Legal Brief
Mason’s moves up with Mercedes
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The new Electronic Inspection System from Mercedes-Benz has won a resounding ‘thumbs up’ from timber products manufacturer FW Mason & Sons, a recent convert to the three-pointed star.
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EIS allows all important documentation relating to vehicle inspections to be recorded via a hand-held PDA computer, then uploaded to a central core. So there is no need for paper records.
“The new Electronic Inspection System is absolutely wonderful,” declares Masons’ Transport Manager Dave Barron. “Using our own PCs we can access, view and print all inspection sheets and other documentation in real time, and there’s no need to wade through mountains of hard copy paperwork any more.”
The company, which is based in Colwick, Nottinghamshire, is running 10 26-tonne Mercedes Actros rigids and an 18-tonne Axor, all of which have replaced rival marque 18-tonners.
Supplied by Nottingham dealer Mertrux they are the subject of a six-year lease deal with its in-house finance arm, Pentagon Vehicle Rental.
The Actros have Long Distance sleeper cabs and curtainside bodies by Transport Enterprises, of Leicester. Power comes from well proven BlueTec® Euro 5 engines, which attract Reduced Pollution Certificates that savings in Vehicle Excise Duty of £370 annually, for the life of each truck.
Mason’s new six-wheelers also boast Mercedes PowerShift 12-speed automated transmissions, which were an optional extra at the time it placed its order but are now a standard fitment on all new Actros tractors and rigids.
Founded in 1929 and still family-owned, FW Mason & Sons supplies more than 1,300 stock lines of timber and sheet material products to retailers, merchants and manufacturers nationwide.
Mr Barron says the step up from 18- to 26-tonne vehicles has enabled the company to increase the efficiency of its distribution operation, and at the same time made it more environmentally friendly.
“We’ve reduced our carbon footprint by switching to low-emission Euro 5 engines, while the extra 6.5 tonnes of payload we’re getting on the 26-tonners means we make fewer journeys and thus save on fuel costs,” he explains.
“We’ve also increased the length of our truck bodies by a couple of feet, which makes for better load distribution, and moved the diesel and AdBlue tanks to the nearside, which has allowed us to fit special storage boxes that are proving very useful for preventing damage in transit of difficult-to-transport items such as worktops.”
After sales back-up was key to the deal. “Parts supply from our previous supplier was a major headache,” continues Mr Barron. “Now, we have a bit of imprest stock which Mertrux keep up to date and if we need anything else it’s usually here the same day.
Commenting on the decision to specify Mercedes PowerShift transmissions, he adds: “We employ a number of agency drivers and the auto ’boxes protect the trucks against abuse of the drivelines, as well as helping to maximise fuel efficiency.”
“The new Electronic Inspection System is absolutely wonderful,” declares Masons’ Transport Manager Dave Barron. “Using our own PCs we can access, view and print all inspection sheets and other documentation in real time, and there’s no need to wade through mountains of hard copy paperwork any more.”
The company, which is based in Colwick, Nottinghamshire, is running 10 26-tonne Mercedes Actros rigids and an 18-tonne Axor, all of which have replaced rival marque 18-tonners.
Supplied by Nottingham dealer Mertrux they are the subject of a six-year lease deal with its in-house finance arm, Pentagon Vehicle Rental.
The Actros have Long Distance sleeper cabs and curtainside bodies by Transport Enterprises, of Leicester. Power comes from well proven BlueTec® Euro 5 engines, which attract Reduced Pollution Certificates that savings in Vehicle Excise Duty of £370 annually, for the life of each truck.
Mason’s new six-wheelers also boast Mercedes PowerShift 12-speed automated transmissions, which were an optional extra at the time it placed its order but are now a standard fitment on all new Actros tractors and rigids.
Founded in 1929 and still family-owned, FW Mason & Sons supplies more than 1,300 stock lines of timber and sheet material products to retailers, merchants and manufacturers nationwide.
Mr Barron says the step up from 18- to 26-tonne vehicles has enabled the company to increase the efficiency of its distribution operation, and at the same time made it more environmentally friendly.
“We’ve reduced our carbon footprint by switching to low-emission Euro 5 engines, while the extra 6.5 tonnes of payload we’re getting on the 26-tonners means we make fewer journeys and thus save on fuel costs,” he explains.
“We’ve also increased the length of our truck bodies by a couple of feet, which makes for better load distribution, and moved the diesel and AdBlue tanks to the nearside, which has allowed us to fit special storage boxes that are proving very useful for preventing damage in transit of difficult-to-transport items such as worktops.”
After sales back-up was key to the deal. “Parts supply from our previous supplier was a major headache,” continues Mr Barron. “Now, we have a bit of imprest stock which Mertrux keep up to date and if we need anything else it’s usually here the same day.
Commenting on the decision to specify Mercedes PowerShift transmissions, he adds: “We employ a number of agency drivers and the auto ’boxes protect the trucks against abuse of the drivelines, as well as helping to maximise fuel efficiency.”
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