WELCOME

CONTENTS

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FEATURES REGULARS

6 B&L Transport

DAFs have powered this small family fl eet for almost 40 years

12 Electric Porsche

Just as quick, but a lot quieter

18 Birth of a New Generation

The inside story of how DAF developed the New Generation Trucks

24 Finance

PACCAR Financial is 21. Solely dedicated to truck fi nance and supporting your business

28 Truckfest 2022

In case you missed the DAFs at Peterborough this year

34 For Bert And Beyond

Lilburn Transport is a family affair in New Zealand and they’re in it for the long haul

3 WELCOME

Matt introduces the latest issue featuring Peterborough, Porsche and PACCAR, not to mention a few DAFs

44 SIMPSON SAYS

Fuel costs have rocketed, but Richard has some tips on minimising fuel consumption

45 SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

Can you pick them out?

52 TRAINER’S NOTES

Your new DAF is packed with features that could save lives, says Mandy

53 MEET THE TRAINERS

Ron Smith is one of DAF’s top driver trainers and he likes Aston Martins...

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INFORMATION

EDITORIAL

Publisher: Matthew Eisenegger Managing Editor: John Kendall Designer: Harold Francis Callahan

Editorial Address: Commercial Vehicle Media & Publishing Ltd, 4th Floor 19 Capesthorne Drive, Eaves Green, Chorley, Lancashire. PR7 3QQ Telephone: 01257 231521 Email: matthew@cvdriver.com

ADVERTISING

Advertising Sales: David Johns Telephone: 01388 517906 Mobile: 07590 547343 Email: sales@cvdriver.com

DESIGN

Art Editor: Harold Francis Callahan Telephone: 01257 231521 Email: design@cvdriver.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Richard Simpson Mandy Wannerton Karl Hopkinson Ronnie Hitchens John Kendall Chris Russon Porsche Dave McCoid Gavin Myers Will Shiers Tom Cunningham Steve Banner

PUBLISHER

Commercial Vehicle Media & Publishing Ltd, 4th Floor, 19 Capesthorne Drive, Eaves Green, Chorley, Lancashire. PR7 3QQ Telephone: 01257 231521

NOTE

The publisher makes every effort to ensure the magazine’s contents are correct. All material published in DAF Driver magazine is copyright and unauthorised reproduction is forbidden. The Editors and Publisher of this magazine give no warranties, guarantees or assurances and make no representations regarding any goods or services advertised in this edition. DAF Driver magazine is published under a licence from Commercial Vehicle Media & Publishing Ltd. All rights in the licensed material belong to Matthew Eisenegger or Commercial Vehicle Media and Publishing Ltd and may not be reproduced whether in whole or in part, without their prior written consent. DAF Driver Magazine is a registered trademark.

If you are not going to keep this magazine for future reference please pass it on or recycle it.

DAF

DELIVERS

Words: Ronnie Hitchens Photographs: Karl Hopkinson

‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fi x it’. That’s the maxim adhered to by the team at B&L Transport when it comes to their DAF vehicles. Ronnie Hitchens paid the Lanarkshire-based hauliers a visit to see if they really are unbreakable and to cast an envious eye over the company’s New Generation XG+ 530.

Three generations of the Bollan family with the new XG+ Neil, left.

Reliability is arguably the attribute valued above any other by transport operators globally. A reliable and trustworthy fleet is fundamental to the ultimate success of any transport company. Fortunately for B&L Transport, exceptional reliability is not merely an ambition but a reality, thanks to a long line of DAF vehicles spanning some 40 years. In turn, it’s helped to make the firm a respected player on the Scottish haulage scene and a highly successful supplier to customers in the UK and abroad.

B&L operates a working fleet of three DAF tractor units out of its idyllically located yard, surrounded by the fields and rolling hills south of the A721. Each truck is deployed on a mix of long, medium and short-distance general haulage work. At one time, the company was winning cross-continent business to clients in mainland Europe. However, a change of focus in recent years saw company founder, director and driver, Neil Bollan, concentrate on his UK customers.

The whole DAF and nothing but the DAF

“It was never our goal to grow that The range-topping New DAF Generation XG+ 530 FTGbig,” Neil explains. “We’re a familyrun business, but we had some staff drivers at one point. Now, we’re back to being family operated again.

“We started in 1983 – nearly 40 years ago – when I bought my first DAF 2800. I had a good job on the tankers at the time and had no real intention of going out on my own. My dad was made redundant at 55 but left with a good network of contacts he’d built up throughout the years. I was able to get a good deal on a truck and provide him with the opportunity to trade independently. I left my tanker job to join him in 1986, and it’s just gone from there.

Neil’s track record with the DAF brand is impressive. Bar a very short period with a couple of MAN tractors, the company has exclusively operated the Dutch brand.

“We’ve had pretty much everything,” says Neil. “Of course, we started out with that 2800, but we’ve had a DAF 2300, 2500, 3200, 3300, pretty much every iteration of the 95-series and the XF range, too. My son is very mechanically minded and trained as a mechanic. He’s pretty much only worked for us, doing all the maintenance and some of the driving. With the electronics in trucks these days, our new lorries are covered under service agreements at the dealership.”

Neil doesn’t let his 68-years stand in the way of a hard day’s work. Most days you’ll find him behind the wheel, with his wife, Jessie, coordinating the day-to-day operations from the office.

“There’s been a good variation in work over the years, which means we’re often getting out to new places and seeing different parts of the country,” Neil adds. “We did a lot for the oil industry in the far north of Scotland for a period, and we’ve always handled a lot of forestry products. We used to go abroad, but we haven’t done that for a while. Brexit and COVID mean that we have no ambition to venture overseas any time soon.

“We have a good base of longstanding customers. My dad always said that it’s important to be transparent with them. If you’re stuck in traffic, tell them. If you’re running behind on deliveries, tell them. There’s none of this ‘we’re 10 minutes away’ when we’re still in the yard. People appreciate it when you’re honest and open with them. But we’ve