M contract by Volvo Truck and Bus Centre London’s Barking workshops.
“I bought twenty eighteen month-old Volvo FM-430s three years ago, and these six are the first new ones on the fleet,” says Rick. He adds, “With the stop-start work we do, this fuel benefit is a massive bonus and I’m a big fan of the I-Shift auto box too. Since we moved from manuals, where a clutch would last as little as twelve months, only one of our used FMs has needed a clutch in three years.”
The six new Volvos are getting the thumbs up from drivers too, who report that the latest I-Shift software is better than ever – especially after Volvo’s driver trainer Dave Taylor paid them a visit.
