The joy of six

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Scania Group Press Release  /  June 2, 2017

English haulier delighted by new S series trucks, uses trailers to promote air ambulance service

With a haulage fleet that does around ten million kilometres a year, UK-based Hawthorns Logistics needs trucks that are reliable and can operate non-stop. That’s why it has bought six of the new Scania S series.

Delivering as promised

Hawthorns, which is based in the town of Washington in the north-east of England, already has two an S 580 with and an S 520, with others on their way. And the company’s Director Chris Kilsby is delighted by the first two additions to the fleet.

“They’re performing really well and are already at the same level as the R 580s that we’ve had for a few years, which means that in a few months’ time when they’ve bedded in they’ll only get better. The drivers are always cleaning and taking photos of them as they are proud to be driving such a smart modern truck. They deliver as promised – they do everything it says on the tin!”

Hawthorns Logistics started in 2009. The haulier covers the length and breadth of the UK, with 26 trucks at any one time transporting perishable goods such as chilled and frozen foods on reefer trailers as well as providing traction services between London and Scotland on a daily basis.

Some of the trucks are running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and Kilsby reckons that the fleet as a whole does around 6.5 million miles (10.4 million kilometres) a year. With those sorts of demands, the director feels that Scania trucks are best for their reliability and performance. Scania now makes up 23 of the haulier’s 30-strong fleet, with more to come.

“We’ve been ordering Scanias for quite a while now. We’ve got a lot of Scania rental vehicles in as well. We had a fleet of trucks from another manufacturer but they weren’t performing. I went over to Sweden for a factory visit to Scania and I was so impressed with the truck I decided that I wasn’t going to order anything else.”

Helping a charity close to home

The new Scania trucks are eye-catching by themselves, but so are some of the trailers that Hawthorns Logistics is operating; they promote the Great North Air Ambulance service, a cause which is close to the company’s heart. Chris Kilsby explains more:

“A few years ago one of our trucks was hit by a car on the A1 road while our driver was doing just 40 miles per hour (64 km/h). The car driver had taken ill at the wheel, and despite our driver trying to take evasive action there was a front passenger side collision that was so hard it pushed the front wheel and lift axle back, and the driver was seriously injured.

“The Great North Air Ambulance came and took the motorist to hospital, and thankfully his life was saved. We just thought we’d approach the air ambulance service and ask if there was anything we could do to help. With the trailers we transport we have these 44-foot (13metre)-long billboards that we can use to promote the service. We have four trailers emblazoned with the services logo and one new design in progress which will shortly hit the road.”

The company has also collaborated with a model truck maker, Search Impex, to create a special limited edition model of one of Hawthorns’ older Scania trucks and a trailer that promotes the Great North Air Ambulance.

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