Category Archives: Vans In Business

News and information relating to the use and function of vans by UK businesses.

Wallace and Gromit Anti-Pesto van is ‘on screen’ at Beaulieu

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Vans rarely appear in famous roles on screen, but there are a few exceptions, such as Del Boy’s Reliant Regal (it’s not a Reliant Robin!) and Wallace and Gromit’s Anti-Pesto van, an Austin A35 that the pair used to transport Wallace’s Bunvac 2000 invention!

Both of these vans, along with a number of notable cars, are currently on display at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu, as part of Beaulieu’s On Screen Cars display.

Metal, not plasticine

A plasticine version of this Austin A35 van was created for the film Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

wallace-grommit-austin-a35-sm

Nick Park, creator of the Wallace and Gromit animations, used to own an A35 and thought it was the ideal model to use in the film because “the van needed to be big enough to transport Wallace’s invention, the Bunvac 2000, while slick enough to go on high-speed chases.”

In the film, Tottington Hall’s Giant Vegetable Competition is fast approaching and Wallace and Gromit are running a vegetable security and humane pest control business, Anti-Pesto. In order to cope with the increasing amount of captured rabbits Wallace invents a brainwashing machine, but a mistake during the operation creates a ‘Were-Rabbit’, a giant rabbit which eats vegetables of any size. It’s down to Wallace and Gromit to capture the rampaging beast before the competition!

The Anti-Pesto Van, which has been loaned to Beaulieu following a call-out for new vehicles for the exhibition, joins a host of other star vehicles, including the ‘flying’ Ford Anglia used during the making of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Mr Bean’s lime green mini, a television favourite I remember well. This particular car was used in the character’s third series and made its first television appearance on 1st January 1991.

Could you do a day’s driving with £2 of fuel?

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Ergo Group Nissan e-NV200 electric vanThe latest installment in Nissan’s relentless and impressive campaign to promote its e-NV200 electric van is the ‘£2 Challenge’ — providing firms with the chance to see just how little an electric van costs to run on a daily basis.

The latest UK firm to take up the £2 challenge is The Ergro Group, a building and building services engineering group which operates a 35-strong fleet from its Dartford HQ.

Ergro engineer Charlie Morgan drove a fully loaded e-NV200 from the company’s Dartford base to central London (a round trip of about 40 miles) where he completed a full day’s worth of service calls (a few more miles) before heading back.

At the end of the day, he had used just £1.20’s worth of the vehicle’s full £2 charge, clearly demonstrating how the e-NV200 can help fleet operators and business van users significantly reduce running and whole-life costs. By way of contrast, a equivalent diesel-powered van of the same size would probably have used about £6-£7 of diesel for the same work.

Yes, but … you might say — what about the initial purchase cost of the e-NV200? Well, Nissan currently offers the e-NV200 from £13,393, including the benefit of the government’s Plug-In Van Grant. That compares very favourably with the cost of buying the diesel-powered NV200, which is priced from £13,890 on the road.

In addition to low running costs and emissions, electric van users will also benefit from low maintenance costs that make for unrivalled total cost of ownership: Nissan claims that the e-NV200 will cost £1,200 less than a conventional diesel van to run over four years – and an unbeatable proposition for businesses large and small.

A final benefit is that thanks to the unique driving experience of the e-NV200, drivers will feel less fatigued due to the lack of engine vibration in the cabin.

Builder backs Mercedes-Benz vans for nationwide work

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Simon Taylor Group Mercedes-Benz vansAccording to Simon Taylor, boss of the eponymous Ayrshire commercial building, refurbishment and maintenance contractor, Simon Taylor Group, his vans tend to be used fully loaded and for long journeys. 

After five years of solid use, Mr Taylor’s firm has just stood down its last batch of Mercedes-Benz vans and replaced them with a new fleet of five new Merc vans, including the company’s first two Citans, on in van spec and one Dualiner model.

The company’s Sprinters are the main workhorses, and have been specified to suit — Mr Taylor opted for one 3.5-tonne Sprinter 319CDI panel van and a 316 CDI chassis cab with Inigmex dropside body — while the fifth van is a 116CDI Vito.

All of the vans will be used across the UK, on a variety of commercial refurbishment and building maintenance contracts.

