Highland fling for 40-tonne electric truck

An electric timber truck being trialled by James Jones & Sons has made its first appearance at the Royal Highland Show.

The 40-tonne artic is being used by the Stirlingshireheadquartered haulier out of its sawmill in Lockerbie and will transport timber to its Hangingshaws national distribution centre.

Lorna Slater MSP, minister for green skills, circular economy and biodiversity in the Scottish Government, pictured left, stopped by to find out more about the project and to see the new truck.

Reid Freight Services said it was very impressed with Schmitz Cargobull after the trailer builder promised a quick turnaround for new assets and achieved it in less than four months.

The Stoke haulage firm, which handles palletised goods in the

UK and overseas, urgently needed two curtainsiders and turned to the manufacturer for help.

Chad Smith, Reid Freight Services transport contracts manager, said: “We waited less than four months from the order to delivery, which was very impressive given the current production delays impacting the transport industry. Schmitz also did a great job speccing out the trailers with everything we needed.”

The curtainsiders are the first Schmitz Cargobull semi-trailers to join the company’s extensive fleet. They will be used for general haulage and the company’s work supporting the rail industry with the transport of equipment and maintenance parts.

The company also added a Euroliner to its fleet, customised with a rear-mounted forklift truck.

Along with Scotlog Haulage, James Jones & Sons is partnering with Volvo Group and Cleaner EV in a three year trial of electric timber trucks, which is being funded by Scottish Forestry. The vehicles will be evaluated for their achievable mileage versus battery consumption, durability, viability and total cost of ownership.

A key element of the trial is that all the partners involved are committed to sharing their experiences of running the electric lorries with others in the timber and rural haulage sectors.

DIGGING DEEP: A family-owned Stoke-based heavy haulage specialist has bought a 4.35-acre former borehole site to build a haulage depot and expand its operations. Potteries Heavy Haulage has taken on the site on the A50 at Meir from Severn Trent Water following a competitive tender process. Michael Edwards, business development manager at Potteries Heavy Haulage, said: “Once the land is developed it will enable us to reduce operational inefficiencies and grow. We’re looking forward to increasing our maintenance and storage offering to new and existing customers. We have looked at different options to relocate the business over the past few years and this site was an excellent opportunity due to its size, locality, and access to the Strategic Road Network.”