Motor Transport 26 April 2021 by Motor Transport

Sharp ■ Informed ■ Challenging

26.4.21

YOUR TOTAL transport SOLUTION Retendering process takes two distribution centres from Eddie Stobart

DHL on the list as Tesco shakes up supply chain

B O O K YO U R TA B L E TO D AY W W W. M TAWA R D S .CO . U K

NEWS INSIDE

By Carol Millett

The cost of Brexit

Culina hit hard by aftermath p3

Maritime dives in

Kent haulier in toll trial

Vox pop

The future of heavy haulage p6

OPERATORS INSIDE Austin Wilkinson........................................... p8 Brit European ...............................................p15 DPD UK ........................................................p16 DX................................................................. p6 EFS Global..................................................... p8 Fagan & Whalley ........................................... p8 Fowler Welch...............................................p24 Hovis ...........................................................p16 John Mitchell ...............................................p15 Maritime Transport........................................ p4 Menzies Distribution.....................................p15 Ocado ..........................................................p17 Pall-Ex Group ................................................ p4 Wincanton ...................................................p16 XPO Logistics ................................................ p4

Eddie Stobart is set to be replaced by DHL Supply Chain at Tesco’s Goole and Doncaster distribution centres (DCs) following a major retendering exercise. The move loosens Eddie Stobart’s grip on a contract it has been operating since 2012, running the transport operations out of six DCs across the UK, including Tesco’s DC at DIRFT. Eddie Stobart operates a fleet of more than 120 trucks and makes around 80,000 trailer trips per year out of Tesco’s Goole site. It runs a similar-sized operation out of Tesco’s Doncaster DC, employing around 200 drivers to deliver to stores across the North of England. DHL Supply Chain took over both sites on 18 April. Unite is currently in consultation with both haulage firms over the transfer of Eddie Stobart workers to DHL Supply Chain.

An Eddie Stobart spokeswoman told MT: “Eddie Stobart can confirm that it has renewed its contract for four major distribution centres with Tesco and continues to supply rail distribution services and primary movements. Tesco remains a strategic partner for Eddie Stobart and other companies within the GWSA group. “We can also confirm, as a result of the tender, the transport services at Tesco Doncaster and Goole regional distribution centres will ELECTRIC PERFORMER: The UK’s first 27-tonne, curtainside battery EV has taken to the roads with construction sector supplier CCF. The company, part of Travis Perkins, spent three years developing the vehicle in collaboration with Electra in order to complete zero emission customer deliveries in London. With a charge time of seven hours and a 120-mile range, the BEV has been awarded a five-star rating under London’s Direct Vision Standard and has been fitted with sensors and alarms, along with a five-way camera monitoring system.

transfer to DHL Supply Chain from 18 April.” She added: “We have retained the transport contracts for Middlesbrough, Daventry Clothing, Daventry Grocery, and Widnes Chilled. “We still continue to operate the rail services and a large part of their primary distribution, which was not part of the tender process.” A DHL Supply Chain spokeswoman confirmed the award of the two Tesco transport contracts. She said: “Following a competitive tender process, we are delighted to be have been appointed by Tesco to provide transport services for its Doncaster and Goole distribution centres. “In the coming weeks we look forward to welcoming new colleagues to the DHL family and partnering with the company in the years ahead in the next stage of its exciting journey.” SOURCE FINANCE MAINTAIN RECYCLE ...TRACTORS RENTAL + SALE

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Focus: warehousing p10 Viewpoint: longer vehicles p12 Fuel cards p14 Round table: emissions p16 Interview: Thomas Hemmerich p20

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EU exit ‘a big bloody mess’ costing ‘a boatload of money’, says van Mourik

Culina slams UK’s Brexit ‘nightmare’ By Tim Wallace

Culina Group chief executive Thomas van Mourik (pictured) has slammed the government’s handling of Brexit, insisting the movement of goods between the UK and Ireland remains “a big bloody mess” that has cost operators “a boatload of money”. “What we and our customers have gone through with delivering goods from the UK to Ireland has been a nightmare,” he told MT. “Nobody could get it right before 31 December. The goalposts got changed every five seconds, so we went in at the deep end.” He added that the Irish specialist haulier in its portfolio had seen “a significant erosion in

its profitability in the last few months as a result of Brexit”. Some of Culina’s customers have been forced to cease trading to Ireland, a situation van Mourik said was “a shame and a nonsense”.

“Now we’re going to the UK via the continent and it’s the same bloody mess,” he said. “The continental hauliers I know don’t want to come to the UK any longer. I know of true specialists in traffic from Holland and Belgium to the UK that have diverted 40% of the fleet and are doing work to Italy, Spain and Hungary instead.” He called for a new system to help operators cope with the situation: “I’d hope we get to a halfway house where we’d have goods freely flowing, but there is some kind of customs formality taking place once the goods have been delivered to the warehouse by the customer,” he said.

Administrators are appointed at NGC Logistics

Photo: Shutterstock

West Bromwich firm New Generation Courier (NGC) Logistics, which provided services across the UK and Europe, has entered administration. Insolvency practitioners from both Leonard Curtis and Carter

Clark were appointed to the business on 29 March. The administrators were unable to comment as MT went to press, but have been confirmed as Alan Clark of Carter Clark and Neil Bennett of Leonard Curtis Group. NGC Logistics was incorporated in 2008 and it holds standard international operator licences in the East of England and West Midlands traffic areas, authorising 10 and 16 HGVs respectively.

It offered next-day express package deliveries, European business-to-business freight, warehousing and storage facilities, as well as returns services to customised deliveries. Its last available set of financial results said its core activity remained a final-mile delivery service. For the year ending 31 July 2019, the company made a pre-tax loss of £137,000 on a turnover of £26.2m.

Haulier’s licence revoked after founder ignores disqualification

26.4.21

about Hughes’ drug conviction and another for his part in a £250m VAT fraud. When Hughes’ licence was granted in December 2014 for Genesis 2014 (UK) he was still serving his 12-year prison sentence, which ran until 2017, although he was no longer in prison. The PI heard that Hughes had answered ‘no’ on the GV79 application form when asked if he had any convictions. In February 2019 Genesis was

granted a new operating licence by West Midlands TC Nick Denton, after its directors agreed to restructure the company. However, in late 2019, the DVSA received a tip-off that Hughes was still in control of the firm. Genesis was summoned to a PI on 19 November 2020, where Denton found Hughes had continued to play a “significant managerial role” and revoked the firm’s licence from 1 April 2021 for three years.

