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The roads of Monmouthshire and beyond will be kept clear of snow and ice this winter by two of the first low-emission Mercedes BlueTec® Euro 4 trucks to be supplied by Cardiff dealer Euro Commercials (South Wales).
The 26-tonne, 6x4 Axor 2628B gritters were delivered to Monmouthshire County Council shortly after the latest round of EU emissions legislation came into force on October 1st. They have joined four new 13-tonne Mercedes Atego 1318As, which have Euro 3 engines and double-drive configurations.
All six chassis are fitted with gritting bodies and snow ploughs by Bunce (Epoke) of Swindon. The bodies were transplanted from previous vehicles – four have been refurbished and updated, while the remaining two were only a couple of years old.
The new Mercedes employ the latest Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology. This relies on a catalytic converter to reduce the nitrogen oxides gases, which it does using a non-toxic, aqueous reduction agent called AdBlue.
Supplied from a separate tank, the AdBlue converts pollutant nitrogen oxides into harmless nitrogen and water. Particulate emissions by BlueTec engines are reduced by 87 per cent and nitrogen oxide emissions by 70 per cent.
Although these are the first new trucks to wear the three-pointed star on its winter maintenance fleet, Monmouthshire has previously operated second-hand Mercedes.
Operations Manager Grove Risbey is responsible for a mixed-marque fleet of 20 gritters, which are based at depots in Raglan, Troy in Monmouth, Llanfoist in Abergavenny, and Crick, near Chepstow. Beyond the county boundary, the Council is also contracted to undertake the winter maintenance function on sections of the Greater Gwent motorway and trunk road network area during the winter months.
Mr Risbey explains: “For the last decade we have relied on used chassis for our winter maintenance operations. But the price gap between new and second-hand vehicles has narrowed of late, so we decided the time was now right to buy new vehicles again.”
He continues: “I was conscious that Mercedes gritters are already used by several neighbouring authorities, while the fact that Mercedes-Benz offers a standard, multi-drive-axle product with a gritting pack straight off the shelf, rather than it being a ‘special order’, was also very appealing.
“Finally, I had discussions with colleagues in our transport workshop, who confirmed that not only were the 4x4 Mercedes we’d been operating very reliable, the parts back-up from Euro Commercials was also first-class.”
And he adds: “My first experience of working with Euro Commercials has been very positive – municipal sales specialist Gareth Davies and his team have a very professional approach and are a pleasure to deal with.” |
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