Lafarge order new Renault trucks
French connection brings some of the safest and most fuel-efficient delivery vehicles to the UK
LAFARGE have teamed up with Renault Trucks to bring some of the safest and most fuel-efficient aggregate delivery lorries to the UK. The company has ordered 20 new Renault Premium Lander 8x4s, with aggregate tipper bodies, to replace older vehicles across its UK fleet.
Among the advances on the Renaults are overhead-cable warnings to prevent cable strikes when tipping and an auto-gearbox as standard, to enhance driver safety and boost fuel consumption.
The trucks also feature weight-detection cells on the PPG-manufactured bodies so drivers can tell exactly how much material they are carrying before getting to the weighbridge, thereby maximizing load potential at the pick-up point.
John Dargie, Lafarge Aggregates & Concrete UK’s head of distribution and customer service, said: ‘As one of the trailblazers for safety innovation in the construction materials industry, we are always looking to improve standards, both on our sites and with our equipment and vehicles.
‘Working with Renault Trucks and their local dealer RH Commercial Vehicles on a bulk order, we were able to introduce a number of safety upgrades, in particular the overhead-cable warning system.
‘Last October, a Lafarge driver in the US was killed when his aggregates truck came into contact with overhead power lines while tipping. This tragic loss of life and a number of near misses in this country led us to asking Renault Trucks to install audible alarm devices, which are activated if the tipping body gets too close to overhead cables.’
A year ago, Lafarge Aggregates & Concrete UK unveiled nine new lighter, more efficient tipper trucks thanks to a development project with body manufacturers Wilcox and PPG, and tipper-ram suppliers Hyva and Edbro.
The nine trucks had narrower, lighter tyres and redesigned bodies and lifting gear, adding up to a weight saving of 200kg on previous models and allowing each new vehicle to carry an extra 200kg per load, thereby reducing the number of overall lorry movements and saving around 9 tonnes of carbon a year.
‘We are always looking to reduce our impact on our neighbours and the environment, and becoming as efficient as possible with our logistics is a big part of that,’ said Mr Dargie. ‘The improved bodies and tipper rams which we developed as part of a joint initiative last year will be used for our new Renault trucks, resulting in even further carbon reductions.’
Lafarge Aggregates & Concrete UK have already taken possession of 10 of the new Renault vehicles and a further 10 will arrive in September as part of a rolling programme of lorry replacement.
