Volvo FM’s on multi-drop grocery deliveries with A F Blakemore

Twelve new FM-400 4x2 tractor units have entered service with West Midlands Retail Distribution specialist A F Blakemore on the firm’s SPAR grocery contract. Plated for 28 tonne GCW operation, the new FM’s join the Willenhall-based company’s 200 vehicle fleet on multi-drop deliveries to 800 stores in an area which stretches from Aberystwyth in the west to Humberside in the east by way of the Home Counties in the south.

Specification of the FM’s includes Globetrotter cabs which are equipped with climate control, CD players and full air-management kits. All the vehicles are on five year Repair and Maintenance contracts with Volvo Dealer Hartshorne, who have operated the on-site Vehicle Maintenance Unit on behalf of A F Blakemore since 2000. The option is retained to extend the R&M contract for a further two years. Service levels from the Volvo Dealer Network are good, reports Blakemore’s Fleet Operations Manager Mick Harris. “We consolidate chilled and ambient loads in roll-cages for up to 8 drops on each trailer. As our delivery windows are timed, we need top reliability from the vehicles and Hartshorne are providing a good service on-site.” The Globetrotter cabs are appreciated by the drivers, says Mick as nights out are part of the routine when making deliveries to the east coast.

Annual mileage for the FM’s is expected to be in the region 120,000 Km which will be covered on single shifts, six days a week.

They are mostly coupled to tandem-axle, Gray and Adams multi-compartment, low-height refridgerated trailers fitted with Thermoking fridge motors. Many of the stores are located on garage forecourts or in suburban side-streets, which necessitates an overall height for the outfits of under 4.0 metres.