PURPLE REIGN

Well-known bulk powder product haulier, Arclid Transport, has switched back to the DAF marque with its recent intake of three DAF XG 480 tractor units with DAF’s ‘FTP’ lightweight mid-lift axle configuration. Two of the units go onto Arclid’s powder fleet to support sister company, Bathgate, with the remainder joining the company’s growing liquids operation on UK and European work.

Words: Ronnie Hitchens

Photographs: Karl Hopkinson

The trio of DAF XGs represents the first time the DAF brand will be seen in Arclid’s distinctive purple colourway since their last purchase in 2015. The company says DAF’s British-built credentials were an important factor in its latest truck acquisition. Arclid’s trucks, along with 99% of all right-hand-drive DAF vehicles in the UK, were built at Leyland Trucks in Lancashire.

Since 2017, and under its new management team, Arclid has doubled its turnover to £9 million annually, while substantially improving utilisation with only a slight increase in fleet size; now totalling 46 trucks.

The trucks are supplied and will be supported by local DAF Dealer Motus Commercials in Stoke. Through the DAF Driver Training Voucher scheme, Motus is providing all Arclid’s new DAF drivers with a comprehensive training programme, including a 90-minute vehicle handover plus a 60-minute on-road familiarisation session.

Backing Britain

Arclid concluded that its whole life cost analysis (based on a six-year repair and maintenance package, plus a forecast on residuals) fully supported a move back to DAF. The company also says it is impressed with DAF’s commitment to producing a totally new truck range which focuses equally on productivity and driver appeal.

“Naturally, we conducted a whole-life cost analysis,” says Arclid Managing Director, Andy Brookes, “but there also exists a desire to get back to buying British. I’ve seen the high quality of manufacturing first-hand at Leyland Trucks where I saw one of our vehicles being built. New Generation DAF vehicles have clearly made a positive impact with other operators,” he adds, “and this has influenced us too. The XG looks stunning, and, with the promise of improved productivity and a fantastic workplace for our drivers, we’re looking forward to seeing the new DAFs really deliver out on the road.”

Dealer delight

Motus Commercials came in for particular praise from Brookes, “I can’t speak highly enough of the support and professionalism we’ve experienced from Motus,” he says, “and especially their Sales Executive, Matt Durose. His expertise and attention to detail was key, and he was fully supported by the teams at Motus and DAF.”

Cool fuel

The new DAF XG tractor have been on the road for one month and, albeit early days, they are performing very well with no reliability issues and, encouragingly, delivering an upswing on fuel economy. In the last week in June, fuel economy had broken the 10.0mpg barrier and, while not regularly at maximum weight, the XG trio has been operating very close to 44-tonnes consistently.

“The trucks have only just entered service,” Brookes points out, “and we’ve already seen an up-tick in fuel economy, and this is only going to improve once fully bedded-in. Feedback from drivers has been wholly positive, with one individual emailing me to confirm how impressed he is with the new kit.”

DRIVER: SAM WARD At 25, Sam Ward is a relative youngster in the Arclid fleet and, indeed, within the UK driver profile generally. Sam obtained his Class 2 licence at 19 and his Class 1 at just 20. His last truck was a 540bhp Volvo FH4 – a pretty decent bit of kit – before being thrown the keys to one of the new DAF XG tractors, namely DX23 VFM. He’s had the truck since 1st June, and he’s rather pleased with it!

“I’ve had the truck for a month,” he said, “and I’ve clocked up 10,000kms. In that short time, I can tell you that it’s the best cab I’ve ever had for tramping. The build quality is spot-on, and I just can’t fault it. The equipment level is so high – there’s everything you want. I know it’s only been four weeks,” he said, “but the truck hasn’t missed a beat, and I think it’s going to be super reliable. It drives lovely.”

Andy Robinson is Operations Manager at Arclid Transport. He’s been at the company for five years and was very much part of the new management team along with Andy Brookes. Not untypically, Andy has his full Class 1 licence, but his duties behind the wheel are limited to the occasional load or shunting vehicles around the yard, or to and from dealer services.

Arclid currently employs 55 drivers and uses sub-contractors on occasions. The truck fleet is predominantly Volvo and Scania, with DAFs last used on the fleet in 2021.

Again, not untypically, the driver demographic is exclusively male, but there is a wide spectrum of ages. “We have a number of drivers who have been with the company for over 20-years,” says Andy, “and we’ve just had one retiree recently who was 70. We do have a good mix of youngsters too.”

“We have recruited a lot in the last five years, since the fleet size has grown,” he added, “but our greatest increase has been utilisation – we run so much leaner now. We did lose a few drivers to supermarkets when they were offering big incentives, but driver turnover is generally very low.”

Andy said, “We consult drivers on new truck acquisitions, especially on cab spec’ as our operation is predominantly tramping. Cab comfort is really important for the drivers, and the XG is up there with the best for trucks which are always on the go, and the living accommodation is excellent. Andy and I make the final decision, so whole-life-costs and dealer support are, ultimately, the deciding factor. Nonetheless, the drivers seem to really like the new DAFs. We have one going in for its first service at Motus, so we’ll see how that goes. I’m looking forward to excellent back-up from DAF. Matt Durose at Motus is working really hard for us.”