The waste and resource management business, FCC Environment, is introducing a brand new fleet of HARSH-equipped vehicles to support a key contract win in Kent.
The 24 vehicles, all of which are to be based in Dover, will be employed on FCC’s Mid and East Kent contract, which FCC took over last November.
Fifteen of the trucks are HARSH hookloaders mounted on 8x4 Arocs chassis, whilst the remaining nine are 6x2 Actros tractor units with HARSH wet kits, specified to work with Knapen moving floor trailers.
David Simpson, FCC’s head of plant and fleet, said: ‘We made the decision that the best way to service the contract was to take on an entirely new fleet of vehicles. This way, we would be able to deliver the highest possible standards of reliability, cost effectiveness and customer service. In turn, we consider the combination of HARSH bodywork and Mercedes-Benz chassis to be the optimum route to go in achieving the highest possible levels of vehicle performance.’
The HARSH hookloader units were chosen for their robust construction and promise of long term durability, given that they are handling up to multiple separate container movements per day.
Mainly moving domestic waste from a dozen household waste and recycling centres in Kent to FCC’s Energy from Waste at Allington near Maidstone, the new trucks are already covering up to 1,000kms per week.
Looking after every aspect of the trucks’ daily operation, FCC transport manager for Mid and East Kent, Martyn McIntee, said: ‘We are delighted to have been able to introduce an entirely new fleet for this contract. Not only does this enable us to deliver a premium level of service, but we can also take full advantage of all the latest vehicle technologies to keep the operation as efficient and cost-effective as possible.
‘Following this theme, we particularly appreciate the very high levels of driver training and aftersales support that HARSH has provided – this has made the introduction of the new vehicles smooth, easy and trouble-free.
‘We are very lucky to have the drivers we have here, and they are all very pleased to have brand new, top-spec trucks to work with.’
In addition to their standard equipment and HARSH variable width sheeting, FCC’s new HARSH hookloaders have been specified to FORS Gold standard which includes blind spot cameras, close proximity/turn left warning sensors, granular spill kits, toolboxes and flashing lights to denote when the pto is engaged. Rounding off their specification, the trucks also feature Mercedes-Benz latest digital dashboards and telematics package to monitor all aspects of vehicle performance.
Commenting for HARSH, business development manager, Jason Bramall, said: ‘Being able to deliver 24 new trucks to a major waste and recycling company like FCC shows just how focused we now are on the whole environmental services sector.
‘Whilst the HARSH/Mercedes-Benz combination is ideal for FCC’s requirements, what will really count in the longer term is our fullest possible commitment to aftersales and service support. We are naturally delighted that FCC has been able to place their confidence in HARSH’s ability to support them in such a major new contract.’
FCC Environment owns or operates over 200 waste disposal sites in the UK, recycling over 1.6 million tonnes of waste per year and generating over 117megawatts of green energy from its Energy from Waste (EfW) plants.
Employing over 2,400 people across England, Wales and Scotland, FCC holds over 100 contracts across some 60 local authorities, these being serviced by over 500 various commercial vehicles.