Deliveries of coffee to supermarkets will not be affected by an ongoing dispute between Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE) and the Unite union, according to the Dutch beverage owner. Strike action is now looming after complaints from the trade union that the company was attempting to introduce a ‘fire and rehire’ policy among nearly 300 workers at its Banbury depot. Unite said it would be introducing an overtime ban from 1 May and full-scale strike action would follow in June. But JDE told MT that it had plans in place and did not expect supplies of coffee to be affected. DHL handles supermarket deliveries on behalf of JDE. A JDE spokeswoman declined to go into the plans, but said: “It’s the company’s legal right to protect the business. We are having the usual discussions with DHL and keeping them informed and aware of what’s going on.” JDE also refuted allegations that it was preventing workers from taking summer holidays to thwart the union’s overtime ban plans. The JDE spokeswoman said requests for holiday now had to be submitted to a staff member aware of production schedules instead. The company said it was hopeful the dispute could be resolved, but that there was “an overwhelming need to rest the operation”. Unite said it was starting legal proceedings over allegations that some JDE workers were being offered inducements of £750 to accept pay cuts and inferior employment conditions. In response, JDE said it was unable to comment as it was in the middle of an individual consultation process. DHL has previously said it will not comment.

Image: Shutterstock

Stoke-on-Trent haulier Genesis 2014 (UK) has had its licence revoked for the second time in three years after a public inquiry (PI) heard that founder Marcus Hughes, who was disqualified in 2018 for failing to inform the traffic commissioner (TC) of his 12-year prison sentence for supplying cannabis, was still playing “a significant managerial role” at the firm. In 2018 the company had its licence revoked after a PI heard

’Fire and rehire’ row at coffee giant escalates

MotorTransport 3

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Kent haulier’s trucks used as guinea pigs for introduction of new ANPR-based charging system

Maritime leads way on M6toll Felixstowe giant Maritime Transport will become the first company to trial the M6 toll road’s new ANPR-based charging. The introduction of ANPR cameras by road owner Midland Expressway is part of its plan to transform the existing tolling infrastructure and drive growth on the motorway. Maritime’s trucks will be the first vehicles to pay for their journeys via a centralised user system, and following the trial, other logis-

tics operators will join the project over the next few months. The cameras identify licence plate data and remove the need for card payments at toll plazas, meaning customers can manage all transactions via the M6toll website. Pictured are Julie Davies (left) and Sarah Gourlay from Midland Expressway with Martime’s Craig Bickley and the first of the firm’s fleet to have its number plates registered with M6toll.

Sector’s poor shift patterns put workers’ health at risk

Photo: Shutterstock

Inadequate notice by employers of changing shift patterns in haulage and warehousing is damaging workers’ health and destroying family lives, according to trade union Unite. It was responding to research conducted by the Living Wage Foundation, which found that among the 59% of workers whose job involves variable hours or shift work, 62% reported having less than a week’s notice of their work schedules.

At the most extreme end, 7% of all working adults are given less than 24 hours’ notice. Laura Gardiner, director at the Living Wage Foundation, said: “Without clear notice of shift patterns provided in good time, millions of workers have had to make impossible choices on childcare, transport and other important aspects of family life. “Low-paid workers have been particularly hard hit during the pandemic, with millions struggling to plan their lives due to the double-whammy of changing restrictions on economic activity and insufficient notice of work schedules from employers.” Unite said the issue was a particular problem in HGV driving, warehousing and logistics and that constant changing of shifts damaged workers’ health through long-term fatigue.

XPO Logistics clicks with ASOS XPO Logistics has been awarded the contract to manage a new fulfilment centre in Lichfield, Staffordshire for online fashion retailer ASOS. The 437,000sq ft distribution hub at Fradley Park is expected to open in August, creating about 2,000 jobs over the next three years. The new deal expands XPO’s eight-year relationship with ASOS. It includes the renewal of its long-term contract to manage the ASOS fulfilment centre in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Gavin Williams, MD, supply chain – UK and Ireland, XPO Logistics, said: “These two, new multi-year agreements with ASOS are a testament to the dedication of our team and the cutting-edge expertise we have showcased at the Barnsley facility over the last eight years.”  XPO Logistics has also signed a new deal with sports event organiser Ironman to transport its race infrastructure across Europe.

Efficiencies and network strength drive Pall-Ex performance Pall-Ex Group saw a return to profit in 2020 after improving operational efficiency, building greater network coverage and being aided by a “stable” membership. In its latest annual results to 31 July 2020, the group unveiled a 6% rise in turnover to £87.2m (2019: £82.2m) with a pre-tax profit of £334,000, up from a loss of £1.8m the previous year. The group attributed the improved performance to Pall-Ex UK, its pallet management and haulage arm, which saw volumes leap 6%, resulting in a 4% rise in its turnover to £76.6m 4 MotorTransport

compared with £73.4m in the previous year. During the year, Pall-Ex UK acquired Cranleigh Freight Services. However, the report noted that the four subsidiaries, which also include Pall-Ex London, Shears Brothers and Intercounty Distribution, “continue to constrain the group’s overall performance”, with losses amounting to £800,000 compared with £1.6m in the previous year. The group is forecasting that turnaround plans will see an improved performance from the four subsidiaries, the report added.

MD Kevin Buchanan said that the annual results covered just eight months of the company under new management ownership. He added: “We expect to finish this financial year – in July 2021 – with more than £2.5m of EBITDA.”  Pall-Ex member Bullet Express has become a shareholder member of the Fortec Distribution Network. Fortec said 70% of its members have taken up an offer to become shareholders, which it launched after being acquired by Pall-Ex in August last year. 26.4.21

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VOX POP What is the future for long-distance heavy haulage? Charlie Shiels, CEO, ArrowXL We’re talking to manufacturers about electric 7.5-tonners and the operational reality of this change is massive. It means a 50% reduced payload, costs up 50% and significant range limitation (30% less than diesel). Plus the electrical infrastructure changes required at our sites to overnight charge 30-plus 7.5-tonners are mindblowing. Solutions will need to change on the future timelines. What suits 2022 to 2027 will change for 2027 to 2035. Hydrogen fuel cells feel a good longer-term solution – well established, lots of knowledge and lots of investment going into it. The downside is the expense. In the short term the pragmatic solution has to include HVO/biofuel. Bob Terris, chairman, Meachers The future will probably be a mix of hydrogen and electric. We are going electric on local delivery vehicles and we will wait and see regarding longer distance vehicles. It is difficult to anticipate the way it will go. No doubt hydrogen, electric and biofuel will be tried but the two I’ve chosen will prevail.

