YORKSHIRE AGGREGATES CELEBRATES 21 YEARS WITH VOLVO FM-400

Quarrying and construction transport operator Yorkshire Aggregates has taken delivery of a specially-liveried Volvo FM-400 tipper in celebration of their 21st anniversary. Plated for operation at 32 tonnes, the 8x4, Wilcox-bodied truck is the 18th in the Doncaster-based company’s all-Volvo fleet, reflecting their appreciation of the driveability, reliability and off-road capabilities of Volvo vehicles.

“We’ve been using Volvo’s ever since the company was founded, 21 years ago,” says Transport Manager Neil Elliott. “They’re just good trucks – pleasant to drive, easy to operate and safe, with good brakes – which is very important in our business ! They’re particularly good off road, and that’s mostly what we do. We have occasionally tried other makes…but that was a bad move – everybody prefers to sit in a Volvo, and the drivers love them !”

While Yorkshire Aggregates’ usual livery is a red base coat with white decals, this celebration truck has its colours reversed. It is also fitted with a Kelsa Eurobar carrying four Hella spotlights, not so much to help with night motorway work as for what Neil describes as “a bit of flash !” He is very pleased with the performance of the I-Shift automated gearbox; “I’ve driven them myself, taken them off-road and couldn’t get them stuck. They’re all going to be I-Shift from now on !”
 
In addition to the usual amenities such as air conditioning, the ‘Comfort’-trimmed cab contains the controls for the electric sheeting and onboard weighing systems.

Supplied by Volvo Dealer Crossroads Truck and Bus, the repair and maintenance work will be carried out at their Rotherham depot as the truck is on three years’ contract hire arranged via Volvo Financial Services. “We like to renew our trucks every three years,” Neil explains, “because the work we do is hard on them, whether it’s bulk aggregates, on-site deliveries or recycling. A sound truck means good performance – and we want the best all the time !”