Volvo in the UK

Volvo in the UK SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW How does a 1967 F86 compare with today’s FH?

SAFETY FIRST Modern trucks are very safe so what are the next developments?

50 NOT OUT A look back at Volvo’s impact on UK road transport

A special supplement in association with

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Celebrating 50 years of Volvo Trucks in the UK Arne Knaben, MD of Volvo Group UK, looks back at a successful half century for the iconic Swedish brand

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his year, we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of Volvo’s entry into the UK truck market proper. Our journey, from modest beginnings, to becoming the business partner and transport solution provider of choice for our customers has of course been well documented over the years in the pages of Commercial Motor, Motor Transport and Truck & Driver, as well as Truck magazine.

On this, our golden anniversary, it is a pleasure and a privilege to say thank you to the thousands of Volvo customers and drivers, past and present, whose business and support we continue to enjoy. Indeed, many of our customers have been with us for almost the whole half century and some have been in business a great deal longer.

To them, we send our special thanks and best wishes.

Together with our dealer network, we are committed to working very closely with our customers in the long term to help them overcome the challenges they face day to day in their transport businesses. Indeed, every day, I talk to customers who have benefitted from the Volvo commitment to quality, safety and care for the environment.

None of this would be possible of course without the enthusiasm, knowledge and commitment of our dealers and employees. They are a fantastic group of people who always willingly go the ‘extra mile’ for our customers.

However, it has been

said that, as a company, we perhaps don’t ‘blow our own trumpet’ enough. Indeed, it is not the Swedish way to boast about your successes. However, I hope that you will allow us a little bit of leeway this year as we celebrate this wonderful milestone in our history in the UK. Thanks to the entrepreneurial leadership and foresight of two men, Jim McKelvie and Jim Keyden, Volvo entered the UK truck market at a time when, although there was no shortage of domestic manufacturers, it was ripe for change. In 1967, society itself was also changing rapidly. More goods were being manufactured in the UK as the country was still benefitting from the post World War Two economic boom. There was continuing growth in the demand for consumer goods and new houses were being built at a rate that has never been seen before or since.

As you can read about in more detail in the pages of this special 50th anniversary supplement, following the setting up in 1967 of Ailsa Trucks in Scotland as the Volvo Trucks HGV importer, transport operators in the UK were soon able to take delivery of what became the first in a long line of iconic vehicles, the F86. The maximum gross train weights for artics had just increased from 24 to 32 tonnes and customers soon grew to appreciate the earning power and reliability of this revolutionary little truck with its synchro gearbox, which was pretty much unheard of in a commercial vehicle at the time.

Since those early days, we have worked very closely with our dealer network to deliver not just trucks, but also an enviable standard of support for our UK customers.

It may be our ‘golden’ anniversary in the UK, but we must raise our hats in acknowledgement of our customers, who have made and continue to create our story and our success in this, one of the toughest and most sophisticated transport markets in the world.

CONTENTS

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A history of Volvo Trucks in the UK

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Driving an F86 and an FH

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The future of truck safety

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The operators’ view of Volvo

Editor: Steve Hobson Design and layout: Gareth Burgess Sales director: Vic Bunby Managing director: Andy Salter Tel: 020 8912 2170

Published by: Road Transport Media Ltd, 6th Floor, Chancery House, St Nicholas Way, Sutton, Surrey, SM1 1 JB. © Road Transport Media 2017

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2017 marks the 50th anniversary of Volvo Trucks officially coming to our shores. We look back through the years at the company’s stunning growth in the UK

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hey came; they saw; they conquered. And while they were probably one of the major reasons behind the subsequent demise of our home-grown truck manufacturing industry, the marque of Volvo has stayed to become first choice for many truck drivers and road transport operators across the UK. They made their mark by offering a product which not only did the job, but managed to do it with relative ease.

And rather than being something to endure, those first Volvo load carriers were simply a pleasure to drive – a factor which still applies to the Volvos

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being made in 2017.

