A socially distanced Low Carbon Emissions Vehicle demonstration event hosted by Specialist Fleet Services Ltd (SFS) last month provided a unique opportunity to present the latest fleet technologies to council representatives.
Contract hire and fleet management company, SFS, runs a network of workshops as well as its own municipal vehicle hire division, CTS Hire, and has been delivering solutions to the public and private sector since 1992.
Bob Sweetland, managing director at SFS, said: ‘There is increasing interest in low carbon emissions vehicles from our customers and we are working with them to help create cleaner, greener fleets. We arranged the event to give our customers, and neighbouring authorities, the opportunity to see for themselves the latest technology available in the marketplace, all in one place. We were delighted with the turnout, the support given by the manufacturers and the feedback has been extremely positive.’
The two-day event took place during August at the Trucksmith Ltd commercial vehicle bodybuilder factory in Cullompton, Devon and featured an extensive range of low carbon emissions vehicles, plant and complementary technologies. These included: the eCollect electric RCV from Dennis Eagle; a range of electric vans from Renault; a 7.5t electric caged tipper from Paneltex; the eSwingo from Schmidt; the Maxus EV80 electric panel van from Acorn Trucks; the Iveco Daily CNG from Guest Trucks; an electric Telehandler, John Deere eGator and hand-held equipment supplied by Masons Kings; Geotab Telematics by LEVL; mobile fast charging solutions and Kempower product by Vital Power Ltd & Vital EV Solutions. Trucksmith also showcased an assortment of their own products tailored to local authority fleet applications.
Each day was split into three sessions of six delegates to enable social distancing in line with current Covid-19 guidelines. Over 36 delegates attended in total, representing a wide number of councils including Mid-Devon, Exeter, Bath & North East Somerset, Teignbridge, Torridge, Somerset South, Somerset West and Taunton, Torbay, Bristol Waste, North Devon and Somerset Waste Partnership.
All presentations were pre-recorded and shown inside a marquee with socially distanced seating. These offered delegates an impartial overview of the current market position and options regarding Low Carbon Emission vehicles. The virtual presenters were Stuart Noyce, group manager – Street Scene and Open Spaces, Mid-Devon District Council; Paul Connor, head of Tenders and Procurement, SFS; and Ian Featherstone and Richard Drew from the Energy Savings Trust.
Delegates were then able to spend time with suppliers to find out more about their products, infrastructure and systems.
‘We started to plan a small forum-style low carbon vehicle technology demonstration session earlier this year but that was postponed due to lockdown. However, COVID-19 has not slowed the appetite for information on this key fleet topic,’ said Bob Sweetland.
‘Working alongside Mid Devon District Council we highlighted the urgent need to showcase some of the available technologies and potential barriers to their implementation to key stakeholders from the council and neighbouring authorities.
‘We managed to evolve arrangements, in line with ever-changing Government guidance, to deliver the sessions. The feedback has been so positive, not just from guests but also suppliers who are keen to support us with similar initiatives in the future.’
