Mackness Contracting expand with new Volvo FH flagship

Stansted-based company purchases FH-460 8x2 rigid as road surfacing operations grow

MACKNESS Contracting have strengthened their vehicle fleet with the addition of a new Volvo FH 8x2 rigid. The rare FH-460 truck is being used to help with the increased resurfacing work that the company undertakes around the Midlands and southern England.

Supplied by Volvo Truck and Bus Centre London, the FH 8x2 rigid is powered by a Volvo D13K engine that produces 460hp and 2,300Nm of torque. It has also been specified with Hyva hookloader equipment and a matching beavertail trailer.

In 2009, Mackness Contracting developed what was regarded the first joint-painting machine in the UK and this was adopted by one of the UK’s biggest highways contractors to help resurface major roads and motorways. Today, the company works with companies such as Hanson, Aggregate Industries and Tarmac repairing the UK’s roads with hot bitumen on the joints.

Mackness continue to expand their road surfacing and contracting operations and now offer a service to repair small patches of road through the use of a skid-steer loader with a planer head. The new FH-460 will be responsible for transporting the machine to the repair site.

‘Because of what we do with the bitumen spraying, the other trucks tend to get very dirty,’ said company director Doug Mackness. ‘I wanted a truck that would stand out when it comes to the planing – a flagship model for the fleet.’

Mackness Contracting recently took out a three-year Dynafleet contract and having run the FH 8x2 for a few months, Mr Mackness said he has noticed a marked improvement in fuel economy, compared with other vehicles across the fleet.