Right from the outset in 1967, the vehicle importers – Ailsa Trucks – realised that no matter how good a vehicle they sold, the provision of best quality after-sales support was also a necessity for every truck buyer - which of course is yet another Volvo trait that has lasted 50 years.

QUALITY COUNTS

Being one of the first to buy a new Volvo truck back in 1967 was something of a leap in the dark, although the brand had already established a solid reputation among car drivers. And it was to be the quality of Swedish steel

in these cars that had swayed Jim Keyden’s positive thoughts that he then passed to Jim McKelvie on why they should pin their allegiance to one of the Swedish truck manufacturers.

Volvo fans never tire of hearing the tale of how – in the mid 1960s this Scottish road haulier headed to Scandinavia in search of a better load carrier than what was generally available for UK operators. It seemed crazy to McKelvie that hauliers had to wait years to buy a new truck and even then it didn’t seem to be supported by dealers who actually cared about after-sales service. There must be a better way of doing things, McKelvie

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Images: Bob Tuck

Demands of the UK market place encouraged Volvo to design and build – at their Scottish plant at Irvine – a rigid eight wheeler. First ones were based on the F86 Andrew Malcolm has very fond memories of this particular F7 as back in 1981 – when only 19 years old – he drove this six wheeler on the Young Drivers Scheme doing long distance distribution covering all parts of Scotland

The first sale of the new Ailsa Trucks concern was to be this F86, which is now in preservation

Although then about 17 years old, this F10 was still being worked hard on internal shunting work

Jim McKelvie on the left and Jim Keyden were the two founding fathers of the Volvo UK operation

North Yorkshire based HM Richardson were another concern who soon took to the Volvo marque after they’d bought their first early F86. This ’75 F88 was bought second hand from Ferrymasters on Teesside and is seen in July 1988

felt, and he fancied a crack at doing it.

Being given the nod by Volvo to act as their importer, he returned to the UK where he set up a network of agents around the country. John Hebb from Lincolnshire and John Billows from Northampton proved to be dealers of the highest standard as did the Tait family of Haydon Bridge.

However, first choice as the dealer for North East England had been the Cawthorn & Sinclair concern of Birtley in County Durham. It was only

Econofreight’s Tom Llewellyn was to arrange for the import of these Volvo N12 specials which are seen on Leven Bank on Teesside in October 1987

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Oakbank Services opted for this FL6 as a skip loader as it could also pull a trailer being rated for up to 26 / 28 tonnes gross train operation

Les Telfer bought one of the first FH 6x4s for his timber operation.

He specified quick release drive axle mudguards as snow chains were regularly used when working the forests during the winter time

when Billy Tait heard what was about to happen that he went to Barrhead near Glasgow and sat outside Jim McKelvie’s door for something like 12 hours until he would see him. Tait argued that being based at Haydon Bridge – mid-way between Newcastle and Carlisle – was a far better choice to serve both the North East and North West of England. No wonder McKelvie agreed that Tait should take that area’s dealership.

CHALK AND CHEESE

Equipped with their modest fleet of demonstrators, the new Volvo salesmen couldn’t have timed their arrival into the road transport scene much better.

In 1964, the UK law makers had made the step from 24 to 32.52 tons gross operation for artics. Overnight, the once-cherished rigid eight-wheeler lost its standing in general haulage as some operators even began cutting down rigids into tractor units so they could carry more payload. This again underlined the waiting times for a new truck, so the chance to take a brand new Volvo tractor unit immediately was a huge boon.

The two basic models first on offer

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The late Norman Nattress had great service from his F12 drawbar trailer outfit. He recalled supplying hay to the Queen’s horses at Windsor

couldn’t have been more different as their side-by-side profiles made clear.

The diminutive, almost rotund F86 was the smaller of the two and while being lighter – and cheaper – it was also a bit slower than the F88.

