Maritime Transport began its intermodal, container transport, distribution, and cargo-handling business in 2001 in Felixstowe, Suffolk, with a fleet of 136 trucks and five depots. The company now executes more than 19,500 moves a week at 40-plus locations and operates a fleet of more than 1,200 trucks, including Scania, Volvo, and Mercedes-Benz tractor units. The firm’s recent acquisition of 100 new-generation Mercedes-Benz Actros tractor units represents its first new trucks to bear the three-pointed star since 2017.
Leading The Fleet
Maritime Transport’s new Mercedes-Benz trucks were supplied by S & B Commercials and Orwell Truck & Van of East Anglia. All are Actros 2545s with flat-floored BigSpace cabs and 12.8-litre, six-cylinder engines compliant with Euro 6 emissions regulations that are rated for 450 horsepower (330 kilowatts). The BigSpace cab measures 2,500 millimetres (98.4 inches) wide and 2,300 mm (90.6 in.) long on the exterior and provides 1,910 mm (75.2 in.) of headroom in front of the seats. Maritime Transport specified the cabs with Kuda lockers.
The 100-Actros order came after Maritime Transport conducted a successful test of an Actros demonstration unit that proved popular with company drivers and provided impressive fuel efficiency. Maritime Transport fleet director Paul Heyhoe says in the past, Actros trucks in his fleet would begin to see a miles-per-gallon improvement at about 12 to 18 months usage. The Actros demonstrator’s fuel performance, however, was good from the beginning.
“We took the vehicle off daytime work and gave it to one of our long-distance trampers, then compared the figures with the 18-plate truck he’d been in previously,” says Heyhoe. “The demonstrator was a full mile per gallon better, and right up there with the very best on the fleet in terms of economy.”
Winning Features
Heyhoe specified the new trucks with a laundry list of Mercedes-Benz safety features, including Active Brake Assist 5, Electronic Parking Brake (EPB), Predictive Powertrain, and the MirrorCam system. In addition to enhancing safety through improved rear visibility and eliminating forward-facing blind spots, MirrorCam’s reduction in wind resistance improves truck economy by as much as 1.5%, Mercedes-Benz says. The trucks also feature Mercedes-Benz’s 12-inch Multimedia Cockpit which replaces the traditional dashboard with added functionality, including satellite navigation.
“The drivers have taken quickly to MirrorCam and particularly like the new dashboard,” Heyhoe says.
Find Your Mercedes-Benz Truck
This site offers a huge selection of new and used Mercedes-Benz trucks for sale every day, including a number of Actros tractors and rigids.
Source: Mercedes-Benz