Euro 5 Volvo’s hit the right note for Radiohead and McGuinness

Established in 1991, Irish operator Frank McGuinness has built an enviable reputation for transporting equipment and stage sets for the top names in the music and entertainment business across Europe. McGuiness, who hail from Goatstown near Dublin, regularly haul the massive amounts of high value equipment taken on tour by the likes of U2, Westlife and Radiohead.

If the fans are not to be let down, keeping mega bands like Radiohead on the road requires reliable trucks. However, even mega rock bands nowadays are taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint – particularly with the sheer tonnage of equipment they need to transport between gigs.

Thus it was that, while planning a recent tour, Thom Yorke and the rest of the award winning band asked their management to specify the most environmentally friendly trucks to haul their equipment, including instruments, amplification and lighting rigs.
As the official trucking company for the tour, McGuiness’s next move was to order 6 Volvo FH-480 4x2 Euro 5 powered extra-low height tractor units from Irish Commercials at Naas. McGuinness work to a very tight schedule, since the concerts and festivals are time-sensitive, so they have to rely on the vehicles to perform to their utmost reliability. As Managing Director, Frank McGuinness explained, “You can’t leave 30,000 fans waiting!”

The new trucks were specified with full air suspension on tractors and trailers as well as I-Shift transmission and Globetrotter XL cabs. All feature SCR technology to achieve compliance with Euro 5.

The new Volvo’s bring the McGuiness fleet up to 23 plus 50 specially-built step frame and flat floor box trailers (made by Montracon and Talson).

Frank McGuiness declares that he is ‘very impressed’ with the levels of service and attention to detail provided by Irish Commercials, particularly in meeting the delivery times ahead of schedule. “They kept me informed as to how the build process was going and their advice on certain aspects of the vehicle specifications was indeed appreciated,” he said, adding, “There were some minor teething problems, but their response was excellent.”