Dayla Drinks Meets Increasing Demand With 3 New Mercedes-Benz Atego 1318 Delivery Trucks

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Dayle Pearson (right), Dayla Drinks head of operations, and Brett Barnes, a drayman, stand next to the company’s new Atego 1318 curtainside rigid, which hauls beer, spirits, and other freight. (Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz.)

Demand is up about one-third for Dayla Drinks since England’s pandemic lockdowns ended. To meet it, the Aylesbury-based wholesaler of beers, wines, spirits, soft drinks, and snacks recently added three new 13.5-tonne (14.9-U.S.-ton) Mercedes-Benz Atego 1318 delivery trucks with ClassicSpace S cabs. The trucks, which are making deliveries in the home counties surrounding London, are paired with curtainside bodies from Essex Bodies that feature graphics from Signum Sign Studio. Although Dayla Drinks has tried other manufacturers’ trucks during the decade or so that it has operated Mercedes-Benz trucks, it has found the Atego to be the most dependable.

“At Dayla Drinks, we pride ourselves on the very high level of service we provide to our customers in the pub, hotel, and restaurant trade,” says Dayle Pearson, Dayla Drinks head of operations. “For this reason, it is essential that we be able to trust our vehicles not to break down on the way to deliveries. The Atego is also popular with those who use it. These colleagues are not just drivers. They’re draymen and the visible face of our business who offer a comprehensive service that encompasses everything from product support to stock rotation. It’s only right, therefore, that we should give them the best vehicles to work with.”

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Tim Cooper (right), managing director of Dayla Drinks, and son Daniel, sales and marketing director, are shown with one of their firm’s three new Mercedes-Benz Atego 1318 delivery trucks. (Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz.)

Welcome To The Fleet

Local dealer Motus Truck & Van supplied the Ategos, which Dayla Drinks specified with 5.1-litre engines rated for 177 horsepower (130 kilowatts) and six-speed Mercedes-Benz PowerShift 3 automated-manual transmissions. Most of the 35 vehicles the company runs are based on a Mercedes-Benz or Fuso chassis. The fleet also includes 3.5-t (3.9-U.S.-t) and 5-t (5.5-U.S.-t) Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans and a 7.5-t (8.3-U.S.-t) Fuso Canter. Next spring, the firm will add an 18-t (19.8-U.S.-t) Mercedes-Benz Actros, its largest vehicle yet.

“While we need more compact vehicles for deliveries involving smaller volumes and difficult-to-access locations, and will assign larger consignments to our first Actros, it is the Atego 1318 that forms the backbone of our fleet,” Pearson says. “The 13.5-tonne Atego is a fantastic workhorse, which is why we now run more than 20. It combines a useful payload of around 8 tonnes with a manageable footprint and a load platform that’s not too high, which makes for easier unloading. It’s just right for our requirements.”

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With the recent addition of three new Mercedes-Benz Atego 1318 delivery trucks, Dayla Drinks now has more than 20 Ategos in its 35-vehicle fleet. (Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz.)

The Atego

Mercedes-Benz sells Ategos in gross vehicle weights (GVWs) ranging from a 7.5- to 16-t (17.6-U.S.-t). Three other cab options are available, including an extended ClassicSpace S cab that’s 180 millimetres (7.1 inches) longer than the standard ClassicSpace S cab’s 1,650 mm (65 in.). The Atego also includes such driver assistance systems as Trailer Stability Assist, Lane Keeping Assist, Stability Control Assist, and Active Brake Assist.

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Source: Mercedes-Benz