Nidera’s new Actros are the cream of the crop
One of Britain’s busiest grain merchants has sown the seeds of future success by investing in its first New Actros tractor units from Mercedes-Benz.
Nidera’s latest five vehicles are all New Actros 2545 models with aerodynamic, flat-floored StreamSpace cabs and fuel-efficient 450hp engines mated to state-of-the-art Mercedes PowerShift 3 12-speed automated transmissions.
Pulling bulk tipping trailers, they are now making nationwide deliveries of cereals, oilseeds and protein to customers in the food, feed and bio-energy industries.
Ipswich-based Nidera runs a fleet of 44 6x2 tractors, all but a handful of which wear three-pointed stars. Its New Actros arrived, like their predecessors, via local dealer Orwell Truck & Van – the manufacturer’s reigning Commercial Vehicle After Sales Dealer of the Year is inspecting and servicing the trucks under seven-year Mercedes-Benz Repair and Maintenance Contracts.
Nidera also has six more New Actros on order, for delivery next year. Tim Capey, the company’s General Manager, Industrial Operations, said: “We’ve heard a lot of good things about New Actros, particularly in terms of fuel consumption. Mercedes-Benz was talking at launch about an improvement in economy of up to seven per cent – given the fact that the previous Actros is itself a highly fuel-efficient vehicle, if the new model comes even close to that figure then it’s an easy decision.”
Mr Capey continued: “They’ve only been on the road for a few weeks so it’s too early yet to comment on the mpg returns, but we’re certainly very pleased with our New Actros. They look fantastic and the drivers, who typically spend two or three nights away each week, are delighted with their comfortable cabs and beds, as well as the smooth performance of the trucks.”
Nidera’s New Actros are also equipped with Daimler FleetBoard telematics systems. FleetBoard analyses driver performance against a range of criteria, including over revving, harsh braking, idling, speeding and ‘green band’ driving, and highlights areas in which improvements can be made.
Nidera has also retro-fitted all of its trucks with FleetBoard hardware within the last year and calculates that as a direct result of the data produced, and the targeted training it has then delivered to address shortcomings in driving style, it has achieved a 17 per cent saving in fuel costs.
“We purchased our first Mercedes-Benz trucks about 12 years ago,” recalled Mr Capey, “and since then Orwell Truck & Van has steadily been increasing its share of our fleet. We have a very close working relationship with the dealer and as well as the Ipswich workshop also rely on the service teams at its Colchester and Newmarket depots for after sales support.
“It’s a large dealership, but Orwell still manages to retain a family business ethos – if anything crops up, as it will from time to time, I know who to speak to and it quickly gets sorted.”
Nidera is an international trading company and has been operating in the UK for more than 20 years. The company is active at every stage of the grain supply chain, originating all types of arable crops from farmers and marketing and distributing them to consumers throughout the UK.
For more information, visit nidera-uk.com.
