8 minute read
Family Values
BH Cecil’s Centenary Sensation
Words: Matthew Eisenegger Photographs: Karl Hopkinson
Based in Blakeney in the Forest of Dean, BH Cecil & Sons vehicles have been a common site on the lanes of Gloucestershire since 1920. Paul Cecil, the ‘gaffer’ who took over the reins of the business in 2008, waxes lyrical about the family’s history in transport. The company was founded in 1920 by his great grandfather and by way of a tribute to the family firm’s centenary, Paul has dedicated his latest DAF XF to the history of the business. The truck tells the story through fantastically executed airbrushing by top truck artist Adam Haden, who graphically catalogues a beautiful selection of classic commercial vehicles used in the fleet since its humble beginnings. As well as the exterior, the interior has also received special attention, which would put the most opulent 5-star hotel room to shame.
The Business
Like any forward-thinking operator BH Cecil & Sons doesn’t like to have all its eggs in one basket. The backbone of the work is national and international general haulage and comes from a variety of sources. The Cecil fleet is by
The immaculate paintwork includes Cecil family images and vehicles from the past
no means massive, consisting of seven vehicles, six tractor units and a rigid. The artics are made up of five DAFs, including a single CF and a mix of XF 105s and XF 106s, including the new one and a very special 1.7 million kms 17-year-old XF 95 which is currently working on a special contract in the Ukraine. The final artic is a single Volvo FH. The only rigid on the fleet is an unmarked DAF CF fridge box, again on a special contract. An important part of the company’s work is in the movement of high-pressure steam boilers, much of it at STGO CAT 2.
Happy Birthday
Anybody who has seen any of the BH Cecil & Sons fleet on the road, will know that it is very special. The whole family value carries over into the immaculate fleet presentation. The centenary special, L400 CEC, was ordered as an XF530 FTS Super Space Cab with twin wheels on the tag axle for enhanced stability, to deal with the more cumbersome heavy loads.
Power comes from the PACCAR MX13 530 engine, delivering 2,600Nm of torque. In keeping with a lot of smaller fleets and owner drivers, Paul specified the unit with the manual ZF Ecosplit 16 speed box and ZF Intarder.
The reason behind the manual transmission is twofold. Firstly, the vehicle works regularly at 65 tonnes GCW and he feels that at that weight, the ZF manual may be a bit better, but there’s also a very valid commercial reason, as the vehicle has been specified to deal with heavier weights, the manual ‘box makes it far more desirable in its second life. Like all trucks that get ‘that special touch’, the vehicle that was ordered from Motus in Gloucester in the middle of 2019, bears only a slight resemblance to the vehicle that went on the road in mid-2021. The green of the cab is DAF Emerald Green that coincidently matched BH Cecil’s fleet colour.
Once delivered, the real work began on personalising the XF. This meant an immense amount of conversion and
customising work. As many will know, the modification of a vehicle, moving it away from a base specification, can become a long and convoluted process. Paul had hand-picked who he wanted and what he wanted them to do. Interior and exterior additions such as lockers, skirts, chassis infill, exhaust, and the fitment of the Hypro light bar, would be carried out by Sjaak Kentie Truckspecials in the Netherlands. Vehicle paintwork would be entrusted to specialist vehicle painter Haydon Auto Spray in Radstock near Bath.
All electrical work such as beacons and safety camera systems would be the responsibility of the supplying dealer Motus. The icing on the cake, namely the airbrushing, would be carried out at Haydon Auto Spray by Adam Haden. The Cecil family explained what they wanted regarding the theme, provided Adam with the pictures and left him to it.
From delivery, the first port of call was to put the truck on the boat to the Netherlands for the exterior work to be carried out, then back to the UK to the paint shop for the exterior paint work. Then to Motus for the electrical work. Once completed, it was back out to the Netherlands for the interior to be decked out. Then back to the paint shop to allow Adam Haden to work his airbrushing alchemy. Once the artwork including the signwriting was complete, 12 coats of lacquer were applied to the entire vehicle to both protect and enhance the fantastic artwork. Finally, back to Motus for the final fit and predelivery inspection.
