Long-life Liebherr mixer bodies for Kendall Group

South-coast company opts for robust HTM 704 and HTM 804 mixer bodies with air-fed water system

IN a change to the operation of their transport fleet, Kendall Group have recently opted for Liebherr mixer bodies having been extremely impressed with the build quality and the manufacturer’s attention to detail.

Situated on the south coast of England, Kendall Group have been in existence for more than 70 years and are now run by the third generation of the family.

They supply a wide range of construction materials, including bagged and loose aggregates, and also run 23 truckmixers from five batching plants, delivering in excess of 750 cubic metres of ready-mixed concrete on a daily basis.

Traditionally, the company’s concrete division ran a mixed fleet of trucks and mixer bodies, and kept these for long periods of time. However, after a recent management change brought Paul Bailey to the company as transport manager, Kendall Group decided to revise the way they operated their transport fleet.

‘We needed to standardize and modernize across our fleet,’ explained Mr Bailey. ‘I asked our directors what they would prefer and the answer came back as Liebherr.’

Although the company had a varied fleet of mixer bodies, it was a 2000 model of the Liebherr HTM 704, which is still working to this day, that had particularly impressed Kendall Group.

Whilst many operators may specify a chassis cab first and then look for a mixer body to suit, it was the other way around for the Kendall Group.

‘We knew we wanted the six and eight cubic metre mixer bodies and looked for a suitable chassis cab on which to mount them, eventually settling on the Renault 6 x 4 and Renault 8 x 4 chassis,’ said Mr Bailey.

Kendall Group have recently taken delivery of the last two new units, taking their fleet of Liebherr truckmixers to a total of eight, split between six and eight cubic metre capacity models across their five sites.

‘We are extremely impressed with the build quality and attention to detail in the Liebherr mixer bodies,’ said Mr Bailey. ‘They are extremely reliable and, thanks to the high-quality steel used in their construction, we have not needed to re-skin even the oldest HTM 704 in the fleet.’

Kendall Group have opted for the ‘long-life’ version of the HTM 704 from Liebherr. This is made from LH 37 special steel with thicker spiral blades to ensure a longer service life.

Mr Bailey and his team are also very pleased with the air-fed water system, which automatically drains back to the holding tank to prevent the system from freezing and causing pipe and tap damage. ‘It may only be a small feature, but it has saved the company a significant sum of money in damages and lost uptime,’ he said.

According to Liebherr, the longevity of their mixer drums can be attributed to the technology that goes into the manufacturing of each drum. Incorporating a soft-stop and soft-start feature reduces forces to the drivetrain and chassis, and thereby minimizes the risk of costly repairs.

Fuel consumption of the carrier vehicle is also reduced thanks to the CAN-bus electronic system that ensures the engine only working as hard as the mixer drum requires.

Mr Bailey concluded: ‘We have received excellent service and backup from Liebherr. They have listened to our requirements and have delivered every time. They are simply the best mixer drums available.’