Burnt Tree take 100 factory-bodied DAFs into fleet

Fast growing national rental company Burnt Tree Vehicle Solutions is putting 100 factory-bodied DAF LF45s into its 8,000 vehicle fleet.

The multi-million pound order is part of the £65 million the Burnt Tree Group will spend this year on increasing the size and scope of its fleet. It brings their total investment in fleet growth and modernisation to more than £130 million in just two years.

Richard Metcalfe, CEO of the Shrewsbury based company, says that purchasing factory-bodied DAFs demonstrates Burnt Tree’s commitment to ensuring that customers always have access to high quality vehicles.

“DAF is already a preferred supplier to Burnt Tree and the extension of its product range to include fully-bodied vehicles is a good move from our perspective,” he says. “For standard box bodied and curtain-sided trucks of the type that figure strongly in our rental fleet, it should help to make vehicle acquisition and operation cheaper, simpler and quicker.

“We have only one supplier to liaise with and one with consistent and proven high quality standards. We also have only one point of contact on warranty issues whether it relates to the chassis, the body or the tail-lift or any other item that is fitted as part of the vehicle assembly process. With the introduction of these vehicles into our fleet we’re proving yet again that Burnt Tree is a pioneer in the truck rental industry.”

Tony Pain, DAF Trucks’ marketing director, said: “The planned introduction of Whole Vehicle Type Approval is what led us to develop our factory bodied vehicle range. These are assembled and fitted onto the chassis on a new line within the assembly plant and to the same rigorous standards of quality control.

“I’m delighted that such a progressive company as Burnt Tree has recognised the strong business case for such a significant change in the traditional way of bodying vehicles. As this approach gains wider acceptance we will extend the range of body types and sizes to meet demand and are already poised to introduce further models.”

All the vehicles in the Burnt Tree order are 7.5 tonne LF45s of 4.3 metre wheelbase and fitted with either a 5.15 metre box or a curtain-sided body. Each has a 1000kg Ratcliff tail-lift. Power is from the 4.5 litre FR103 engine rated at 160 bhp (118 kW).

In the two years since a new management team took over at Burnt Tree the company has gone from strength to strength. The rental fleet has grown substantially and new specialist markets have been developed. A programme of continuous expansion has seen two new greenfield sites open each year. A new depot was opened recently in Essex and a second is scheduled to open in Yorkshire in May, extending the national network of depots to 17.