The problem with its bigger, more elegant looking stable mate was that hauliers were blown away by the prospect of having 240hp driving a 16-speed gearbox for general haulage work. Perhaps if they were involved in heavy haulage then they could use that sort of power but – just to be on the safe side – let’s try one of those little ones to start with.

With a free-spinning 6.7 litre turbocharged engine, the 86 proved to be an exceptional workhorse. Getting the best both from the engine and the 8-speed, range-change gearbox was soon mastered by many drivers who simply fell in love with this import.

True – depending on overall gearing – it could hardly top 54mph but what a smooth, quiet ride it gave.

AN INDUSTRY FAVOURITE

Into the 1970s, the 86 / 88 duo almost swept the board as Volvo set the standards. The huge growth in sales

drove McKelvie and Keyden to make the move to a 70-acre site at Irvine in 1972, although by 1975 their entire Ailsa Trucks operation had been bought by Volvo, a reflection of its strategic importance in the UK. It wasn’t all plane sailing for Volvo as the uprating of the well-liked 9.6 litre F88-240 to produce 290hp did generate a hiccup or two. This change was made to appease UK buyers who could only have Volvo’s new 12-litre F89 ‘Super Truck’ in left hand drive, though heavy hauliers loved the prospect of the 89’s 330hp. However, the 290 problems just underlined Volvo’s approach to customer care. They never walked away from such difficulties, reassuring operators they were staying around for the long run.

The demands of the UK market were to nudge Volvo into building a rigid eight-wheeler – a model they had never made before. Those first Irvine assembled F86s were soon appreciated and more than 40 years later, the FM 32-tonne 8x4s are considered by many as an industry favourite. Perhaps not as successful in 1986 was to be Volvo’s offering for 7.5 tonnes gross work as their FL4 – and then in 1998 FLC –

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When launched in ’98, the FM7 had the 7.3 litre version of Volvo’s classic engine producing 290hp.

As the striking livery suggests, owner driver Tom Maughan was another operator who was proud to champion the Volvo name When launched the FM was supposed to be a small cab variant of the bigger FH but because of customer demand, Volvo also offered to fit the Globetrotter cab to this smaller vehicle

Ian Thompson is another owner driver who rates the marque of Volvo very highly

were perhaps a shade too heavy and expensive when compared to other makers’ offerings of the time.

Volvo were to soon call time on their lightweight range and they also learnt a lot when in 1993 they offered the ‘Geartronic’ automated gearbox. But again, Volvo stood by operators who wanted out of this new technology which – in hindsight – arrived too early. 10 years later in 2001 their automated I-Shift was to prove to be one of the best transmissions a driver could ask for.

MANY A MILESTONE

It’s impossible in just a few pages to cover the many milestones Volvo brought to the UK in the last 50 years. Many a driver gives thanks for the 1979 arrival of the ‘Globetrotter’ option for their well-liked F10 and F12 cabs, and again it was a design which would force the rest of the truck maker to play catch-up.

One of Volvo’s popular fleet sellers was the FL range with the ‘L’ indicating a lower, easier entry cab. Built from 1985, it was seen in rigid and artic form in a whole variety of operations.

However, for operators in the market

Having a rear lift axle gave an easier life for this North Yorkshire based FL10. It was used on a mix of local distribution and long distance work

The FH has been the Volvo flagship model for almost 25 years. Its latest variant is in general service by many of the UK’s biggest names

for a flagship truck, then the 1987 launch of the F16 was as good as it got. Initially, the Volvo’s 16-litre engine would push out 470hp but fast forward 30 years and the latest FH16 can now produce a staggering 750hp. No surprise it’s the world’s most powerful series production truck.

When it comes to longevity – technically speaking - the FH model has been available for almost half of Volvo UK’s 50 years. Launched in 1993 to replace the F10/F12 range, it was built alongside the older FL7/10 and eventually FL12 range until the range was superseded by the FM in 1998. The FL name continued in the lighter distribution range and today is available with a 5- or 8-litre engine up to 280hp.