Dave Rowlands, director, Wincanton The future will involve a hybrid of different options. In the short term we are optimising fuel use through driver management and telematics and ensuring our fleets comply with existing regulations. Electric trucks are also an alternative to diesel up to 27 tonnes, and there is room for improvement over the medium term to ensure batteries and charging points are more suitable for longer-distance journeys. Hydrogen will certainly come into play in the long term and it represents an exciting, sustainable opportunity. There’s a lot of work to be done with infrastructure and safety and there are huge engineering issues, but this is on our horizon for 2030 and beyond. Dan Myers, MD UK and Ireland, XPO We have already invested in e-vehicles and other alternative fuels. Diesel will continue to be a part of our fuel mix, but we will work to reduce this. Longer term, we are excited about the potential that e-vehicles and other fuels such as hydrogen would play in long-distance heavy freight.

Moreton Cullimore, MD, Cullimore Group It will have to be a combination of options because there are so many different types of work taken on by hauliers. Short term, I think some form of biofuel is the answer, not big battery cells with lithium mined in far-flung countries. It must be something sustainable. Long term, hydrogen involves the least-biggest change to the UK infrastructure. Dan Cook, ops director, Europa Worldwide Last year we planned to use one or two large electric rigid trucks (18 / 26-tonne) in and around London. But the cost of the technology made the project unviable. Is it about waiting for the costs to come down? Waiting for it to evolve? Waiting for the government to subsidise it? Also, batteries don’t last long enough, charging takes too long, and infrastructure for charging points is not well-enough established. Governments need to settle on one technology and go all out to bring it to market. The biggest hurdles are the convenience to ‘fuel’ as we do today, and the higher initial cost of the vehicle.

DX boosts fleet with 300 new vehicles Parcel delivery specialist DX has added over 300 new vehicles to its delivery fleet as part of major plans to make the company the market leader in its sector. The order gives DX a total fleet of over 900 vehicles, all liveried with DX

branding. They include over 120 trucks, 50 tractor units, 50 trailers and 150 vans, of which 65 are bespoke vehicles for carrying irregular dimension and weight freight. The vehicles will serve both the Group’s DX Freight and DX Express divisions.

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EFS Global snaps up Austin Wilkinson as growth continues Haulage and logistics firm Austin Wilkinson, based in Atherton, Greater Manchester, has become the latest acquisition for EFS Global, as it continues its growth strategy across the UK. Mark Jones, MD of EFS Global, said: “Austin Wilkinson is a much-respected name, so we are pleased to welcome them to the EFS group of companies. “I’m sure it will be a positive acquisition as we continue to grow.”

The sum was not disclosed. EFS now has 13 depots and offices across the country and operates its own UK and European road freight fleet, whilst also facilitating a range of worldwide import and export services. It said turnover had grown to £67m and gross profit was £12m. This latest deal follows a raft of recent acquisitions, including freight forwarder AFI (UK) last month.

DVSA must address huge requirement for new HGV drivers, says LSN

‘Radical action’ needed to sort out test backlog A radical plan to resolve a huge backlog in driving tests for HGV drivers is needed as the doors reopen to candidates, the Logistics Skills Network (LSN) has said. The warning came as trainers in Scotland said hauliers were “screaming for drivers”, as Covid rules north of the border are finally relaxed. Paul Spink, LSN co-founder, said there was now an estimated backlog of 46,000 HGV driving tests, which would need to be addressed in addition to the average 72,000 tests delivered each year. He said it was “excellent news” that training and testing had resumed in England and Wales, but added: “Having said that, we have been seeking to understand what DVSA’s vocational HGV

examination capacity is likely to be. Either they don’t want to tell us, or they don’t know it. “DVSA has said it will put examiners on overtime and curtail holiday, but the plans needs to be more radical.”

 The DVLA’s decision to continue its suspension of driver medicals has been condemned as “ludicrous” and poses a risk to road safety, according to doctors’ network D4Drivers. It said drivers should continue to book medicals.

Now the light at the end of the tunnel is getting increasingly bright, we cannot wait for our legendary Convoy events to return. During the toughest times, the trucking community literally kept the country going. And what better way to celebrate our drivers, our trucks and life on the road than by joining together with colleagues, families and fellow trucking enthusiasts for a fun-filled trucking weekend. Showcasing the very best of the industry, Convoy on the Plain and Convoy in the Park promise showstopping truck racing, adrenaline

fuelled stunts, live entertainment, family activities, competitions and giveaways and, most importantly, the chance for everyone to get together once more, to meet old friends and new and enjoy a weekend away. It’s promising to be our greatest Convoys yet! The dates for your diary are:  3-4 July, Convoy on the Plain at Thruxton Circuit  21-22 August, Convoy in the Park at Donington Park For more details and to book your truck tickets or visitor tickets, visit www.convoytruckevents.co.uk.

Fagan & Whalley adds new space Fagan & Whalley’s growth plans continue apace, with the logistics company intending to expand into additional warehousing space later this spring. Three years after the opening of its warehouse at Burnley Bridge, the company has now acquired 200,000sq ft of warehouse and distribution facilities at Frontier Park in Blackburn, which it said was “part of a wider business plan to expand the services on offer and welcome new clients on board”. The plan is being put into operation following a company restructure earlier this year, with its board of directors growing to six people.

Industry turning We got a great big Convoy, rockin’ through the night on to telematics

8 MotorTransport

Transport businesses are seeing real operational benefits from the new generation of smart tachographs, according to a new report by Motor Transport and sister title Commercial Motor. The Tachos and Telematics 2021 report found that 39% of operators reckon they are getting better realtime data from using smart tachos, while 34% said admin time and costs had been reduced, and 19% highlighted fewer roadside checks. The survey also highlights the growing use of telematics. Some 79% of operators are now using telematics in their operations – up from 69% in our study a year ago. 26.4.21

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Focus: warehousing

Knight Frank predicts spike in development This year is likely to see a large spike in the development of warehouses of over 50,000sq ft, according to research from Knight Frank. The company has estimated that 40 million sq ft of space will be completed during 2021 – a mixture of build-to-suit and speculative development – compared with 20 million sq ft last year. Knight Frank said the market was still being stimulated by the growth of online retailing and would continue to be for the foreseeable future. It said that every £1bn of new online sales required 1.36 million sq ft of warehouse space. Online sales rose £34 bn in 2020, requiring 46.2 million sq ft, and are predicted to increase by a further £41 billion in the next four years, requiring 55.8 million sq ft. Knight Frank’s research associate Claire Williams said: “Many of the units currently available don’t offer the right space or the right locations to support the growth of online sales and B2C deliveries. There is a need for more urban warehouse space, located close to the customer.” Individual developers are keen to bring forward large developments. Panattoni, for example, is buying Honda’s 370-acre car factory site in Swindon, which is ceasing production this year, and plans to develop 1.9 million sq ft at the former Aylesford Newsprint site in Kent. Segro is building a 220,000sq ft speculative warehouse at its 700-acre East Midlands Gateway development near East Midlands Airport. And GLP is building 1 million sq ft of speculative space in seven units in Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes.

