New FM rigid takes British Salt to an all-Volvo fleet

Cheshire-based, British Salt has recently taken delivery of a new Volvo FM 8x2 rigid truck, which completes the company’s 2-year strategic vehicle replacement plan to become an all-Volvo fleet.

Commenting on the replacement programme, British Salt’s Financial Controller, Matt Vaughan, explained, “The company made a strategic decision to begin replacing the fleet with Volvo in 2008. Working closely with Wincanton, who manage the logistics and distribution process at British Salt, we have been pleased with the performance of the Volvo’s, particularly with regard to payload capabilities.”

The 12-strong Volvo fleet have all been purchased from Mark Lingard of Thomas Hardie Commercials, Middlewich, where the latest 410 bhp addition is on a 7-year repair and maintenance contract.

Matt explained, “We have always received high levels of service and support from Thomas Hardie Commercials,” adding that, “Our relationship with them has certainly been a contributing factor in our purchasing decisions.”

Similar to the rest of the British Salt vehicles, the FM has been specified at Euro 5 using SCR technology, together with the I-Shift automated gearbox.

The vehicle will operate from British Salt’s Middlewich plant, which supplies over half of the pure white salts produced in Britain every year. The latest addition to the company fleet can be seen across the country as they deliver pure dried vacuum salt, of different grades, for the food, water and chemical industries.