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Shropshire-based Wrekin Construction has become the first operator in Britain to take delivery of a fleet of new-generation Mercedes Sprinter crewcabs.
Part of the Wrekin Group, a national operation with headquarters in Shifnal, and regional offices strategically located throughout England and Wales, the company boasts an impressive portfolio of private and public sector clients for which it provides civil engineering, design and build, and environmental services.
The latest additions to its commercial fleet are a dozen Medium-length Sprinter 311CDIs with seven-man crewcabs and light but exceptionally strong tipping bodies by Ingimex, of Telford.
Wrekin Construction is a relatively recent convert to the three-pointed star, having bought its first 20 Sprinter panel vans in 2005. It was the reliable and cost-effective performance of these vehicles, coupled with the fact that they proved so popular with its drivers, which brought the company back to Wolverhampton dealer Gerard Mann Commercials with its latest order for crewcab tippers.
Wrekin Construction’s Plant & Transport Director Peter Greenwood says: “We switched to Mercedes because the vans we’d used previously had become increasingly unreliable.
“We were doing a lot of utilities work at the time for gas and water companies, and for British Telecom, and the Sprinters were nothing short of a revelation – we sent them out, and they stayed out there.
“In fact, during their first year of operation we suffered only one breakdown and that was dealt with very efficiently by Gerard Mann. They kept my foreman updated on progress, the repair was made under warranty, and the van was back on the road in no time at all.”
According to Mr Greenwood, while reliability is important in a panel van, it is absolutely crucial in a crewcab tipper. “If a van goes down you can always hire a replacement but these pick-ups are specialised vehicles,” he says. “It’s likely that at least one member of the crew will be a machine driver so if he can’t get to the site to load dump trucks, for example, then you end up with a lot more people standing idle; the knock-on effect of a breakdown is potentially horrendous.”
Launched in the summer of 2006, the new Sprinter crewcab features three-point belts on all seats and bristles with high-tech safety features, including the latest Adaptive Electronic Stability Program. This offers all of the anti-skid reassurance of the ESP® system used in the previous Sprinter, but can also now determine a vehicle’s mass and centre of gravity. As a result, Adaptive ESP® is able to intervene with even greater sensitivity and precision in critical situations.
Crucially, too, whereas its predecessor had only three doors, the new-generation Sprinter crewcab model has four. For Peter Greenwood, who wears a second hat as Wrekin Construction’s Group Health & Safety Director, this represents a major step forward, especially given recent Duty of Care legislation. “Not only is the four-door configuration more convenient, it’s also safer,” he says. “In the event of an accident you really want your personnel to be able to get out of all doors as quickly as possible. Overall,” he adds, “I’m hugely impressed with the steps that Mercedes-Benz has taken to ensure that the Sprinter crewcab is as safe as possible for our employees.”
Wrekin Construction’s new Sprinter 311CDIs do not transport materials in bulk over long distances, but spend much of their time flitting between sites and local builder’s merchants to collect ply wood, pipes, fittings and other items. Additional features include tow bars for pulling cable trailers or compressors, and the digital tachographs required by law as a result of the increased potential gross train weight. |
“The Sprinter crewcab is great to drive, combining strong power with positive steering and reassuring brakes,” says Mr Greenwood. “The cab is easily accessible with excellent all-round visibility and plenty of storage – we particularly like the useful space beneath the seats.
“From a management point of view, meanwhile, in addition to its exceptional reliability the Sprinter is economical on fuel and easily serviced at long intervals, as well as coming with a three-year unlimited mileage warranty. All of which means that we benefit from very low whole-life costs.” |
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