Tradeteam, the Exel company which has become the UK’s largest independent drinks distributor, is replacing its fleet of around 200 custom-built Volvo FL drays with 306 new models, a mixture of rigid curtainsiders and urban tractors.
The unique feature of the deal is that the majority of the old fleet is being fully depolluted, then recycled for steel and aluminium by European Metal Recycling Ltd. as part of a rolling replacement contract organised by Volvo to coincide with the MOT dates of the old trucks. This is the first time that a truck recycling programme has been carried out under the depollution procedures that have been mandatory for cars since January 2005: EMR has installed the UK’s first purpose-built truck depollution rig at Darlaston, near Wolverhampton, specifically for this contract.
"The old trucks had reached the end of their lives," says Exel`s Nigel Bailey, "and technology has moved on. The unique aluminium gull-wing bodies were no longer needed because of modern, secure curtains. Again, all-round air suspension meant we didn`t need the ultra-low decks of the old vehicles.
He added, “As well as wanting to invest in new technology, though, we wanted a cleaner-running fleet of modern trucks, for our own and our customers` images. As such we`re always working to improve our environmental footprint and this was a major opportunity to do so."
176 of the new trucks are Volvo FLE 6x2 rigids with fixed, single-tyred tag axle, fully air suspended, plated for operation at 23 tonnes GVW and equipped with Don Bur Draymaster bodywork. The remaining 130 are rear air-suspended FLH 4x2 tractors plated at 26 tonnes GCW.
Both types have D6B six-litre engines rated at 220bhp and equipped with the T700A 6-speed gearbox and all have Day cabs finished in ‘Fleet’ trim. All are on a 7-year, fixed price repair and maintenance programme with the Volvo Dealer Network across the UK.
"Some of the original 200 trucks were in good enough condition that they could be sold on," says Volvo`s Technical Sales Manager, Chris Evans. "But it turned out that, in around 170 cases, it would be more environmentally-friendly and more cost-effective to recycle the FL`s. Some were simply too old to run cleanly enough: others presented a risk, if released into the market, of being stripped for parts whose quality Volvo could not warrant."
“We began in January 2005,” says EMR’s national contracts manager Geoff Sanders, “handling around five trucks per week. It’s not just dismantling: we’re removing the aluminium doors for specialist recycling, then shearing and shredding the remains.” The old trucks are first stripped of any materials which pose a threat to the environment: engine and gearbox oil, brake and hydraulic fluid and batteries are removed for separate recycling or safe disposal: the batteries in particular are sent to a specialist contractor for lead recovery.
Volvo Trucks has recently released its own dismantling manual, detailing how best to deal with all the component materials in a truck. As Volvo Environmental Director Lars Martenson says, “Our aim is to provide good information to limit the lifetime environmental impact of our products and live up to our responsibilities in this area.” EMR are absorbing the Volvo procedures and finding that, in many respects, they closely mirror their own.