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They may not wear the company’s traditional green livery but the latest Mercedes to join the fleet of North Lincolnshire haulier SJ Barrick are some of the ‘greenest’ trucks on Britain’s roads.
Founded in 1924, SJ Barrick is a long-standing operator of vehicles bearing the three-pointed star and has just bought four more tractor units from Immingham dealer H and L Garages.
All are 6x2 Actros 2544s with Long Distance sleeper cabs and ultra-clean BlueTec® Euro 5 engines that meet stringent EU emissions targets which do not even come into force until 2009.
Together with a Euro 4 Actros 2546 supplied by H and L in January, SJ Barrick’s latest Mercedes use SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) technology to reduce emissions. Barrick recognises that SCR is the most fuel-efficient system for truck operations, and the technology adopted by most manufacturers to maximise fuel performance while minimising harmful emissions.
However, two manufacturers have gone down an alternative route in the form of Exhaust Gas Recirculation. Proponents of EGR claim the non-toxic AdBlue reduction agent required in the SCR process to convert pollutant nitrogen dioxides into harmless nitrogen and water represents an unnecessary, additional burden for drivers and operators.
This argument is refuted by the SCR camp, which insists that AdBlue is easily handled, cheap to buy and consumed so slowly that the benefits of using it far outweigh any downsides.
It is a position borne out by the experience of SJ Barrick, because although they have only been on the road for a couple of weeks, its new tractors are already turning in some impressive fuel performances.
SJ Barrick specialises in bulk liquid and powder haulage and runs a Mercedes-dominated fleet of 32 trucks; with the exception of a pair of six-wheeled rigids, all are tractors.
Three of the Euro 5 Actros are pulling bulk powder trailers and like the company’s other vehicles on the same work, are being kept in white. In their first couple of weeks on the road, the new Actros were already returning up to 8mpg.
“We discharge the product using a compressor powered by the engine,” explains Matthew Barrick, a Director of the Goxhill-based family business. “Given that these vehicles are still so new that’s an excellent fuel figure, which we confidently expect to get even better as they ‘bed in’,”
The fourth Euro 5 Actros wears the colours of SJ Barrick’s oldest customer, Sandtoft, the UK’s largest independent manufacturer of roofing tiles; the two companies have been working together since 1954. One of five vehicles dedicated to the Sandtoft contract, the new tractor is delivering roofing tiles nationwide.
Mr Barrick continues: “All of our trucks are on Mercedes-Benz repair and maintenance contracts, and the back-up we receive from our local dealer, H and L Garages, is first-class.
“We recently adopted a five-yearly vehicle replacement schedule and hope that their Euro 5 engines will enhance the resale values of our latest Actros. As for the AdBlue, it’s consumed so slowly that it’s no hassle at all. Ultimately, we will need our own storage tank but in the short term we’ll be using a 1,000-litre IBC and pump.” |
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