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Scotland’s oldest vehicle recovery and breakdown specialist is running its first Euro 4 truck, a 10.5-tonne Mercedes with 240hp BlueTec® SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) engine.
Thomas Ash and Sons’ new Atego 1024 arrived via dealer Western Commercial, its sleeper cab converted to crewcab specification through the deletion of the bunk and its replacement with a bench seat.
Christened ‘Brave Heart’, the truck is fitted with a tilt-and-slide body and spectacle lift by D Swinley Engineering, of Kirkcaldy.
Thomas Ash founded the Glasgow-based family firm in 1952 and is still at the helm as Managing Director. His wife Margaret is Company Secretary, while their sons Joe and Thomas are Operations Manager and Transport Manager respectively.
The company’s latest Atego uses fuel-efficient SCR technology to achieve Euro 4 emissions reductions, a process that employs the non-toxic AdBlue reduction agent to convert pollutant nitrogen dioxides into harmless nitrogen and water.
“We’re very pleased with our new Mercedes, especially the fuel economy,” says Thomas Ash senior, who is Scotland’s only Fellow of the Institute of Vehicle Recovery. “We’ve just sent it down to Birkenhead and it returned with a quarter of a tank left, which is amazing.
“As for the AdBlue, I don’t see what all the fuss is about. It’s consumed so slowly that’s it’s no different to keeping the screen wash topped-up.”
Thomas Ash and Sons provides a round-the-clock breakdown and recovery service for leading customers such as Green Flag, Call Assist and Care, as well as Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, for which it has worked since the 1960s.
The company operates 14 vehicles, among them three Mercedes Sprinters, a 4.6-tonner and two 6.0-tonners, with spectacle lifts, a pair of 7.5-tonne Atego flat-beds and, now, three 10.5-tonne Atego with tilt-and-slide bodies. Its heavy trucks, which include a 100-tonne ‘wrecker’, are all Swedish-built.
Thomas Ash and Sons recently hosted a film crew from the BBC’s Disaster Matters series – “They wanted to feature a recovery firm and picked us because we’re down to earth, honest business people,” says Mr Ash.
“The same is true of the guys at Western Commercial. Although we do our own servicing I’ve been buying genuine Mercedes-Benz parts from John Smith (Group Parts Manager) for years and he gives us an excellent service.
“Mercedes trucks have also proved down the years to be very reliable, as well as commanding high resale values.” |
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