Montgomery Transport Group of Newtownabbey recently ordered 100 Mercedes-Benz Actros tractor and rigid units from Intercounty Truck & Van, a three-pointed-star dealership with which it shares a special connection. Both companies are part of Ballyvesey Holdings, also of Newtownabbey. Despite the relationship, Intercounty Truck & Van didn’t receive any special treatment on its way to winning Montgomery Transport Group’s business, as it still had to turn back competition from several other truck manufacturers.
“Intercounty Truck & Van has had to work hard and prove it is worthy of our business,” says Montgomery Transport Managing Director Ian Dickinson. “Its success in doing so reflects the quality of the dealer’s people, as well as the quality of the Actros as a product.”
Actros 2545s & 1824s
The majority of Montgomery Transport’s new Actros will support its just-in-time transport services within the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), retail and wholesale, manufacturing, and construction segments. Other Actros will see use by Montgomery Distribution Ltd., a Ballyvesey Holdings-owned pallet and less-than-truckload (LTL) network with depots throughout the UK and Ireland.
Montgomery Transport’s order included Actros 2545 tractor units equipped with 12.8-litre six-cylinder engines rated for 450 horsepower (330 kilowatts) and either StreamSpace or BigSpace cabs. It also purchased Actros 1824 rigid curtainsiders with 238-HP (175-kW) 7.7-litre straight-six engines, ClassicSpace S cabs, bodies from PPS Commercials, and tail-lifts from Dhollandia. The new trucks are the first fifth-generation Actros for Montgomery Transport, and they include features such as the camera-based MirrorCam system that replaces conventional mirrors, the dual-screen Multimedia Cockpit, and the Active Brake Assist 5 emergency braking system.
Put To The Test
Montgomery Transport ran trucks from four manufacturers through the paces to measure their performance. The Actros’ abilities and favourable financing and service contracts from Mercedes-Benz helped win over the transport specialist.
“The new Actros did very well, and the excellent fuel economy we recorded during our evaluation exercise has been reflected in the returns from the first 50 units that we’ve put into operation,” says Dickinson. “They’re consuming 14% less diesel than our previous fleet average.”
An Instrument For Recruitment
In addition to supporting transport services, Dickinson expects the new Actros to help the company in another area where a great many transport companies are struggling these days.
“The Montgomery Transport Group has evolved significantly over the last couple of years, and we continue to make progress against the current, challenging backdrop,” Dickinson says. “As with every other haulage company, we’d like more drivers, and I’m confident that our latest state-of-the-art Mercedes-Benz vehicles will help us not only to attract new recruits, but also to retain those highly valued colleagues who already contribute so much.”
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Source: Mercedes-Benz