10 MotorTransport

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Tax advantages of eight sites to help those storing or re-exporting goods

New freeports get cautious welcome By Simon Jack

Logistics property experts have given a cautious welcome to the eight freeports announced in last month’s budget. These will give tax advantages to those storing or re-exporting imported products, simplify customs procedures and create a streamlined planning process for new development. They will be located at: East Midlands Airport; Felixstowe and Harwich; Humber region; Liverpool City region; Plymouth; Solent; Thames; and Teesside. DTRE partner Mark Webster said there would be a knock-on effect on the property market at some stage. “We feel there must be a benefit and that freeports must fuel demand. But it is early days to know exactly how or when,” he said. Knight Frank partner Charles Binks added: “We’ve still got to understand the full implications, but freeports are likely to appeal to a wide range of companies including logistics companies, retailers and manufacturers.” Their creation comes at a time when companies may decide to hold more inventory after the disruption that Covid-19 has caused and continuing uncertainties about Brexit, Binks said. “If you hold products in a freeport, you are not paying any duties until the products are released to the customer and you can re-export

goods to the EU without them coming into the UK,” he commented. Andrea Ferranti, an associate director in Colliers International’s research department, said freeports would help the UK to remain competitive, but that he did not believe large occupiers would move major distribution centres to be inside one – the need to retain their workforce and drive times to centres of population would be of greater importance, he suggested. “You are not going to see 500,000sq ft or 1 million sq ft warehouses, but more likely 60,000-100,000sq ft storage facilities,” he commented. There are already early signs of interest from occupiers. Two ports included in the Thames Freeport

– London Gateway and Tilbury – said they had received more new enquiries about new premises in March than at any point in the last decade. Alan Shaoul, chief financial officer of London Gateway’s owner DP World, said there was 10 million sq ft of consented land at the port’s logistics park, and he was hopeful of attracting new occupiers “within months not years” as a result of the freeport. Mike Heydecke, chief executive of developer Sterling Capitol, described the awarding of freeport status as a “game-changer” for the Humber region, while the Tees Valley Combined Authority predicted that the Teesside Freeport would create 18,000 jobs over the next five years.

Serious shortages developing in Scotland Strong demand in Scotland’s industrial and logistics market is leading to serious shortages of space within the country’s central belt. Alan Gilkison, a partner of Scottish agents Ryden, said that current conditions were exacerbating what was an existing issue. “We already had record low levels of availability, but Covid-19 has turbocharged the market. The pressure on industrial supply is quite incredible,” he commented.

Edinburgh currently has a vacancy rate of 4.9% according to Ryden’s latest Scottish Property Review report, but in Glasgow it is even lower at 4.3%. As in other parts of the UK, online retailing is behind much of current demand. Amazon took 144,000sq ft at Glasgow Business Park and DPD, Hermes and DHL have all taken units in Scotland in the last year. Scotland has seen little speculative development in recent years,

but Gilkison said he believed that may change. “A number of developers are thinking about it if demand continues at this level,” he stated. Currently, the quality of available warehouses is often low, particularly above 100,000sq ft. According to Savills’ Big Shed Briefing, there were nine warehouses of this size available at the end of last year and none of them were top quality Grade A space. 26.4.21

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Act now on driver shortage T he Covid-19 pandemic has turned the transport industry on its head over the past 12 months, and while the pubs gradually reopening is a sign that things might finally be returning to a semblance of normality, it is going to take Steve Hobson months, if not years, to get the industry Editor back on an even keel. Motor The driver shortage, for example, is one Transport of those issues that is either just a perennial problem the industry has to live with, or a crisis that threatens the survival of the industry, depending on your point of view. There have been dire warnings of the effects of a 50,000 shortage of HGV drivers for so long it has become a bit like the boy who cried ‘wolf’ – but let’s not forget that at the end of that story the wolf did indeed come and eat up all his sheep. The combination of Brexit causing a fall in the value of sterling, and a long overdue push by the tax man to abolish bogus self-employed status for thousands of drivers, has led to an exodus of foreign drivers who no longer see the UK as an attractive place to ply their itinerant trade.

Yes, many of them have decided to stay and join the payroll of the better employers, but they are demanding higher wages to compensate them for the drop in net income resulting from the loss of their previous low tax status. This would seem an ideal opportunity to increase the number of young UK workers coming into the industry as new truck drivers, with the vast army of home delivery van drivers out there offering an ideal pool of potential recruits. But the pandemic meant the DVSA suspended LGV tests and training centres have been unable to conduct truck driver in-cab training. The pipeline of new drivers was already insufficient to meet demand – and then it dried up. It is welcome news that training and testing has now resumed, but what can the industry do to take advantage? The government wants to widen the take-up of apprenticeships to help the UK economic recovery, so why on earth are truck driving apprenticeships in crisis? Transport secretary Grant Schapps needs to get a grip of this – and quickly.

Why block the use of longer vehicles? A Kevin Buck MD Hazcomp

s the rest of Europe innovates and increases transport productivity, while at the same time reducing its environmental impacts by adopting 25.25m 60-tonne vehicles, we in the UK continue to hit administrative ‘road blocks’ to achieving these essential goals put in place by our own civil service. In a letter to me, the stated reason is safety concerns about the vehicles, which while understandable to some degree, is not borne out by available data. There is overwhelming empirical data from millions of kilometres travelled in Europe showing that these concerns do not materialise in the real world. Per kilometre travelled per tonne of freight moved, such vehicles have an improved safety record compared with a standard 44-tonne single trailer or rigid drawbar combination. This is supported among many others by two recent reports from The Centre for Sustainable Road Freight (2020) and the International Transport Forum (2019), both of which receive funding from various governments, which concluded the use of such vehicles was safe with many benefits. After hearing from a reliable DfT source

12 MotorTransport

that they had been instructed by ministers to issue the section 44 permit to Dick Denby, it is unclear why this instruction appears to have been blocked within the civil service. One only has to see the number of European registered vehicles on UK roads to know how competitive we must be in an industry with very low profit margins. It is an injustice and a disservice to the UK haulage industry that this important operational productivity and environmental efficiency initiative continues to be blocked. I shall be writing to transport ministers Grant Shapps MP and Baroness Vere to find out why the sudden change of direction has occurred and to seek their assurance that this won’t be subject to a protracted administrative process which means it never sees the light of day again. I remember when the UK used to innovate and lead the world in engineering – not procrastinate and play catch-up!

