Blackledge Plant Hire choose Thompson tipper body

Lancashire contractors take delivery of new Loadmaster Lite bodied DAF tippers

BUILT to handle everything from sand and aggregates work through to muckaway and site clearance, the single-skinned Loadmaster Lite offers tipper operators the best possible balance between high strength and low weight, according to long-standing Thompsons customer Keith Blackledge, owner of Blackledge Plant Hire.

‘Together, Thompsons and DAF give me the perfect truck,’ he commented. ‘Everything we would ever want in a tipper comes from right here in Lancashire.’

In their particularly arduous, multi-tasking operating environment, the Thompsons all-steel Loadmaster fits the bill perfectly for Blackledge. Thanks to continual improvements in both materials and production techniques, the latest Loadmaster Lite model is said to be more popular than ever.

‘It’s the sheer versatility of the Loadmaster that makes it such a winner,’ said Mr Blackledge. ‘No matter what you put in it, even up to rubble from demolition sites, there are never any problems. For long-term strength and durability, Loadmaster has proven itself to us time and again.’

Mounted on a 400hp DAF CF chassis and fitted with conventional front-end tipping gears, the Thompson Lite bodied trucks have strengthened Blackledge’s equipment fleet each weighing around 13,200kg ready to run.

A Thompsons customer for almost 15 years, it was the bodybuilder’s relocation to Blackburn in 2001 which marked the start of a successful business relationship. Indeed, nowhere else in the UK beats Lancashire’s in-depth track record for building top-quality commercial vehicles and ancillary equipment.

Ian Chaplin, sales manager for Thompsons, said: ‘Blackledge Plant Hire is perhaps the perfect example of the core Thompsons customer; a family owned local business, long established, and with a great track record. In every sense, we’re delighted to have such a close association with them.’