Compactness matters for concrete supplier M L Johnson

M L Johnson (Haulage), trading as St. Ives Mini-Mix, based near St. Ives in West Cornwall, has been in the business of delivering concrete to hard to access domestic locations since 1992. The company’s job has recently been made somewhat easier with the addition of a new Volvo FL 16 tonne GVW, 3.5 cubic metre mini-mixer, supplied by Volvo Dealer Wales and West Truck and Bus.

The company’s owner, Mark Johnson, said, “The FL has a short wheel-base chassis which gives increased manoeuvrability. It’s ideal for getting into awkward access areas such as driveways and around farm buildings. With its narrow cab and track, the FL is ideally suited to the roads in Cornwall with their traditional high hedges and banks.”

Mark declares that he is very happy with the payload of the FL. “It has a genuine payload of 3.5 cubic metres with 700 kgs of tolerance, even with a full tank of fuel, driver and full water tank, which is fantastic for a 16 tonner. You can’t even get this sort of payload with some 18 tonners. Simon Thomas Engineering supplied and fitted the 3.5 m³ mixer unit to the Volvo chassis and everything fits perfectly.”

“The Volvo Dealership in Exeter, Stuarts Truck and Bus, have been very helpful. They suggested ways of reducing the width of the truck further by specifying narrower steel wheels.”

Explains Mark, “This saves around 7.0 cms, which might not sound a lot but in some of the tight spots I get into, it makes all the difference to where you can take the truck.”

Operating out of batching plants in St. Ives and Penzance, Mark uses the truck 90% for his own business and 10% for contract work. Running as part of a fleet of four trucks, the FL is supported by a full Volvo Repair and Maintenance support package.

Mark added “The FL is a fantastic quality truck and it’s great for site work. I’m 100% happy with it at the moment.”