Robinson Contract Services puts MND Association-liveried tipper into service
Yorkshire-based Robinson Contract Services has put a new Renault Trucks C P8x4 Off Road 460 into service. The truck carries a striking Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association charity livery. It raises awareness of a cause with a close personal connection to the family-run business.
Thompson Commercials in Hull supplied the 32-tonne tipper. It is the latest of six Renault Trucks to join the biosolids specialist’s fleet in the past six months. The truck works seven days a week and should cover around 1,400 miles each week. It will carry biosolids to farms and land application sites across the company’s extensive operating area.
Thompson Commercials helped create the distinctive livery. It honours rugby league legend Rob Burrow CBE and MND Association patron Sir Kevin Sinfield. It also features MND Association branding and a QR code that links directly to the charity’s donation page.
A family connection to MND
The livery continues Robinson Contract Services‘ support for the charity. MND has touched the family directly. Managing Director Emma Marsland and her husband David, the company’s Operations Manager, have experienced the disease within their own family.
Emma Marsland said: “We started fundraising while our family was being affected by MND and we’ve raised around £25,000 so far. We want to help find a cure, but raising awareness is really important too.
“This truck is out working seven days a week and travelling around 1,400 miles, so it gives us an opportunity to take that message with us wherever it goes. The reaction has been fantastic. People see it on the road and talk to us about it, which is exactly what we hoped it would do.”
From agricultural contractor to biosolids specialist
Robinson Contract Services began around 90 years ago as an agricultural contractor. It has since grown into a specialist in biosolids recycling. The business now works with four water utility companies and farming customers from Carlisle to Essex.
Its work covers transporting and treating biosolids for agricultural use, spreading material on farmland and land restoration. The company also runs its own lime treatment facility in Yorkshire. This gives water companies extra treatment capacity before the material returns to agricultural use.
The business has doubled both its workforce and its truck fleet over the past five years. It now employs around 110 people and runs a core fleet of approximately 40 trucks. Eight regular subcontractors provide extra capacity when needed. The fleet includes articulated trucks, tankers, bulkers and sweepers, alongside around 10 excavators. All six of its most recent truck purchases are Renault Trucks.
Specified for demanding on and off-road work
The new Renault Trucks C will spend much of its working life delivering biosolids to farms. It regularly crosses uneven ground and temporary farm roadways. Ground clearance and the ability to handle demanding site conditions were therefore key considerations.
The Renault Trucks C P8x4 Off has a reinforced chassis and steel bumper. These suit an operation that combines high road mileage with regular off-road work. A high-sided aluminium tipper body from Broughton Bodies provides the capacity and tipping height the company needs. A VBG coupling lets the truck tow a flatbed trailer carrying an excavator. The driver leaves the machine on site and carries on with deliveries, which makes more efficient use of both vehicle and driver.
Emma explained: “Our trucks have to go off road and we work on a lot of uneven terrain, so the ground clearance was really important to us. The VBG is useful too because we can take a digger out on a trailer, drop it at the farm and then the truck can carry on with its normal work. It means we can do two jobs with one vehicle.”
Driver comfort, safety and vehicle availability also matter on a seven-day operation. The truck combines its work-focused specification with Driver Alert System, Lane Departure Warning and side radar.
Supporting MND awareness
The new truck builds on wider support for the MND Association. Robinson Contract Services has held a charity golf day and a working day, raising around £25,000 to date. The team also backed Sir Kevin Sinfield’s latest 7in7 ultra marathon challenge. They parked the truck at Shiptonthorpe and Market Weighton on the first and second days. The charity has joined the company at the Driffield Show and the Yorkshire Agricultural Machinery Show for the past two years. Further fundraising and appearances for the MND-liveried truck are planned.
MND Association patron, Sir Kevin Sinfield said “We are grateful to Emma and everyone at Robinson Contract Services for raising awareness of MND in such a unique way. They, along with the team, went to huge efforts to produce the truck wrapping, and the end result [is] superb.”
Emma added: “There’s a real sense of pride around this truck. It’s important to us that the business can make a positive difference where we can, and our staff have really got behind it. We deliberately kept the Robinson branding understated because we wanted the truck to be about MND rather than about us.”
Thompson Commercials service supports growing Renault Trucks fleet
Robinson Contract Services is impressed by both the six new vehicles and the service and aftercare from Thompson Commercials.
Emma explained: “Price matters, but so does the service we get over the life of the truck. We’ve had a really good experience with Thompson Commercials. The communication and aftercare have been good, they keep us informed and they’re easy to deal with.”
She added: “The drivers love the Renault Trucks and we’re very happy with the relationship we’ve built. If the service and communication continue as they have, there’s absolutely no reason why Renault Trucks won’t continue to play a part in our fleet.”
Joe Uttley, HGV Sales Executive at Thompson Commercials, commented: “Robinson Contract Services has a demanding operation, and the Renault Trucks C is well suited to its combination of high mileage and regular off-road work. We’re delighted to be supporting the business and look forward to building on the relationship as Renault Trucks plays an increasing role in the fleet.”
