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Grangemouth-based Duncan Adams Haulage has its own ‘Magnificent Seven’ – its first BlueTec® Euro 4 Mercedes tractor units.
All 6x2 Actros 2546 models with range-topping, flat-floored MegaSpace cabs and 16-speed Telligent® manual transmissions, they were supplied by Edinburgh dealer Western Commercial.
Duncan Adams bought its first 10 Mercedes trucks, which were also Actros, in the summer of 2002. Western Commercial took back five of these original units as part of the latest deal.
The arrival of its seven new trucks means that Duncan Adams now operates 22 tractors that wear the three-pointed star. Most are 460hp premium-specification Actros, with either MegaSpace or high-roofed Long Distance sleeper cabs, although the line-up also includes nine 6x2 Axor 2543 fleet units with 430hp engines and high-roofed cabs.
“The Axor tend to be on container work in and around Scotland’s Central Belt, while we send the Actros all over the UK,” explains Director Eric Adams, whose father founded the family firm in 1960; now 75, he is still actively involved in the business.
Much of Duncan Adams’ work entails the transportation of whisky for export, although it carries a lot of chemicals, wine, timber and steel too; the company is also a member of the Palletways network. In addition to its Grangemouth HQ, it has a depot in Birkenhead from which it delivers newsprint, and others in Glasgow, Teesport and South Shields.
Duncan Adams runs around 100 trucks in total, with DAF and Renault also represented. Mr Adams continues: “Mercedes-Benz has made significant in-roads into our fleet over the last four years, and it’s done so for two main reasons:
“First, the fuel returns are pretty good. We’re getting between 8 and 8.5mpg from our Actros, with the Axor doing slightly better. One unit is consistently returning over 9mpg – it does have an exceptional driver, but this shows what can be achieved.
“Second, and every bit as important, our drivers really like their Mercedes. The Actros is a top-spec, long haul unit, with masses of space and a very comfortable bunk. And although smaller, the Axor cab is also designed very much with the driver in mind. In these days of driver shortages, our Mercedes trucks are definitely helping us to recruit and retain the best.”
Duncan Adams’ latest Actros are the subject of three-year Mercedes-Benz repair and maintenance contracts, the work being undertaken at Grangemouth by Western Commercial’s mobile technicians. “They come across regularly and the service is very good,” adds Mr Adams. |
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