Commenting on his choice of vans, Mr Taylor said:

“These are tough vans and experience has proved they can be trusted to stand up to hard work. 

“I have been a guest of the dealer at the Mercedes-Benz VanExperience LIVE event twice, and seen for myself the standard safety systems fitted to these vehicles, in action alongside models from the competition. Those demonstrations have left me in no doubt that Mercedes-Benz vans are the safest on the road.”

Mercedes vans seem to inspire a loyalty in operators that few other marques can attain — there’s little doubt why. Unlike some brands, Merc’s image of quality and technical superiority isn’t just down to marketing success; it’s a reality.

South West Water’s crack new ‘L-team’ is powered by Peugeot

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South West Water L-Team vans

South West Water’s elite L-Team gather at a top secret military location, before being unleashed on an unsuspecting public.

The A-Team were a group of ex-Special Forces soldiers who became an unstoppable force for good when they were unleashed on society.

Their former masters may well have wished they could recapture the A-Team and bring them back ‘in house’, but the team’s televisual success rapidly made that impossible.

A similar fate has befallen South West Water’s ‘L-Team’.

Previously outsourced to a company whose name has been erased from the history books, the L-Team has now been reclaimed by South West Water to become a highly-specialised, in-house Leak Detection Team, or L-Team.

Staff for the L-Team have been transferred from the “previous outsourced supplier” and start “operational deployment” with their new vans in October.

Wisely, given the probability that the L-Team will emulate their alphabetical predecessors and be a big hit with the laydeez (and gents), South West Water has opted for vans from Europe’s most romantic van manufacturer, Peugeot, whose rampant lion logo has clear synergies with the passionate, highly-committed rapid response service provided by the L-Team’s personnel.

The L-Team is a little larger than the A-Team and requires not one, but 54, specially-equipped Peugeot Partner vans to ensure it remains mobile, 24/7. Supplied by local dealership Hawkins Motors Ltd, in St Austell, the L-Team’s 54 Partner SE L2 HDi 92 vans have been converted and equipped with specialist leak-detection equipment and traffic management signs and bollards to cater for roadside incidents and other unforeseen emergencies…

The man behind the L-Team’s vans is Mark Karkeek, South West Water Transport Manager, who said:

“Faced with the opportunity to specify a whole new bespoke range of vans for this purpose provided us with a chance to do things quickly and utilised the expertise of our suppliers, helped by having first-hand experience of the durable Peugeot Partner van. Getting them modified for purpose by Hawkins, our local Peugeot Dealer, who converted the vehicle with our specific and exacting conversion requirements, was greatly appreciated.”

Threats of violence played no part in Hawkins’ prompt delivery and effective service, although South West Water’s existing relationship with Peugeot, which is the company’s primary LCV supplier, probably did help.

College stays mobile in all weathers with 4×4 Sprinter

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Treloar College Sprinter 4x4 minibusIt’s not often that you see a 4×4 minibus, let alone a 4×4 minibus adapted to carry wheelchair-bound passengers.

However, that’s exactly what Hampshire’s Treloar College has just bought, to ensure that its students and staff are never left stranded, whatever the weather conditions.

Naturally, the vehicle concerned is a Mercedes-Benz 4×4 Sprinter, and as it’s specified as a 17-seater minibus, it’s a 516CDI model to ensure adequate payload.

The college’s 4×4 Sprinter 516CDI was equipped as an accessible minibus by specialist convertor Stanford Coachworks, of Stanford-le-Hope, Essex, and joins another Sprinter 516 CDI, a standard rear-wheel drive model, delivered just two weeks earlier.

Both of the college’s new Sprinters have flexible interiors, each with up to 16 seats which can be moved, or removed entirely. The vehicles are used most often in a configuration with seating for five passengers and space for four students with wheelchairs, which can be safely secured to tracking in the floor. It is also equipped with no fewer than 10 electric power sockets inside, as well as wi-fi internet connectivity allowing students and staff to work on their laptops and tablets.

Meanwhile, the 4×4 model’s raised ride height, and all-wheel-drive chassis with advanced 4ETS automatic electronic traction control, mean it can take winter snow and ice, as well as the occasional off-road venture, in its stride.

College Transport Manager Mark Copping said:

“We had some problems during a bad winter a few years ago and since then have been discussing the best way to equip ourselves to deal with spells of adverse weather in the future. This vehicle is the outcome of that process.”