The vehicle was ready to go to work in October 2020 but Paul was very reluctant to put the new XF out to work. Salting of the roads was about to commence and as the vehicle was an addition to the fleet, not a replacement, the fleet could just pick up any extra work, leaving the new vehicle to go on the road when the time and conditions were right. Paul is also very keen to point out that as much as the XF is a celebration of 100 years in transport, it is most definitely not a show piece. When we caught up with Paul and
the truck at Truckfest West Midlands at Malvern, the vehicle had already racked up over 13,000kms and had just returned from Italy.
The Finished Article
Although the factory colour matched perfectly with the company’s fleet green, Haydon Auto Spray added additional coats to give an extra depth of colour before the airbrushing. They also finished the chassis, driveline and ancillaries in Masons Ayres Red, which on scrutiny is finished like glass. Without doubt the quality of the paintwork is absolutely second to none!
The airbrushing of the vehicle is a fine example of artist Adam Haden’s work. The theme of the XF very much tells the story of the three generations of transport history.
Many of the vehicles used in the company’s history are depicted within the artwork but more importantly, so are the family. Founder Bertram Harold Cecil, and his four sons Gelbert, Roy, John and Richard. The next generation namely Geoff (Paul’s dad) can be found at the end of the chassis on the infill.
The interior is nothing short of amazing, the entire living space is finished in Ivory, using the finest leather on the seats and Chesterfield button on the cab walls. The centenary company logo is tastefully embroidered in Emerald green into the head rests, while all switches are also colour coded to match the green exterior colour. The finishing touch is the inclusion of a sepia print dating back to the start of the company, depicting a working truck.
Praise be!
We asked Paul how he describes the company’s relationship with MOTUS in Gloucester, “The service is exceptional, Barry Fields, who runs the site and the entire team really understand that we are a family business and what we need from them”. He even goes on to add that “Everyone has a truck that breaks down, but it’s how they deal with you that counts.” Paul is equally complementary about
DAFaid, “We had a fanbelt break in Dortmund, I rang DAFaid in Europe and the guy on the phone recognised my name and the truck as it had won the ‘Cleanest Truck Award’ at the truck show in Assen in the Netherlands”.
The Future
We asked Paul what he thought of the new range, “They’ve absolutely nailed it”, in fact he’s exclusively revealed to DAF Driver Magazine that he has already ordered one! Following tradition, the XG+, which is due on the road in 2022, will recognise the ancient tradition of Salmon fishing in the Severn and Wye rivers.
Paul takes a bit of time explain his rationale. One of the companies BH Cecil distributes for is the Severn and Wye Smokery in Westbury-on-Severn, which as the name indicates, smokes and sells locally caught salmon to the most famous restaurants, fine dining establishments and high-end retailers. The new vehicle will showcase the history of this very old process of salmon fishing in the Severn and Wye rivers and Paul feels he wants to celebrate local history with a special livery and custom artwork.
Chatting to Paul, you can tell he is immensely proud of his family and the heritage they have in the road transport industry. His enthusiasm for the ‘job’ boils over and is very infectious, and the same level of enthusiasm is present in the rest of the Cecil team. You also get the feel that the entire Cecil organisation want the best from their investment and will always strive to buy the best. As Paul explains that’s why he only buys Michelin tyres, Schmitz Cargobull, Gray & Adams and Krone trailers, as in his opinion they are the best on the market.
Hopefully the legacy is set to continue as both of Paul’s daughters, Maisie 10 and Ellie 11, spend a lot of time in the trucks and around the business and are already showing a very active interest in the day to day running of the company. In his own words and really summing things up, “To do good in anything in life you have to be passionate”.
