DJB Haulage
Outstanding fuel efficiency and enthusiastic driver feedback brought DJB Haulage back to Dealer City West Commercials for another five Mercedes-Benz Actros tractor units.
The operator is part of the ADMP Group, which has also commissioned another 28 Actros over the last two years. The majority of these vehicles also wear the DJB Haulage livery, while the rest work in Willmotts Transport colours.
All are Actros 2545 models with flat-floored BigSpace cabs and state-of-the-art 330 kW (449 hp) straight-six engines which drive through smooth Mercedes PowerShift 3 automated transmissions.
The latest arrivals were acquired with funding support from Mercedes-Benz Financial Services. They are based at DJB Haulage’s new, two-acre depot on Southampton’s Marchwood Industrial Estate and pull 40ft and 20ft skeletal trailers, including specialized ‘splitter’ versions – the operator moves over 15,000 containers a year for shipping lines and freight forwarders.
Willmotts Transport, meanwhile, operates from the logistics centre at the Group’s headquarters on the Quarry Way Business Park in Shepton Mallett, Somerset, and offers a wide range of transport and warehouse storage services, with a particular focus on the retail sector; it is also a member of the Palletforce network.
Willmotts Transport and DJB Haulage run a combined fleet of 80 trucks, all but nine of them 44-tonne tractor units. As recently as 2011 only four of its vehicles were by Mercedes-Benz; today, more than 30 wear three-pointed stars, with two other brands accounting for the remainder.
Group Transport Manager Andy Tuck said: “With regular returns of 9-10 mpg the Actros is, on the whole, the most fuel-efficient vehicle on our fleet, and the latest, Euro VI versions are proving every bit as economical to operate as their predecessors.
“Through continued training and increased utilization of the PPC (Predictive Powertrain Control) system specified on the Euro VI versions, we are hoping to further improve fuel economy.
“Our drivers are also very happy with their roomy, well-appointed cabs, while the strikingly modern appearance of the Actros on the road can only enhance our own company’s image.”
Long-serving Group Fleet & Training Manager Martin Hammett has recently completed a ‘Train the Trainer’ course at the Mercedes-Benz facility on Wentworth Park, Barnsley, and has been trialling Daimler FleetBoard’s telematics system with positive results. The operator’s drivers, meanwhile, are benefiting from training delivered by City West Commercials.
“We have our own workshop but also rely on Mercedes-Benz dealers to maintain our vehicles,” added Mr Tuck. “Our relationship with City West Commercials has gone from strength-to-strength over the last few years – its team provide an excellent service.”
Willmotts Transport was founded in 1918 by George Willmott, in Wells, Somerset. DJB Haulage, meanwhile, was established in 1992, also in Wells. The two companies joined forces in 2010 under the Group Business of ADMP Group Ltd, a company under the ownership of Andy Stott and David Buxton.
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