RSS Feed

Related Articles

Related Categories

Sign of a safe approach with Xmo Strata and Iveco

14th September 2007 Print
Sign of a safe approach with Xmo Strata and Iveco Leading sign installation and maintenance outfit Xmo Strata has begun a phased replacement of its 12-strong van fleet, introducing its first new Iveco Daily panel vans.

The company, which claims to have the most highly trained sign engineers in the UK, has a solid reputation for health and safety – the Managing Director is even a published author on the subject – and the livery for the new Daily 35S12 vans includes reflective safety markings on the rear (red) and sides (amber).

Xmo Strata’s head office is in Kent, but crews are located across the UK and work for a wide range of customers which include retailers, banks and financial institutions, and oil companies (it provides sign installation and maintenance work on thousands of UK fuel forecourts).

Founder and Managing Director Steve Martin says: “We’re gradually getting rid of ladders for safety reasons – there are better ways to work at height nowadays – which means we can also lose the roof racks and get more kit inside. We selected the Daily as it’s a tough workhorse van with an excellent payload capacity, and good whole-life costs. It also looks ‘fit for purpose’ and will win the approval of our crews – the guys work really hard, sometimes in arduous conditions, and they get a strong say in these things.”

As an added safety measure, the new vans will be used as a physical barrier on petrol station forecourts to protect the crews whilst working, if the forecourt entry speeds are deemed too high for the company’s standard rigid barriers.

In addition to installation and planned maintenance, Xmo Strata also responds to emergency call outs from customers, and during high winds in the Spring, and the floods in July, the company was exceptionally busy.

“Damaged signs – particularly those damaged by wind – can kill people, in extreme circumstances,” explains Mr Martin. “Sign panels can travel through the air at roughly the speed of the wind, and you really don’t want to get in the way of one. Earlier this year we were called to a filling station to find the overhead canopy acting like a huge sail, and rocking its supporting pillars out of their foundations in 100 mph-plus winds. The emergency services were worried that the whole thing could just take off.”

“At times like that, you need skilled people on site very quickly – it could be a matter of life and death – and they need everything with them to deal with the issue urgently. They need to arrive fit to work, and capable of handling a crisis, and working diplomatically in partnership with others (such as the Fire Brigade) even after a long drive in bad conditions - so in-cab comfort really counts.”

The first two new vehicles have been supplied by Iveco distributor Pitter Commercials of Southampton, with each vehicle built on the longest 3,950mm wheelbase with a high roof, offering a load carrying capacity of up to 17.2m³ - the largest of any light commercial vehicle on the market in the UK. They each benefit from a wide sliding side door and twin rear doors offering 270 degree opening, for maximum ease of loading.

Both vans have been fitted out with a full bulkhead and ply-lining, together with a specification which includes remote central locking, electric windows, alarm, dead locks and slam locks all-round. They also have a speed limiter which has been set to 70mph.

The new vehicles are powered by 2.3 litre HPI engines delivering up to 116 hp and built using Iveco’s expertise as the world’s largest manufacturer of diesel engines over 70 hp. The characteristics of this engine ensures Daily is both flexible in traffic and ideal for longer journeys.

More Photos - Click to Enlarge

Sign of a safe approach with Xmo Strata and Iveco