Supplied by Volvo dealer Crossroads Truck & Bus Ltd., based at Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire, the six new FH’s - all of which are 6x2’s - work on a mix of long-haul bulk grain or animal feed delivery operations and intensive quarrying work.

Stewart Hymas, Managing Director commenting on the three replacement and three additional trucks said. ”We’ve run Volvo’s for a long time, they make up about 80% of the fleet. We like the Volvo product, they’re reliable and they stand up to our operation well. Tipper and quarry work is very hard on the trucks. The Volvo’s are very durable pieces of kit and the drivers like them - there are very few drivers who wouldn’t pick one as their preferred truck. We tried the I-Shift in a demonstrator and the drivers like it. The overall best feature though is the reliability.”

Fitted with Globetrotter double sleeper cabs in ‘Comfort’ trim and I-Shift automated transmissions, all six trucks are to the same specification. Operating at 44 tonnes GCW most of the time on the bulk operation, Stewart says that the FH’s are also proving ideal for the quarrying work in the hills around Skipton.

Stewart Hymas also praised Volvo Dealer Crossroads. ”The service from Crossroads is excellent and this is why we have a predominantly Volvo fleet. We can get parts very quickly from their depot at Boroughbridge, which is only five miles away. The fitters are well versed in the Volvo product and the salesmen at Crossroads are good to deal with.”

The trucks will operate UK-wide, but primarily in the M62 corridor from Liverpool across to Immingham. Alfred Hymas is the largest family-owned bulk haulier in North Yorkshire which specialises in tipping to the agricultural and aggregate sectors.