20 years on, the FH and the FM are still the backbone of Volvo UK’s operation and during that time, the FH has been judged International Truck of the Year on three occasions.

But just as these two models have evolved with the passage of time, Volvo UK has also changed. HQ has been at offices in Warwick since 1985 to support customers and dealers from a more central UK location. The

Irvine factory was closed in June 2000 when their truck and bus production moved to larger facilities in Belgium and Poland.

During the 50 years of UK operation, the Swedish parent of AB Volvo has risen to become the second largest truck manufacturer in the world, acquiring White and GMC truck operations in the 1980s.

Now also having Renault, Mack and UD in their diverse portfolio they are certainly a huge global force. And while it’s impossible to quantify the contribution made to this meteoric rise by their success in the UK, we can imagine the two Jims – McKelvie and Keyden – would probably make light of their involvement.

In originally looking to create a better supply chain to what they felt was the badly served UK road transport world, they certainly achieved that. However, if there is any praise to be given, then they in turn would probably suggest it should be shared amongst 165 others as it was this number of new Volvos that were sold during 1967 - their first year of trading.

Never has so much been generated by so few.

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Images: Tom Cunningham

Sentimental journey

Just how far have Volvo trucks come since the first vehicles rolled into the UK? We road test an F86 alongside a state of the art FH to find out

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hen Volvo arrived in the UK in 1967, the very first truck it sold was this F86, chassis number 1927. Manufactured in around March, it was registered as LNL465E in July for its new owner, Thomas Hutchinson Transport, of Wark, just across the border, where it was quickly put to work hard on timber and general haulage. After its working life ended, it was bought back by Volvo, renovated by Volvo dealer Hartshorne Motor Services and placed in the company museum in Gothenburg for fifteen years, before

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coming back to the UK. To celebrate its 50th birthday, we took it back to south-west Scotland to revisit some significant locations from its history.

The first destination was the original Ailsa Trucks workshop at Barrhead.

Sadly, we were just too late to visit the original building as the site is now a recently completed housing estate.

However, the location’s heritage is marked by a number of related street names, including McKelvie Crescent and Ailsa Gate. We then headed off towards the coast and had slightly more success at our next destination, the site of the factory proper, at Irvine.

Although now almost completely flattened, apart from a couple of office buildings near the entrance, the concrete bases of the factory buildings remain sufficiently to get an idea of the extent of the facility.

By coincidence, the Irvine site is now owned by Maxi Haulage, who have worked with Volvo on vehicle and parts distribution during this period.

With the remains of the Ailsa Trucks estate revisited, it just remained to travel down the coast to Girvan, to get a view of the large granite rock, eight and a half miles offshore in the Irish Sea, that inspired the company name, Ailsa Craig. While we were photographing the truck, a local resident came over to tell us that the last time he had seen it, it was on Volvo’s stand at the 1977 Scottish Motor Show at Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, when it was already considered to be a significant artefact.

DRIVING IMPRESSIONS

At first sight, the F86 looks tiny, more like a modern Japanese 7.5-tonner. It’s only when you look more closely at things like the fullsize 7-litre engine and the 10.00x20 tyres, that you realise this is a proper truck, capable of operating at the 32 ton maximum weight of its day. The wide, low styling of its cab, which tilts, still a serious novelty in 1967, is deceptive, completely at odds with the classical architecture of tractors like the Atkinson Borderer and AEC Mandator that would have been its rivals in 1967.

Make the easy climb aboard, though, and a magical transformation happens, after the pain from banging your knee on the inside of the door has subsided. The view through the

all-round glazing is far superior to today’s trucks with their thick pillars designed to give greater rollover protection, and the passenger seat seems a surprisingly long way off.

Although the high engine cover gives a cosy feeling to the driving position, the lack of extravagant seat padding and door furniture means it feels less cramped than a modern low-floor cab.