“We have students here for 50 weeks of the year and the college is in quite a remote location. We have to be able to get our staff to work in all conditions, as well as needing a vehicle that’s capable of getting students to the local hospital 15 miles away. It’s a demanding requirement but the Sprinter 4×4 gives us everything we need.”

Mr Copping ordered the 5.0-tonne gvw Sprinters after testing similar models at this summer’s Mercedes-Benz VanExperience LIVE, the manufacturer’s annual showcase of its full range of LCV products and services.

Northumberland Fire & Rescue takes delivery of custom 4×4 Sprinter conversion

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Northumberland Fire & Rescue 4x4 Sprinter

Northumberland Fire & Rescue’s latest 4×4 Sprinter has been configured as an Incident Support Unit, with full IT and communications facilities.

Northumberland is home to some of the UK’s most rural and rugged scenery, prompting the county’s Fire & Rescue Service to acquire a new Incident Support Unit, based on a 5.0-tonne Sprinter 519 CDI, which arrived via North-East Dealer Bell Truck and Van.

The long-bodied, V6-engined van was converted for command and control operations by West Midlands specialist Macneillie (see here, here and here for some more of this company’s specialist conversions), and is fitted with cutting-edge communications technology that can be used by up to five personnel.

Chief Fire Officer Alex Bennett said:

“This custom-built vehicle will allow us to deliver our services in a more co-ordinated and professional manner and mean we are better able to protect our communities across the county at a time of increased risk from floods and other natural events.

The Incident Support Unit represents a significant financial investment but given that we expect to run it for at least 10 years, I have no doubt that it will prove to be money very well spent.

Past experience has given us complete confidence in the Mercedes-Benz 4×4 chassis, which means we can operate anywhere across a county that includes some very challenging terrain.”

Northumberland Fire & Rescue Service also operates four other all-wheel drive Mercedes-Benz vans – three are assigned to its Swift Water Rescue teams and carry inflatable boats, while the fourth is a Specialist Rescue Unit and equipped with heavy-duty cutting gear, including shears and saws, as well as stabilisation tools.

Prior to entering service the new vehicle was presented at this year’s Ambition show at Olympia – where it was seen by Home Secretary Theresa May – and at the Emergency Fleet Exhibition in Telford.

Factory 4×4

The Sprinter 4×4 is a genuine, factory-built option, rather than an aftermarket conversion, and rides higher than its standard counterpart. It employs rear-wheel drive for road use, but all-wheel drive can be selected when venturing off road.

Conventional 4×4 vehicles rely on mechanically operated differential locks to prevent spinning wheels and guarantee equal speed on all four wheels. The Sprinter 4×4, by contrast, uses a development of the Mercedes-Benz 4-ETS (Electronic Traction System), which is integrated with the Adaptive ESP® anti-skid technology to provide unrivalled traction management.

ICT equipment supplied by Excelerate Technology for installation in the air-conditioned Northumberland vehicle includes a roof-mounted, foldable satellite dish and a camera mounted on a retractable six-metre mast. Macneillie also fitted M1-compliant swivelling seats, a 10kVA generator which is accessed via the rear doors and housed behind a sound-proofed bulkhead, and stabiliser legs to ensure continuity of satellite signal during operations. An awning and external hatch through which a 40in screen can be viewed, means the area beside the vehicle can be used for meetings and briefings.

Northumberland Fire & Rescue Service Technical Officer Steve Kennedy said:

“We considered a few chassis options but the 4×4 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter ticked all the boxes in terms of its size, off-road capability, and proven reliability and durability.

“The communications systems on this vehicle allow us to pass messages and stream live, real time data back to HQ without having to rely on the public network. We can also conduct video conferences, for example, which will assist in managing incidents efficiently and safely, and undertake comprehensive incident debriefs based on the passage of information and audits of all decisions made, which can only improve future performance.”

 

Electric Vito hits the mark for London parcel specialists

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Gnewt Cargo TNT Mercedes Vito E-CellWithin three months of commissioning its first all-electric Mercedes-Benz Vito E-CELL van, zero-emission final mile delivery specialist Gnewt Cargo had returned with an order for three more.

The vehicles are assigned to the award-winning company’s prestigious contract with TNT Express, and are now operating primarily within London’s Congestion Zone.

