SHB Hire Ltd has invested significantly in improving its current in-house transport fleet of 53 HGVs by introducing newer, bigger and more efficient vehicles to help keep up with business growth.
The revamp will see 9 of SHB’s existing 7.5T Beavertails gradually replaced over the next 12 months by 13 brand new trucks. The first of the new DAF CF 18T Beavertails have been built in-house by SHB’s fabrication teams and since been in operation as of the start of December with two more trucks being added every four weeks.
SHB have enjoyed continued success in the market over the past few years and with several new significant contract wins, the demand for an improved, larger logistics fleet is ever-present.
SHB’s Transport Manager Andy Gatrell explained the decision to invest in this area of the business:
“Since the start of 2016 we outlined the need for improvements to be made to our existing transport fleet. The current fleet has served the business well helping us to transport a huge range of vehicles to all points of the UK and even Europe, but as the business has grown substantially and continually moved forward it was only logical that our logistics fleet followed suit.”
Each new truck will be built in house by SHB’s trained and experienced fabricators who have designed the vehicles to be suitable for the purpose of delivering SHB’s diverse fleet that includes LCVs, 4x4s, cars, buggies and ATVs.
Gatrell added:
“The new trucks will dramatically improve our efficiency when planning vehicle deliveries and collections as with our current fleet we are restricted with the amount of vehicles we can deliver in one trip. SHB takes its environmental impact seriously and the cleaner, more environmentally friendly vehicles will only improve our performance in this area and allow for fewer trips to and from our customers sites.”
The latest addition to SHB’s logistics fleet comes after the introduction of four brand new 3.5 tonne Iveco Daily ‘Buggy Transporters’ back in June. The ‘Buggy Transporters proved to have a major positive impact upon SHB’s buggy operations during the busy summer period helping them deliver a large number of buggies and ATV’s to some of the UK’s most prestigious events.
Alongside SHB’s long-standing commitment towards reducing its environmental impact, the vehicle hire and management firm has also taken a similar stance towards improving safety on the road. The new DAF Beavertails incorporate a number of the latest safety features available including side scan units, white noise and in-cab cameras. SHB is currently FORS Silver accredited and therefore vehicle safety is ranked as a high priority.
