Volvo FH-500 makes a good show for Johnsons of Burscough

Container haulage operator Johnsons of Burscough has taken delivery of a highly-specified new Volvo FH-500 tractor unit. While driver retention was a key factor in the choice of fit-out, the company also intends to show the truck in its well-known two-tone green livery at various events.

The 6x2 tractor unit is equipped with rear air suspension and Volvo’s D13B-500 EGR engine. “We run seven Volvo’s out of a fleet of 15, but we weren’t interested in AdBlue,” says Director Mark Johnson, “and when we heard that Volvo was now offering an EGR unit we took the opportunity.”

The other key specification element for the company was the I-Shift gearbox. “We’d had one on demo and simply couldn’t fault it, so we wanted to introduce it to the fleet. Other automated systems are OK, but they tend to be clunky, especially when you’re selecting reverse. This is just smooth, all the time.”

To deal with the national scope of the West Lancashire operator’s business, the truck has a Globetrotter XL cab with Drive+ package featuring leather interior, Kelsa lightbars and chrome wheel trims. “The truck is away from base for most of the week,” Mark explains, “so it has to be comfortable. We will be showing the truck, yes, so it needs to look good, but a more important reason for high specification is to keep the driver happy. And he loves it !”

Repair and maintenance will be handled by supplying Dealer Thomas Hardie Commercials’ Preston depot. “We’ve always had good support on my other Volvo’s from the Wigan depot,” says Mark, ”and we look forward to getting the same high level of service – as well as a courtesy vehicle – from Preston.”