Gnewt – the name is an acronym for Green NEW Transport – was launched in 2009 and utilises a fleet of electric cargocycles and minivans to provide deliveries and collections across Central London.

Co-founder Sam Clarke said:

“Our customers include third-party logistics companies, large retailers and other forward-thinking organisations who recognise that freight can be moved around cities in more efficient, cost-effective and environmentally-friendly ways.

“Our service, vehicles and micro consolidation hubs are precision-targeted to each client’s needs and locations, we create fulfilling work for local people, and best of all we have been independently verified to cut CO2 emissions per parcel delivered by upwards of 62%.”

Gnewt Cargo’s Vito E-CELLs are the subject of CharterWay contract hire agreements with Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, for which the operator receives funding support via the government’s Plug-in Van Grant. Two charging points by Charging Solutions, part of Chargemaster plc, the UK’s leading provider of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, have been installed at the company’s base in the City.

Key to the ground-breaking vehicle’s appeal for Sam Clarke and his colleagues, is its size and carrying capacity. “We have a lot of electric vans by other manufacturers but they are much smaller and can’t match the Vito E-CELL in terms of load volume and payload potential,” he explained.

“The Mercedes-Benz is a genuinely practical proposition with a very respectable range, while the feedback from those at the wheel has been brilliant too. Jose Britto drives our first E-CELL and he loves it for its comfort and high specification – it’s a proper van, and there’s nothing bigger when it comes to fully electric drivelines.”

The Vito E-CELL is the world’s first battery-powered light commercial vehicle to be built on line at a mainstream production facility. An 82 hp (60 kW) electric motor drives the front wheels, so the space beneath the load floor can be used to store the lithium-ion batteries without impinging on the passenger or cargo areas.

The near-silent E-CELL also employs a regenerative system, which captures the energy that would otherwise be lost in braking. As well as increasing range, this is used to power the heating and ventilation system and standard-fit heated seats, making the vehicle suitable for use on the coldest of days.

The Vito E-CELL is free from the Congestion Charge and VED fees, and meets the requirements of the Mayor of London’s intended Ultra Low Emissions Zone, which is due to be introduced by 2020.

It offers similar cargo carrying capacities to standard models and will cover an average of 80 miles between recharges – to maximise operating range top speed is electronically limited to 56 mph. A completely empty battery can be recharged from a 380/400 volt input in a maximum of six hours. Charging is quick and entirely safe, as the smart cable cannot be removed during charging, nor the vehicle driven off while it is attached.

Volkswagen fleet management services generate loyalty and incremental sales

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Lucion Environmental Volkswagen Caddy

One of Lucion Environmental’s new Volkswagen Caddy vans

Although large businesses can justify the manpower and IT investment needed to optimise the total cost of ownership of their their van fleets, smaller firms have to take a certain amount on trust: there is only so much time you can spend analysing the maintenance costs, residual values and fuel consumption of vans when you only operate a handful of them.

Perceived reliability, efficiency and low running costs — plus a prestigious brand — are some of the reasons why Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz vans are a default choice for many businesses in the UK.

Although they traditionally cost slightly more upfront, this extra outlay is usually compensated for by high levels of reliability and strong resale values — plus a great image.

A case in point is independent asbestos management company Lucion Environmental, which has maintained a relationship with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles for more than 10 years.

To mark this important milestone, the Gateshead-based firm is now taking delivery of 25 new Volkswagen commercial vehicles, as part of its ongoing expansion.

The new Caddy and Transporter models will be used across Lucion Environmental’s seven offices nationwide. The firm specialises in the surveying and analysis of asbestos-containing materials, and delivers hazard management services to the built and marine environments.

Charles Pickles, Financial Director at Lucion Environmental, said:

“We are pleased to be continuing our relationship with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles by bolstering our fleet with 25 new vans. Reliability is essential to the smooth running of our business and Volkswagen gives us exactly that.

“The business has experienced rapid growth especially over the last few years, and without a dedicated fleet manager on the team we rely on the Volkswagen Group Leasing service to ensure that our fleet is running at an optimum level at all times.”

As part of the deal, Lucion Environmental will take advantage of Volkswagen’s fleet management services – which are specially tailored to suit the company’s individual requirements.