There’s plenty of space behind the seats for storing everyday essentials and although its’s not intended for nights out, with the gear lever in first and a few cushions on the seats, you could sleep across the engine cover if you didn’t fancy sharing the same bed linen as the previous few occupants of the lorry drivers’ digs.

Volvo’s burgeoning car safety culture still hadn’t really made it to its larger commercial products in 1967. There aren’t even any seat belt mountings and the fixed, unpadded steering wheel looks set to destroy

a few internal organs in a crash. By modern standards, the dashboard is a mess, with little sign of a coherent approach. Switches are scattered seemingly at random, but there are few enough of them that their locations are quickly learned. The instrument panel, though, is the exception and is attractively laid out, delivering all the information the driver needs, including a rev counter and clock, features still only found on high end cars of the day.

Mechanically, this 170hp version of the the F86 was a pioneer of turbocharging on truck engines, although the range started with a 144hp naturally aspirated version, whose performance we can only guess at. Although on this occasion the F86 was running solo, we have previously driven the same vehicle with a trailer, fully laden to its 32 tons maximum. We found the performance up through the four-over-four synchromesh gearbox

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to be spritely enough, even allowing some block shifting, but once in top gear, beyond 25 mph or so, it started getting a bit leisurely. However, it reached 40mph relatively easily and would eventually wind up to almost 50mph. The steering is still as sharp as many far newer trucks, and if there’s one criticism of the full air braking system, it’s that it’s too easy to brake harder than you intended.

The ride quality, seriously challenged by the appalling state of the roads in south-east Scotland, was compliant and well damped, and with a bit more attention to sealing some

gaps in the floor and engine cover, has the potential to be acceptably quiet.

To put the F86 into context, we were accompanied by a brand new FH 540 Globetrotter XL. Probably the greatest single advance in technology in the F86’s lifetime has been the arrival of electronics. While the electrical system on the F86 could be successfully fettled by a competent second-year apprentice, the electronics on the FH control almost every aspect of its functionality, from controlling its heater to preventing it crashing.

Even when it got caught in a sudden, un-forecasted snow storm, it remained

as safe as it possibly could within the laws of physics, even warning that the road surface was slippery. While the F86 required skill and experience to master, the FH really could be driven by anyone, the only requirement to make acceptable progress being a decent sense of spatial awareness.

Only a fool would deny that the stupendous advances in truck design are a good thing, but however good the FH is, it simply doesn’t have the same character and sense of involvement as its venerable predecessor.

THEN AND NOW

Model GCW Engine Max power Max torque Transmission Brakes

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1967 Volvo F86 32 tons (32.52 tonnes) TD70A 7-litre six-cylinder turbo 170hp 550Nm R51 8-speed manual synchromesh range-change Full air drums

2017 Volvo FH 540 44 tonnes D13K540 540hp 2,600Nm AT2612E I-Shift 12-speed automated manual Electronically controlled discs

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Safety first The safety of trucks has come a long way in the past 50 years, but how much further can manufacturers improve safety for drivers and other road users?

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s well as being great to drive, a Volvo has always been one of the safest trucks on the road.

But what developments are underway to make them even safer for drivers and other road users?

Carl Johan Almqvist, traffic and product safety director at Volvo Trucks HQ in Gothenburg, says that while passive systems to protect the driver in an accident are important, the key improvements will be in active systems – especially those designed to enable autonomous vehicles – that help drivers prevent incidents.

“We are great believers in the driver and trucks will have drivers for a long time to come. The human being is fantastic and there is still no substitute for a driver’s eyes and ears. While 90% of accidents are said to be caused by human beings, how many accidents are prevented from

happening because there is a human being behind the wheel?” he asks.

“The good point with autonomous vehicles is that they are pushing us to develop improved safety systems.”

But he adds: “You do need passive safety systems because it doesn’t matter how much active safety there is you will still get trucks running off the road. You can be the best driver in the world and still run into something.”

The EU has proposed for example that cabs could be extended by up to 800mm to improve aerodynamics and crash protection, but Almqvist argues more research is needed to determine if there could be significant safety benefits.

