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Jet Plant Hire take off with new FMX drawbars and FH double-drive

17th January 2013 Print
Volvo FH13-540

Jet Plant Hire, who have operating centres in Evesham, Worcestershire and Newton Abbott in Devon, specialise in road planing contracts. As a contractor for all types of road planing, including trunk road and motorway maintenance, the company is given a precise window to carry out work so as to minimise disruption to traffic flows. Hence, maximum vehicle up time and reliability are crucial.
 
According to Jet Plant Managing Director Sean Witheford, reliability is “incredibly important” and all the trucks are on Volvo’s Gold Repair and Maintenance contracts. Inspections and maintenance are carried out at the Gloucester workshops of the supplying Volvo dealer, Truck and Bus Wales & West. “With uptime so important,” emphasises Sean, “it is imperative that defects are spotted and fixed right away.”
 
“Our customers know us as a premium quality business,” says Sean, adding: “That is our approach in everything we do. That’s why we buy Volvo trucks. They’re the best quality kit to do the job. We operate quality trucks and facilities to match. We work hard to deliver a high quality service to our customers. We’re a family business and it’s all about doing the best you possibly can for your customers.”
 
The company has prior experience of operating Volvos, their first was an FL7-230 6-wheel tipper in 1990, after which they owned a number of FL10s and FM12s. After a period away from the marque, Jet Plant began operating Volvos again in 2005 when a 6x4 and an 8x4 FM joined the fleet, which was their first experience of I-Shift, Volvo’s automated gear changing system.
 
The move back to Volvo was made largely because of I-Shift, reports Sean: “Even the best drivers can’t match I-Shift all the time for fuel economy. It levels the fleet average out. Wear and tear is also reduced with clutch replacement times increased to up to four years.”
 
The FH13-540 6x4 tractor for low loader work and two Globetrotter-cabbed 6x4 FMX-460 drawbar tippers were delivered in 2012 as well as an 8x4 tipper. Driver of the FH, Peter, describes his Volvo as: “Like riding in an armchair; nice and comfortable and with the I-Shift, you just sit back and relax.”
 
The Boweld-bodied FMXs, operating at 44 tonnes GCW (with rear air suspension therefore), deliver Wirtgen planers to the planing job location. Each tipper is then loaded direct from the planer and the scalpings removed for reuse on farms and as substrate for temporary site roads. None goes to landfill.
 
Jet Plant worked closely with Truck and Bus Wales & West and Volvo to achieve optimum gearing to suit the varied conditions of the job – combining as it does, motorway trunking and low speed, stop: start work with a requirement for off-road capability. “In terms of the spec and the bodywork, Truck and Bus Wales and West did a complete job,” says Sean. “The drawbars came fully-kitted out with air and electrics as well as the coupling. Ground clearance on the FMX is good and they look good too. Image is important and they really stand out.”

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Volvo FH13-540