ANDOVER-BASED emergency drainage company has pumped up its fleet by switching to Mercedes-Benz vehicles.
Draintech Tankers were so delighted with its first two Mercedes-Benz tankers that it returned to Marshall Truck & Van just three months later with a follow-up order for another couple.
The Andover-based operator previously acquired its trucks from two other manufacturers.
In the face of soaring demand from customers, the director Robert Simpson resolved last year to take a fresh look at vehicle sourcing and maintenance arrangements with a view to reducing the amount of time its trucks were spending on the road.
As Marshall Truck & Van’s Andover branch is practically on the company’s doorstep, the Mercedes-Benz Dealer was an obvious place to start. And having recently undergone a £1 million upgrade that included an extension to the workshop, its facility on the town’s Walworth Industrial Estate made a positive first impression.
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Mr Simpon said: "I could see immediately that it was a quality product and well suited to our work, while Marshall Truck & Van’s proximity to us was also a big attraction. On this basis, I was very happy to order our first Mercedes-Benz vehicles.”
Draintech Tankers specialises in emptying septic tanks, cesspits and sewage treatment plants, for customers located across the Test Valley area of west Hampshire. It also provides a variety of associated services such as high-pressure jetting and drain unblocking, clearing grease traps and oil interceptors, repairing pumps, and installing drainage.
Acquired with funding support from Daimler Truck Financial Services, the two vehicles that entered service last autumn both have ClassicSpace M-cabs and are fitted with stainless steel vacuum tanks by VJ Engineering, of Rugby. Each is also equipped with a Jurop RV520 hydraulic drain pump, washdown jetting system, full opening rear door, and stainless steel storage trays and lockers.
One is an 8x4 Arocs 3248 with 12.8-litre in-line six-cylinder engine producing 350 kW. This truck, which carries a 4,200-gallon tank, is in ENA configuration, with a single front steer axle, double-drive bogie and rear steering axle.
The other, a 6x2 Arocs 2542 variant, is powered by a 310 kW version of the same straight-six as its larger stablemate. This truck has a 3,200-gallon tank and is also equipped to pull a tri-axled drawbar trailer on which is mounted another tank with a 3,000-gallon capacity.
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Robert continued: “Since shortly after they arrived both have been on 24-hour hire to our local water supplier helping to deal with parts of the drainage network that have experienced very high flows with all the heavy rain we’ve seen in this region. These are still relatively early days but we’re very confident that we’ve made a wise choice. The Arocs is performing strongly while the feedback from our drivers has been extremely positive, with the comfortable, well-equipped cabs coming in for particular praise."
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