“There will be fuel economy benefits, no question, but more discussion is needed about safety,” he says. Volvo has found a 150mm cab extension delivers fuel savings

but Almqvist says that rear-ending accidents are the second largest accident type after rollovers, and when a truck runs into another truck the worst impact is high up, so the biggest challenge is to dissipate the energy generated in the crash safely.

He adds that when a car hits a truck (and nine out of 10 head-on collisions are caused by the car) a longer nose would still offer little extra protection.

“In these so-called ‘swipe collisions’ the most serious damage is often caused by the tyres and so a round nose on the cab would do little to protect car passengers,” he says. “That is really difficult.”

Almqvist says that of the range of active safety systems available the most valuable are electronic stability control (ESC) and advanced emergency braking (AEB).

Volvo is continually refining its

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KEEPING CYCLISTS SAFER

Making trucks safer for vulnerable road users such as cyclists is another aspect of truck design that remains a challenge, Almqvist says, mainly because of the difficulties in giving the driver good sight lines from the cab.

“We can’t give the driver complete direct vision, even if the entire cab is made of glass,” he says. “So we need a combination of vision aids.”

He is a fan of mirrors – if they are properly adjusted – rather than relying entirely on sensors and cameras.

“I don’t believe we can go entirely to cameras because then drivers would focus too much on the display rather than on the things they should be looking at. I very much believe in mirrors because they are extremely simple and unless they get very dirty they work all the time,” he argues. “If we have a lot of sensors and they work 100% of the time the driver can become lazy. When driving a ESC to make it better suited to different types of vehicles, and now has specific systems for a range of vehicles including tractor and trailer combinations, rigid vehicles, dump trucks and logging vehicles. “We have fine-tuned our ESC because different vehicles behave very differently on the road,” Almqvist says.

While AEB technology is now wellestablished, Almqvist says it must not be taken for granted. “It relies on radar which is fantastic and sees a lot of things on the road,” he says. “If an object is moving we believe it is part of the traffic environment, but if it is

car with parking sensors we stop looking behind when reversing as much because we believe the technology will help us.

“Also some cyclists understand that if they can’t see the driver in his mirrors, he can’t see them. That is more difficult with a camera lens.”

One problem with mirrors when a truck is often driven by more than one driver is ensuring they are properly adjusted. Almqvist likes the system employed by some operators where a driver pulls into a marked bay and adjusts the mirrors to get optimum vision of the designated markers, and would be in favour of the system adopted by many car makers where drivers can save personalised mirror settings in the vehicle memory so they can be reset at the touch of a button.

While there is a lot truck builders, operators and drivers can do, Almqvist also argues that cyclists need to be better educated about the dangers presented by heavy vehicles.

“We need to help each other to truly understand that trucks are very large and we need to respect each other’s limitations, which I don’t think we really do today,” he says. “I was riding in a truck in London and the cyclists were very close, partly because the roads are extremely narrow. All parties, operators, truck drivers, cyclists and town planners need to work together to provide a safe environment and save lives.”

stationary how do you tell if it is a car or a road sign? Then you have to have something else to help you and that is where a camera can identify the target the radar has detected and prevent the system hitting the brakes all the time. That is still a challenge today.”

AEB can prevent or greatly reduce the severity of accidents where a truck runs into the back of stationary or slowmoving traffic but Almqvist warns this can result in drivers being tempted to drive very close to the vehicle in front.

“We are seeing accidents where the driver didn’t think that the system had helped but the data showed that even

“Too many drivers believe an accident will never happen to them”

Carl Johan Almqvist

though the distance was only 0.7sec (equal to 17m) the truck managed to slowdown from 85 to 15km/h before impact,” he says. “That is an extremely short distance and the truck will hit

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the vehicle in front if it stops suddenly, although at very low speed.”

Almqvist concedes that improving safety to the point where the truck is almost autonomous can lead to complacency among drivers.

