Sunrent shines for Ercol

Furniture manufacturer ercol is renowned for the stylish design, practicality and quality of its products – no surprise then, that the four new trucks it has just set on the road are fitted with streamlined Bevan21 bodies.

Based on DAF CF chassis, the eye-catching 18-tonners are the subject of a contract hire agreement with established partner Sunrent, under which each will cover 75,000km a year.

They are now distributing furniture from ercol’s production facility in Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, to retailers nationwide – as well as ‘independents’, the company’s impressive customer portfolio includes leading names such as Furniture Village, the John Lewis Partnership and The White Company.

The body of choice for some of the biggest fleet operators on Britain’s roads, the Bevan21 is designed to reduce wind resistance while maintaining cubic load volumes, with features including a curved roof, specially moulded air deflector and cab collar.

Independent tests carried out under stringent conditions have confirmed that the streamlined Bevan21 – which is also available as a curtainsider – is capable of cutting fuel bills by more than 15 per cent.

ercol’s new bodies were manufactured at Bevan’s production facility in Halesowen, West Midlands. They offer a weight saving of almost 1,000kg compared to the demountable boxes employed on the vehicles that ercol has been running for the last five years.

ercol was founded in 1920 by a young Italian immigrant, Lucian Ercolani. The environmental compatibility of the company’s new truck bodies complements its commitment to eco-friendly business practices – the biomass boiler that heats its energy efficient factory is fuelled by wood waste, while it also applies water- rather than solvent-based finishes when making furniture in its modern factory.
 

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