The newspaper for transport operators

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Fuel cards

Fuel for thought Fuel cards are nothing new, but the ways in which they can be used are developing, as Simon Jack reports

he main advantages of fuel cards – good prices and control of how diesel is purchased – are well established. But increasingly, operators are also looking to card providers for management reports and the ability to link up with fleet management or telematics systems. However it is used, selection of the right card is vital. According to Paul Holland, MD, UK Fuel, at Fleetcor, which also owns the Keyfuels, Allstar and The Fuel Card Company brands, there are several key differentiators. They include the cost of fuel, the control provided over how much fuel can be issued and where, the convenience in terms of the number of sites taking the card, and what credit terms are available when buying the fuel. “Effectively one or two of those factors will make a significant impact on the decision,” Holland states. The way that the fuel is acquired also varies from operator to operator. Some want to fill up on a pay-asyou-go basis, benefiting from the card provider’s buying power. Other large operators, such as major retailers, may want to buy the fuel themselves and use the card to draw it off at the service station.

ALTERNATIVE FUELS Many believe that as the use of electric, gas and hydrogen vehicles grows, cards will have to cover these newer types of fuel. Shell’s Martin Lustenberger says the company has addressed this by allowing its fuel card to be used in its own Shell Recharge facilities and in the specialist NewMotion charging network. “As more and more fleets work to decarbonise their operations, fuel card providers must cater for this and allow fleets to access infrastructure that can help on this journey,” he comments. Those supplying alternative fuels have a mixed approach to fuel cards. CNG Fuels, for instance, operates a fob-based refuelling system which it controls and, as its customers can only buy fuel from its stations, sees no benefit in fuel cards currently. However, Gasrec believes they could be used more extensively one day. Chief commercial officer James Westcott comments: “Currently, there aren’t any fuel cards in the UK that cover both diesel and gas trucks, but that is something that may change in the future as we see more and more fleets making the transition to gas. “At Gasrec, we have our own fuel card system in place. It’s all about the ease of access to infrastructure and mirroring up the process for customers who are used to refuelling with diesel.” 14 MotorTransport

“You have to be very clear about what you are trying to achieve if you go down the route of buying the fuel yourself, as there are overheads associated with operating that way. But it is largely a case of different approaches suiting different operators,” Holland says. With such an array of choices on offer, UK Fuels – which supplies its own cards as well as branded products from major energy companies – helps operators with the process, as head of marketing Martin Braisby explains: “We have adopted a ‘help me choose’ approach, using qualifying questions to get a detailed steer on the business. That includes what type of vehicle, fuel usage, where they are travelling to and from, as well as whether they prefer to use local fuel stations or branded ones on motorways,” he says. “Effectively, the operators self-select the product to get the most efficient card at the best price.” The system can be used by small operators with one van up to major companies running a fleet of HGVs and may, for example, suggest a card purely for local purchases or one that is valid all over the country – UK Fuels offers a network of 3,340 sites, around 800 of which are suitable for HGVs. Jamie Bridgen, MD of another card provider, The Fuel Store, agrees that operators need to be careful to select a card that exactly suits their needs. “One of the biggest decisions is whether to choose a card based on commercial pricing, when they will know exactly what price they will pay from Monday to Sunday. Others may opt for a card using pump prices, but which has a higher network coverage,” he explains.

Using the data

There is also a great variety in the types of information different operators require. Bridgen says standard reporting is fairly basic, offering lists of transactions and invoices. While this is adequate for some, others want greater analysis of card use over a longer period, helping, for example, to determine the fuel consumption of the fleet. This could involve integration with fleet management systems and telematics, using application programming interface (API) technology, which is designed to allow different IT systems to speak to each other. In some cases such integration is already in place. For example, The Fuel Store has a tie-up with the telematics provider Trakm8. 26.4.21

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Security and control are also vital and the Shell card allows managers to set their own restrictions on spend by day, time, country and network. The data collected from card activity, such as that from fuel purchases and toll payments, can be combined with that of Shell Telematics. “This complete overview of card activity also allows fleet managers to develop further insight and control over expenditure and activity based upon what they are seeing,” Lustenberger says. Where they can, card providers are keen to extend their coverage. Total subsidiary AS24 recently announced the addition of five new sites in the UK and Ireland, including Riggend near Cumbernauld, the Port of Southampton and J26 Truck Stop off the M25.

CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE: (left) The use of fuel cards makes payments easier for drivers and can generate substantial volumes of management data

Member benefits

Fleetcor’s Paul Holland says that companies vary in their approach. “People may want to produce reports in their own way, particularly if they are not using our products exclusively,” he says. “It’s a question of linking up the data and using its power to drive efficiencies.” UK Fuels’ Martin Braisby says that useful information can be gained by all sizes of company. SMEs, for example, can be helped when processing their accounts and can use HMRC-compliant invoicing, while larger firms can use the information to control the operation of their fleet. The data can be fed into other systems including those offered by the company’s parent Radius Payment Solutions, which has its own telematics arm. “The system gives control of transactions, drivers and groups of drivers. There is an immense level of detail available,” Braisby says. Oil companies themselves are an important part of the fuel card market. Martin Lustenberger, head of business development at Shell Fleet Solutions, says that convenience is an essential attribute for a fuel card. “A fuel card provider needs to have a reliable network that covers key transition routes and border passes. Price is certainly another important element and, beyond that, a fuel card that offers additional advantages such as loyalty and volume-based discounts,” he says.