“When we did tests on AEB, the question everyone was asking was ‘why does it brake so late?’” he says.

“The answer to us is obvious – it is because it is an emergency not a comfort braking system. If the AEB operates it is because the driver has messed up.”

AEB has been a legal requirement on some heavy trucks over 8 tonnes GVW since 2013, and asked what single safety measure he would mandate if he was made EU transport commissioner for a day Almqvist says it would be to make AEB compulsory on more vehicles immediately.

But his biggest safety concern remains a simple one – the number of truck drivers who still do not wear seat belts even though they are proven life savers.

“Too many drivers believe an accident will never happen to them,” Almqvist concludes.

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Brand loyalty

Volvo is a brand that inspires fierce loyalty among operators who have come to appreciate that the ironmark stands for quality, reliability and driveability W H BOWKER CLOSE PARTNERSHIP

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nternational and UK logistics specialist W H Bowker is one of the largest players in the UK in the field of specialist chemicals logistics, healthcare and food warehousing and distribution. The company operates a road transport fleet of more than 200 trucks, in excess of 450 trailers, over one million ft² of warehousing and employs more than 750 people within the group. This year, the family-owned and managed business is celebrating 45 years of working in close partnership with Volvo Trucks and its dealer network. W H Bowker will also be celebrating 100 years in business in 2019.

The company, whose headquarters

are in Preston, Lancashire, began operating Volvo in 1972. By 1978, the fleet was exclusively Volvo.

According to director Bill Bowker, the first Volvo to enter service with the fleet was a 3.2m wheelbase

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F88-32 4x2 tractor. Reading from the original invoice, he notes that the purchase price was £6,683.00, including £43.00 for the optional radio. However, the price included an illuminated headboard and chassis lube system. The first Volvo trucks were purchased to operate on W H Bowker’s daily ‘overnight flyer’ service, delivering fresh produce from Liverpool to London’s Covent Garden in time for the 6am market.

Because of the continental back-up, Volvo quickly became the mainstay on international work too.

To understand just how close W H Bowker and Volvo have worked together over the last 45 years, it is necessary to describe a brief selection from the very long list of engineering projects and Volvo ‘firsts’ that the company has been closely involved in. W H Bowker were the first UK operator to run FL10s on full air suspension. They also ran the first FL10 in drawbar configuration and

had the first low-height chassis FL10 to go into service in the UK. In the late 1980s, Bowkers field tested a new variant of the FL10. The 6x2 tractor unit was fitted with the first pusher axle to be seen on a Volvo in the UK. They were also intimately involved with the development and testing of Dynafleet in the 1990s and 2000s. “Our long relationship with Volvo is a process of continual development,” explains Bill Bowker. “In 2014, we took the first Euro-6 Volvo tractor units to be registered in the UK and last year, we were the first operator to take delivery of a number of FM rigids with the lower window in the nearside door.

Good as they are, we don’t operate Volvo because we love the trucks. We take the total package.”

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ver since its first Volvo F12 4x2, delivered by the JM Forbes dealership of Aberdeen in 1980, the fleet at D Steven & Son of Scrabster on the north coast of Scotland has featured Volvo trucks.

Managing director David Steven says: “I think over the past 36 years we’ve probably had in the region of 200 Volvo trucks. They’re good and reliable and they are a real preference for a number of our drivers.”

The company, founded by Steven’s grandfather in 1920, commenced life serving the port of Wick with a horse and cart. “We’ve certainly come a long way since then,” says Steven.

“The inevitable switch to trucks saw us develop from delivering fish, coal and agricultural products around the port and locally to become a national and European haulier. The ethics of the company remain as they were, but the fleet is now 30-strong and many of these are Volvo FH 6x2 tag-axle tractor units. In the main they’re 540hp, but we do have some top of the range FH16s producing 750hp,” he adds.

The latter are in recognition of the

commitment shown by the company’s long-term drivers. “We have a number of drivers who have been with us for many years,” explains Steven.

