The vehicles, liveried as part of PD Ports’ Groveport Logistics fleet, join ten similar tractors already delivered. All are supplied on five-year contract hire that includes full repair and maintenance – excluding tyres, 24-hour breakdown cover and provision of replacement vehicles. Each truck has additional safety features, including an audible handbrake system/driver alert, talking reverse alarm, smoke alarm and all are London Direct Vision Standard compatible to ensure CAZ and ULEZ compliance. Added driver comfort features include fridges, microwaves and coffee machines.
Talking about the new arrivals, Gary Archer, Engineering Services Manager for PD Ports, said, “Our customer volumes have continued to increase over the past year, and we wanted to grow our service abilities to retain our reputation for excellence. Customers have come to expect that from us, and the arrival of these five additional units very clearly demonstrates our commitment to growing the fleet to meet increased demand.
“PD Ports has always had an active and ongoing investment strategy across its sites, and these new fleet additions are all part of that. We have had good service from Dawsongroup truck and trailer over the past seven years, since they first helped us with some peak demand vehicle needs. They have never let us down, so we were confident in their ability to help us grow the fleet and manage the R&M contract to keep any potential downtime to a minimum with the help of our local MAN dealer point.”
The vehicles will operate out of PD Ports’ Groveport facility, a 190 acre inland complex on the River Trent and the UK’s market leader for handling long steel products.
Specialising in steel, forest products and dry bulk cargo, and located just three miles from the UK’s motorway network with sea access via the Humber Estuary, Groveport offers a powerful combination of capacity, infrastructure and high service levels.
Within this environment, PD Ports acts as handler, stockholder and distributor for many of the UK’s major steel suppliers.