Owen Pugh takes first of 34 Mercedes-Benz Arocs in £3.4m deal

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Transport Engineer / August 10, 2015

Dudley, North Tyneside based civil engineering firm Owen Pugh has taken delivery of the first of 34 Mercedes-Benz eight-wheelers ordered from Mercedes-Benz under a £3.4 million deal.

Paul Cockburn, general manager of Owen Pugh & Co, which is responsible for its plant hire and haulage businesses, says this is the company's biggest single investment in its commercial vehicle fleet.

"We were only running three Mercedes-Benz trucks, so we had no special loyalty to the brand," states Cockburn, explain that the firm instigated a comprehensive evaluation exercise involving five other manufacturers.

"But [Mercedes dealer] Bell Truck and Van's Arocs demonstrator performed particularly strongly, outshining the competition by a margin," he explains.

"It was half a mile per gallon more fuel-efficient than anything else we tried, and was well received by our drivers, who liked the cab layout and high seating position, and preferred the Mercedes-Benz auto transmission to others," he adds.

Cockburn also says the Arocs delivers a "highly competitive payload" at "a whisker over 18 and a half tonnes", which, he points out is good given their heavy-duty steel bodies.

"No less importantly," he continues, "we were also highly impressed by the professionalism of the Bell Truck and Van sales team. They took the time to gain a full understanding of our operation, and have delivered a product that meet our needs perfectly."

Most of Owen Pugh's new Arocs 3240Ks are being fitted with steel tipping bodies by Lancashire Tippers, of Bolton.

However, the company has also ordered three alloy-bodied tippers for delivery towards the end of this year, and will be taking a hook-loader and a tipper-grab, as well as two trucks with 'cheese wedge' plant bodies.

Owen Pugh's Mercedes-Benz Arocs trucks have M ClassicSpace cabs and were specified with 394bhp straight-six engines mated to Mercedes PowerShift AMTs (automated manual transmissions).

The Arocs replace older vehicles which are being stood down from the operator's 75-strong truck fleet, and are the subject of a flexible Agility finance agreement from Mercedes-Benz Financial Services.

Related reading - http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/content/unitedkingdom/mpc/mpc_unitedkingdom_website/en/home_mpc/truck/home/new_trucks/model_range/arocs/arocs.html

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