“We feel it’s right to recognise their loyalty to us by giving them top of the range trucks, and I must say they’re absolutely delighted with them.”

While the Volvo FH16 750 may impress the company’s drivers, possibly the most vociferous supporter is Steven himself. “I think this Volvo is a big improvement on years gone by with tremendous power and low down torque from the 16-litre, 750hp engine. The cab interior provides a great driving and living environment and I love the I-Shift transmission. All told, I would say with this truck Volvo definitely has it right. What’s more; the residual values that we can achieve with Volvo after keeping them for between two and two-and-a-half years makes excellent business sense.”

While the days of JM Forbes are now for the history books, the mantle, when it comes to sales and support, falls to Volvo Truck and Bus Centre North and Scotland in Inverness, “The sales support at Inverness is very good,” says Steven.

“And I would add that parts access is second-to-none.”

24 FM 8x4s with Wilcox Wilcolite bodies and Edbro tipping gear, two 18-tonne FL 4x2s and a mix of FH tractor units including an FH16 750, which we took to celebrate our 50th anniversary a couple of years ago.”

The fleet of tractor units is used to haul either Montracon or Wilcox tippers, of which the company has 12, or one of four Montracon curtain-sided trailers with SAF axles.

“Following our investment in a fully automated bagging plant at Rugeley, we supply 25kg and 40kg bags of sand and aggregate to builder’s yards and sites across the Midlands,” continues Ricketts. “The 44-tonne FH is ideally suited to this type of work.”

Supported by Hartshorne Group in Birmingham, Ricketts believes the reliability, above average fuel consumption, driver comfort and ready access to parts makes Volvo’s trucks the ideal choice for the business. “Importantly, the residual value of Volvos holds up really well.

Furthermore, I find by running them

we attract better drivers,” he says. “All told, Volvo suits our business and that’s why, ever since our first 12-litre FM 8-wheeler, bought from Hartshorne’s in Walsall in 1999, we’ve predominantly invested in and run Volvo.”

Ricketts is quick to point out that the company generally keeps its trucks for up to 10 years, although he is planning to halve this going forwards. “We have a 2007 FM still on the daily run with some 830,000km on the clock,” he says. “I am planning to replace this soon, but the reliability of Volvo means it is feasible to keep them for extended periods.”

As for his favourite Volvo truck, he cannot help but pin his stripes to the company’s first FM. “The 12-litre, 340hp engine was amazing,” he recalls.

“The truck was so robust. That said; the new Volvo FMs and FHs are certainly growing on me and I find the safety aspects to be brilliant. What’s more our drivers love the I-Shift transmission, which they rate as the best gearbox on the market.”

D STEVEN & SON TWO HUNDRED NOT OUT

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HD RICKETTS ROBUST RELIABILITY

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D Ricketts of Weeford Quarry in Sutton Coldfield is possibly the largest and best known supplier of sand and aggregates in the Midlands. Perhaps not so well known is that the company’s roots date back just over 50 years to Harry Ricketts and his builder’s yard. “When Harry, my grandfather, sold his company, my father Dave chose to inherit a truck and essentially, we’ve grown the business from there,” explains Tony Ricketts, one of the third-generation partners in the business – the others being Adrian Ricketts who runs the quarrying and bagging side of the business and Ruth Peters who runs the offices.

The firm has grown significantly over the intervening years and now operates 45 trucks, although Ricketts’ ambition is to hit 50 units in the foreseeable future. “Most of our trucks are Volvo,” he says. “We have

VOLVO 50th ANNIVERSARY SUPPLEMENT

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VOLVO TRUCKS Driving Progress in the UK for 50 Years If you want to add this limited Ailsa Edition FH16 750 50th Anniversary Truck to your fleet, contact your local Volvo Trucks dealer today. Hurry as stock is limited. www.volvotrucks.co.uk

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Volvo Trucks. Driving Progress

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