The heat is on this winter thanks to Vauxhall’s Combo

A company that is at the forefront in energy efficient gas central heating systems is using a number of Vauxhall Combo vans to ensure that the heat is always on for its customers this winter.

Ravenheat Manufacturing Limited of Leeds designs, makes, installs and maintains condensing boilers that can cut gas consumption by as much as a third. These boilers also minimise harmful gases, making them among the most environmentally friendly and cleanest available.

As winter approaches, keeping them in peak condition assumes a greater urgency. Ravenheat’s team of 15 service engineers operating across the UK are at their busiest and the need for reliable vehicles in which to attend up to 18,000 calls a year becomes paramount.

The company has focussed on the Vauxhall Combo van to provide this vital transport. Five have recently been purchased and are now hard at work with each covering up to 50,000 miles a year as they move between jobs. Like the boilers being serviced, the whole operation is highly efficient with the engineers receiving instructions direct from the control room in Leeds through PDA units.

Ravenheat’s Group Accountant, Nigel Bailey, says that the Combos have proved well-suited to this demanding role. “The Vauxhall Combo has proved itself ideal for a number of reasons,” he says. “Our engineers find them comfortable to drive with ample power and plenty of room for their tools and any components they have to carry. At their request, we’ve specified these latest ones with a side door, which makes it easier and safer for them to load or unload.

“From the company’s point of view they are proving to be fuel efficient and economical to run. As a business that prides itself on designing and making products that help to reduce the harmful effects of greenhouse gases we need to have vehicles that are also going to have a minimum environmental impact and the Combo ticks all the boxes in this respect.

“We also find them to be economical in terms of the whole life costs, from their competitive initial purchase to the good residual value when we move them on after two or three years. Part of that equation is the cost and availability of servicing and with the vans spread across the UK there’s usually a Vauxhall service point close to hand, wherever the engineer is based.

“With the high mileages that these vans will cover, we’ve taken out the extended warranty offered by Vauxhall. This now covers us for 100,000 miles or three years and is a full manufacturer’s warranty, not an insurance-based one.”

The five new Combos are powered by the 1.7 CDTi diesel engine which uses common rail technology to achieve optimum fuel efficiency. The engine is matched to a five speed transmission.

The vans were supplied through Vauxhall’s Leeds retailer, Evans Halshaw.