Some organisations offer a fuel card as a benefit of membership, including both Logistics UK and the RHA. Logistics UK’s card is offered in partnership with Fleetcor divisions The Fuel Card Company and Keyfuels. Diesel prices are fixed weekly, with invoices allowing 14 days’ credit. Users can limit each truck’s number of fills, the volumes drawn off, and where and when drivers can use sites. The RHA also offers a fuel card provided by Fleetcor. This includes transaction reports in Excel format and can work in conjunction with operators’ own fuel management software. There are also automatic link-ups with telematics and fleet management IT systems such as Verizon Connect and Masternaut. As well as service stations on major roads, operators have the option to use supermarket facilities if canopy heights allow. However, Fleetcor’s Paul Holland says that while supermarkets often offer low pump prices for diesel, this is not always the most cost-effective solution. “If you go to a motorway fuelling station and use a commercial fuel card, you are going to benefit from paying for it on a wholesale price basis,” he comments. UK Fuels signed an agreement with Sainsbury’s to take its cards in 307 service stations. However, Martin Braisby believes that while this may be suitable for some, many operators of larger vehicles may find physical restrictions at some sites and anyway may want to stick to major roads. “They are more likely to want to use the facilities at a major truck stop such as Lymm on the M6 than to draw down fuel at a supermarket,” he points out. ■

OPERATOR VIEWS Operators opt for fuel cards for many different reasons. Menzies Distribution, for example, uses a Certas Fuel Card to access the UK Fuels network for use across its business, which operates a mixed fleet ranging from vans up to HGVs. The group, made up of the former Menzies Distribution operations including news trade deliveries and the former Bibby Distribution business, now Menzies Distribution Solutions, has a small number of fuel bunkers. However, Adam Purshall, fleet and procurement director, says that there are a number of advantages in using fuel cards in most situations. Fuel is bought after a weekly lag at a fixed price. “There is an advantage in payment terms compared with bunkering when you are buying the fuel in advance. It also gives the driver out on the road flexibility and allows us to change quickly in what is a fast-paced industry,” he says. For this to be possible, it is necessary to use a fuel card partner with sufficient coverage to allow cards to be used if routes alter. “It is critical that the network is big enough to allow diversity of refuelling options to fit in with operational conditions,” he explains. Purshall adds that it is vital to have robust management information that can be integrated into the company’s own reporting tools, and the right security measures in place. “We have a lot of time-critical movements, so reliability of service and the cards working as expected is also critical,” he says. 26.4.21

The cards are already used to support purchases of lubricants and AdBlue and could support decarbonisation, including electric or gas vehicles. Currently, 50 electric vans in the fleet are recharged at base and this is a significant growth area for the business. “We would expect cards to cover that in future as the use of fossil fuels declines,” Purshall comments. This could be part of a more general move towards cleaner fuels (see box opposite). The nature of the business can affect the decision about whether to use fuel cards. Brit European, for example, says it would be difficult to use any other solution and the company has a longstanding relationship with Shell as its provider. Fleet maintenance and optimisation manager Andy Evans says: “The majority of our fleet is based at various locations throughout the country, most of which have leased parking allocations, so it is not possible to have bunkered fuel on the sites.” Ross Mitchell, transport operations director at John Mitchell Haulage & Warehousing, says that price and the availability of refuelling sites are the most important differentiators when it comes to choosing a provider – cards are used to refuel when vehicles are away from its main depot in Grangemouth. “We utilise the BP and Keyfuels systems. We feel that giving our drivers both cards offers greater flexibility as to where they can fuel up out on the road,” Mitchell says. MotorTransport 15

Emissions reduction

n March this year, Mercedes-Benz Trucks, in association with Motor Transport, hosted an industry roundtable to discuss the manufacturer’s decarbonisation strategy for heavy trucks. MT presents the key highlights...

Steve Hobson, editor, Motor Transport: Mercedes-Benz Trucks has pledged to go carbon neutral by 2039, and as part of Daimler, will play a huge role in leading the transformation to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Professor Dr Uwe Baake, Mercedes-Benz Trucks head of product engineering: Our ambition is for all of our new trucks in Europe to be CO2-neutral by 2039 and to do that our plan is to develop battery-powered trucks and hydrogen-fuelled trucks – we see those two technologies as complementary. Our innovation fleet of eActros is already a great success story, and as our customers share their experience with us, we can improve our series. Our Generation One eActros distribution truck has battery capacity of 240kWh, continuous power of 170kW and peak power of 250kW, range at 250km and charging power of 130kW. So what is next? I cannot reveal too much, but the Generation Two official launch is this June. We also plan to have our first eActros Long Haul by 2024. It will have a range of around 500km and a new e-axle with two e-motors of 200kW each, a new HV topology of 800V, which will lead to faster charging capabilities, a payload of 22 tonnes for the 40-tonne truck, and the same lifespan plan as diesel today of 1.2 million km over 10 years. By the beginning of 2024 we will also have an innovation fleet of hydrogen-fuelled trucks on the road, providing the feedback for the final development phase of the series, which we plan to produce in the second half of the decade. Our preference is liquid hydrogen in order to get a range of more than 1,000km. We have chosen hydrogen because it offers a greater range and a higher payload of 25 tonnes and helps us cover the complete portfolio our customers need. Also, unlike our competitors, we are not prepared to use bridging technologies such as gas or hybrids – our ambition is to take the fastest way to carbon neutrality and to do that we need this technology. Hopefully it will be on our roads by 2030. Carl Hanson, Wincanton group asset director: From my perspective, infrastructure is going to be key if we’re to operate these vehicles well. We’ve been operating the 7.5-tonne eCanter. It’s a fabulous piece of kit, with really good reliability. But the challenge we faced was range. The infrastructure just isn’t out there at the moment for a commercial vehicle. That doesn’t work for our business model. We need the range of a normal truck to deliver our operations

Targeting a The Mercedes-Benz eMobility roundtable provided a useful forum for discussion about the most likely routes ahead in truck decarbonisation, writes Steve Hobson Tony Stuart, Hovis head of logistics operations support: The eCanters we have are fantastic vehicles, but the biggest problem we have is the charging equipment and the mileage. Of the 30 routes we run in London, we struggled to find two routes for them because of their range. If that range was to go up 30% to 50% it would make a massive difference. We have, as an industry, set ourselves a fantastic target. But the technology and equipment is going to be complex and the cost is going to be very high. We need more help. There is a massive gap between operators and government. We run our vehicles on HVO [hydrotreated vegetable oil] which we know saves 90% of CO2 compared to diesel, but we get no recognition for that from government or councils. So we do need help and it needs to come top-down from government.

