INDUSTRY NEWS
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TRAFFIX LIGHTS THE WAY AHEAD WITH INNOVATIVE, BEVAN-BODIED DROPSIDERS
T
he UK’s leading temporary traffic and event management
The addition of the tail-lift meant there was no longer room for arrow
specialist is now running the first of a new generation of
boards and light bars, a challenge which Bevan overcame by fitting two
dropside vehicles built by Bevan Specialist Products.
pairs of strobe lights in recesses at the tops of the specially designed tail-lift pillars. The result: even more illumination than before.
Twelve are already in service with West Midlands-based Traffix, while the fast-growing operator has a further 32, including a couple
Other features – also deployed on previous vehicles – include Bevan’s
with crew cabs, on order. All are based on 3.5-tonne Vauxhall
patented Safe-T-Drop system, which is designed to eliminate any
Movano chassis.
risk of a fall from height by operatives working on the vehicle bed. The impact-resistant Safe-T-Drop rails can be easily folded away for
The Bevan Group’s commitment to ongoing product development and
loading and unloading. Raising the dropsides is also quick and simple;
innovation is evident in the specification of the new vehicles, which it
they can only be closed with the Safe-T-Drop rails in place, ensuring
designed in close partnership with Traffix Operations Director Derek
correct use of the rails at all times.
Vinning, and with Vauxhall Fleet Manager Amy Parker. Traffix operates from a head office in Solihull, a depot in the Significantly, they are the first Traffix dropsiders to be fitted with tail-
Nottinghamshire village of Newton, and another, recently opened, in
lifts – 500 kg column units by DEL, with maximum-width platforms
Telford. It supplies equipment for pedestrian walkways, contraflow
fabricated from mesh to reduce drag while on the move.
systems, and road works. Pledged always to “go the extra mile” for its customers, Traffix offers a comprehensive service, ranging from
Traffix had been using trailers to transport its portable traffic light
design and consultancy, through to implementation and maintenance.
systems. However, by utilising the more efficient V-groove side raves introduced in place of the previous floor-fixed lashing rings, Bevan
Derek Vinning is responsible for a fleet of 110 trucks and vans, the
has developed a bespoke, stainless steel racking system in which,
vast majority of which are 3.5-tonne dropsiders. Traffix had been
having been locked into place, the light posts can be carried vertically
relying on the former Stag Bodies, in Stone, Staffordshire, to build
on the vehicle bed.
its vehicles, prior to that company’s acquisition by the Bevan
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FORWARDER magazine
June 2017