These allow the company to benefit from additional services, including vehicle acquisition, service and maintenance management, along with a personal dedicated support system for drivers — all services which a large fleet might provide in-house, but which are generally not cost-effective for smaller companies to provide for themselves.

Supermarket service specialist chooses full basket of Mercedes vans

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Montgomery Refrigeration Mercedes-Benz CitanThe arrival of the first Mercedes-Benz small van offering last year meant that Sprinter and Vito loyalists could — for the first time — satisfy their small van needs without being unfaithful to the three-pointed star.

This is a story that’s since played out in a number of fleets, including Belfast-based Montgomery Refrigeration, which specialises in providing installation and maintenance services for supermarkets.

The firm has operated Vito and Sprinter vans for many years, but had been forced to look elsewhere for its smaller vans.

However, Montgomery has now purchased 18 long-wheelbase Citan 109CDIs, to add to its fleet, meaning that the vast majority of the company’s 85-vehicle fleet now wear the Mercedes badge.

As  Michael Montgomery, the company’s Managing Director, explains, this offers a number of practical benefits:

“Our vans carry spare parts, tools and equipment but we need different sized vehicles for varying functions. Mercedes-Benz has always been our first choice as its vans are solid and dependable, well-liked by our engineers, and economical to operate. We’ve also been very well looked after by the dealer over the years.

“The introduction of the smaller Citan was a very welcome development – it means we can now source all our vans from a single supplier in which we have complete trust, and makes our lives easier because we now have a single point of contact for all our fleet requirements.”

The Renault Kangoo-based Citan has been well received by small and mid-sized fleet operators, and Montgomery isn’t the first company that’s bought the van on the strength of the performance of its larger siblings, as I’ve reported before.

University of Birmingham takes delivery of Nissan e-NV200 electric van

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University of Birmingham Nissan e-NV200 electric vanThe University of Birmingham – one of the first fleet operators in the UK to place an order for the trailblazing Nissan e-NV200 all-electric van – has taken delivery of the vehicle.

The e-NV200 Acenta is now in service as a postal vehicle delivering mail across the world-renowned university’s impressive and historic Edgbaston campus.

The revolutionary model – which can cover 106-miles on a single charge and costs just two pence per mile to run – joins a 98-strong fleet believed to be one of the most sustainable in the country.

Offering true zero-emissions mobility it will contribute to the university’s strict carbon management plan and help it qualify for additional funding from the Higher Education Funding Council.

Monica Guise, University of Birmingham’s Post, Portering and Transport Manager, said:

“We had been eagerly awaiting the launch of the e-NV200  for about two years and so we were delighted to be the first to place an order and one of the first to take delivery.

We began trialling electric vehicles six years ago and it’s fair to say we’ve had good and bad experiences in that time.

But we were really excited by the arrival of the e-NV200 for a long time as we knew as it had been built from the ground-up to function as a van should. We’ve been really impressed by its performance, versatility and handling.”

As I’ve suggested before, one of the ways to encourage organisations to take-up new technology is to make sure it pays — and this is clearly a motivator for the University, as Monica Guise explains:

The van will only cover about 4,000 miles per year, doing 25-35 miles per day, so we only need to charge it a couple of times a week. But in terms of the emissions, the e-NV200 will help us deliver on our environmental commitments and will play a big role us meeting the carbon targets that trigger additional central funding.

Anything we can do to reduce the CO2 emissions from within our fleet directly impacts on our funding from government. That’s one of the reasons we’re aiming to have 40% of our fleet fully electric by 2020.”

Interestingly, the van is not being purchased direct from Nissan but is being leased through Lex Autolease, which is a significant step into the mainstream for electric vans, in my view, as Ms Guise explains:

“All of a sudden we’re in the position where fleet managers don’t have to manage the financial risk that comes with new technology – that’s a massive shift.”

Based on the Nissan NV200 – International Van of the Year 2010 – and utilising the proven technology of the record breaking Nissan LEAF, the new e-NV200 offers a class-leading 4.2m3 capacity and 703kg payload  and is priced from £13,393 in panel van form (incorporating PiVG).

In addition to low running costs and emissions, users will also benefit from low maintenance costs that make for unrivalled total cost of ownership – £1,200 lower than a conventional diesel van over four years – and an unbeatable proposition for businesses large and small.