David Winchcombe, DPD UK head of transport: We run our own vehicle maintenance units, so my concern is how would Mercedes-Benz support that going forward? What support will there be in terms of hydrogen fuel cells and for the infrastructure? It will be a costly investment so we have to be sure the hydrogen fuel stations are there. Uwe Baake: As for maintenance, the world in 10 years’ time will not be the world we see today. From our experience in the workshop, we need special training on high voltage and we will need to train all our workshops, the suppliers and the maintenance workshops. And when it comes to hydrogen, it is even more complicated because the technology involves both high-voltage batteries and fuel cells. 16 MotorTransport

Professor Dr Uwe Baake

Paul Gray, Aberdeenshire Council fleet manager: I’m fully supported by local councillors and colleagues in 26.4.21

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carbon-free future Aberdeenshire in the decarbonisation of our fleet. Our decarbonisation timescales are slightly tighter in Scotland than the rest of the UK. So I am pleased to see the innovation and development that Mercedes is bringing forward. We will achieve our targets by using both battery and hydrogen technology. We’re fortunate we have a hydrogen fuel station close by we can tap into. It’s not ours, but it is there. We already run some small hydrogen vehicles, but we operate a vast and varied fleet, from small light commercial vans up to the 32-tonne rigids. Our vehicles operate 24/7 and include HGVs like our gritting fleet. They have to be able to operate in all weathers. They cannot be on charge for five hours. So we need that flexibility that hydrogen will give us. I see a lot of challenges ahead, including infrastructure. As a local authority we will have to decide whether to rely on our own infrastructure or get that through private investment. We also do all our maintenance in-house. So with hydrogen technology, going forward we need to know how to prepare for that. Stuart Skingsley, Ocado head of fleet: As we found out today, the technologies are some way down the road. But as a business we need to do something now. We take the 26.4.21

Carl Hanson

David Winchcombe

view that whatever we can do today, we should do. So the use of HVO and CNG is something we are considering. It’s available today and it’s enabling us to make that transition. But we are certainly interested to see what Mercedes-Benz is doing with electrification and hydrogen moving on. This is a radical change in our history, so we need radical change in legislation. We’ve also got to keep one eye on the cost, because you’ve got to have a viable business. As fleet engineers and operators, when we look at the technology – and we run a lot of 3.5-tonne vans – there is a very limited offering of vehicles available at the moment that can do 100 miles. So that is where self-help comes in – maybe we should be looking at sites nearer to our customers, using what the industry can supply and then developing that as the technology progresses. Then there are the day-to-day issues to consider. What are these things like to crash? What are they like to repair and who maintains them? Wolfgang Theissen, Mercedes-Benz Trucks UK MD: We won’t have thousands of these trucks in the first years. We’re going into this new generation step by step and will learn where to place the first depots and how to maintain these trucks in a high-quality way. ➜ 18 MotorTransport 17

Emissions reduction

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Tony Stuart

Paul Gray

Wolfgang Theissen

Sam Whittaker

18 MotorTransport

Some of our dealers are already on that journey with our eSprinters.

needed, as well as a wider audience so we can travel faster than we’re doing at the moment.

Uwe Baake: As manufacturers, we have to be very flexible and react to new standards as they come and deliver what the customer wants. We also need government support to define legislation and be clear on when they want to be carbon free. And industry needs to act now because I’m sure that the European Commission emission targets will change, so there is a lot to do and we need to do it together. We need input from customers, we have to work with government, and we have to also transform our companies, which is painful. But we have to do it. We do not have another 10 years to prepare.

Tony Stuart: It’s hard to know what the ownership structure of these vehicles will be and whether it will change because we don’t know what the vehicle is going to look like in, say, five years’ time and we won’t know the amount of investment we need to lay out in four or five years’ time, let alone 10 years’ time. But for now, for me, it’s really simple: we’re going to continue to buy the best diesel vehicles available, we’re going to continue to run them on HVO as a holding position, because we know we can save 92% CO2, which puts us a long way down that road.

Carl Hanson: From our perspective, right now, it is too soon to make that transition. We still need diesel as our commercial models and our contracts are still supported by the vehicles that we operate today. The fact that the technology is not yet here, not readily available, and not in the size of vehicle we need, has to be considered. It’s also really important we all learn from each other over the next couple of years, to understand how we’re going to develop these vehicles further and how we can work together to put an infrastructure in place – whether that be lobbying the government, or working among ourselves to deliver that. This is a transition, this is a journey, and it’s not going to be solved within the next two years. But we do need to start it now. We can’t wait for 10 or 20 years, we have to start this journey now. Otherwise, we’ll never get where we need to in the timescales we have. Sam Whittaker, Mercedes-Benz Trucks UK sales director: Looking around the panel today we have a really diverse set of operations. If we can get a panel like this together and discuss all these issues on an ongoing basis, to provide the intelligence our R&D teams need, and to learn from each other’s experiences around charging technologies, hydrogen refuelling technologies, and so on, we can build up this picture-book that we can all use together. That’d be really powerful. Carl Hanson: I think a group like that would also have the ability to lobby and have good solid conversations with government, because that’s what’s going to be

David Winchcombe: We’re all pioneers here and it is important, as Sam said, that we get together and include different parts of the industry such as the people providing the fuel source for these vehicles. I want to talk to the hydrogen people about how we’re going to have that infrastructure. It’s also very important we all work together to lobby government and that we get to test these vehicles in the UK market, because our UK operations are different to Europe. Paul Gray: Costs will be greater on these vehicles, so flagging up to councillors that these vehicles are more expensive will be key for me – and flagging up the need for the infrastructure to support it. We’re providing a service and my responsibility is to make sure that I’m providing vehicles that are fit for purpose. So certainly for the next two years, apart from bringing in small quantities of electric vans which we are able to support with the infrastructure we’ve got, the majority will still be diesel – the best-quality diesel we can buy. I will also be using this time to put it to councillors that we need to plan for the vehicles and start building the infrastructure to support this large-scale switch to zero emissions. Uwe Baake: We are working night and day on this transition and what I get out of this panel meeting is that everyone here is on the same page in wanting to turn this ship around and that is a major transformation process – not only for the industry, but also for our governments and for our environment. ■ 26.4.21

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Interview: Thomas Hemmerich

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The main MAN MAN Truck & Bus MD Thomas Hemmerich has seen the company make a strong recovery in sales figures following the downturn caused by the pandemic. Steve Hobson reports

he UK truck market over 6 tonnes ended 2020 on 32,918 units, 25% down on 2019. This was the biggest fall in truck sales since the credit crunch of 2009, when sales fell 40% to under 35,000 units, the first time in a decade the UK market had dropped below 50,000 units. But 2020 was a game of two halves, with registrations down 51% to 13,000 in H1 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic took hold, before recovering to 20,000 in H2, 15% below 2019 levels. Thomas Hemmerich has been MD of MAN Truck & Bus UK since 2017 after joining the truck builder (part of VW’s Traton Group, which also includes Scania) in 2003. He says the collapse in sales in the first lockdown was a complete shock. “In March and April sales fell off a cliff,” he recalls. “We had to do a new forecast for the rest of the year and to be honest we struggled. The market in 2019 was very strong and in April 2020 we thought it might drop below 30,000, possibly as low as 27,000. But in May and June we saw the first signs of recovery and the second half of 2020 was really good. A total of around 33,000 is higher than we expected and I’m happy to see how resilient the economy has been to this pandemic. Talking to our dealers, the second half of 2020 was one of their best years because all the trucks were running.”

Tariff issues

The last-gasp trade deal at the end of the Brexit transition arrangements on 31 December meant that the lingering threat of UK import tariffs on new trucks and parts pulled forward some orders into Q4 of 2020, helping the bounce back from the pandemic-induced slump. “I think it was a bit of both,” says Hemmerich. “On the one hand there was the economic recovery, and on the other, looking at the spare-parts revenues in the fourth quarter, our dealers ordered a significant amount of spares just to be on the safe side. We stocked up in our central warehouse in Swindon just to be prepared for disruption at the border – which there was. “Luckily it was not too serious, but we still battled with paperwork issues and trailers with spare parts were standing for three or four days. And Northern Ireland is really complicated. It took us four weeks to get it sorted and the customers are extremely unhappy.” 20 MotorTransport

With its direct sales model where all vehicle sales are handled by the importer rather than the dealers, MAN decided to once again build up a pre-Brexit stock of new trucks and vans just in case tariffs were imposed in 2021. This good availability could well have boosted MAN’s strong market share growth last year. “By the end of 2020 we had a significant stock on hand in the UK,” says Hemmerich. “That dissolved rather quickly, but we had good availability of TG2 [the predecessor to the new truck generation launched in February 2020] and TG3. We stopped production of TG2 in September 2020, so we have a good volume of the new truck in the country and that helped. So Brexit was really positive for us. We ended the year with 10.4% of the market, which was very nice growth on the year before which was 9.2%. We are very pleased to be back in doubledigit market share.”

Reputation restored

The TG2 did a lot to restore MAN’s reputation after some reliability issues with early models, and it picked up the MT Fleet Truck of the Year award in 2018. This award isn’t just for the hardware, however, and the panel of fleet operators also wants to see excellent backup and support before casting their votes. Hemmerich got a budget of £20m to be spent between 2017 and 2022, reinforcing MAN’s dealer network and filling any gaps in coverage. “The TG2 performed very well and was perceived highly by the customers,” says Hemmerich. “But it’s not just about the truck, it is about the overall package. In the last four years we have invested heavily in making our aftersales network stronger and restructuring our own organisation to be leaner and faster. The key focus for me is that you can have the best product, but that is no use if your support structure is not extremely strong.” In January, MAN took the opportunity to acquire its franchised dealer HRVS, which has five aftersales workshops in the Midlands, when owner Robert Lockwood decided to sell the multi-award winning group after 17 years. “We have a plan to reinforce our structure, especially in the hotspots of the CV industry,” explains Hemmerich. “We started looking for opportunities to increase the footprint of our own retail network and fortunately Robert 26.4.21

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informed us he was interested in selling. Those dealerships are at the heartbeat of the British CV industry, so it was a nice coincidence and we are very pleased to have those strategic locations on board.” With HRVS, the retail network is now made up of 23 MAN-owned and 50 private capital dealerships. While predictions for the uncertain year ahead are difficult, MAN has continued its good sales performance into the early part of 2021. “January was strong and we were above our forecasts in both sales and aftersales,” says Hemmerich. “Our current forecast for the UK market is 35,000 units, which is 10% up on last year. Currently all wheels are turning and our workshops are completely rammed, so we do not know where we will get the extra technicians.”

Maintenance benefits

While electric vehicles still make up a tiny percentage of the 400,000 trucks and four million vans on UK roads, as their numbers grow the R&M work required will gradually diminish, as battery electric drivelines require much less routine maintenance than internal combustion engines. “Everyone will have to change their business model over the next 15 to 20 years,” acknowledges Hemmerich. “We already have a couple of full-electric products available in the UK. We took a nice order for 100 eTGE vans from DPD last year and the majority are out there running well. Because DPD has depots all over the UK, we took the opportunity to enable all our dealers to get ready for e-mobility. We trained the technicians for this order and provided them with the special tools and clean areas. So we are ready to service and maintain fully electric vans.” While electric trucks will still require regular maintenance inspections, one thing is already clear – EVs consume far fewer spare parts than diesel vehicles. “The electric vans just run without missing a beat and there are no oil changes, etc,” says Hemmerich. “We have had a fleet of nine eTGM electric trucks in Austria since 2018 and in three years there has not been a lot to do. They don’t need oil changes or clutches and you don’t even really need to change brake pads any more because when you lift your foot from the accelerator the e-driveline brakes for itself. The biggest problem is that the brake pads get too hard rather than wearing out.” Truck makers now face a variety of mandatory and voluntary CO2 reduction targets, but the first two – to reduce emissions from trucks over 16 tonnes by 15% in 2025 and by 30% in 2030 based on a 2020 benchmark – have been set by the EU and failure will be punished with swingeing fines. “The penalties are huge so it is not an option to not meet the 15%,” says Hemmerich. “Our R&D within Traton, which includes Scania where we jointly develop

future alternative drivelines, is working full throttle and rest assured by 1 January 2025 we will have those drivelines available and we will achieve the 15%.” The Vecto software used to calculate this theoretical 15% cut does give extra credits for trucks running on natural gas, and Scania is selling significant numbers of gas trucks. While MAN has lots of experience with gas buses, it decided not to launch a gas truck. “We had long discussions and decided to focus on e-mobility,” explains Hemmerich. “The reason is that there is no gas infrastructure available right now. The advantage for buses is that they have their own fuel station in the depots, so they refuel there every night. It is an interesting alternative, but has its challenges.” Traton is already working on a successor to the e-driveline currently on the road in the eTGM and this will be ready in mid-2024. “I expect that in urban applications such as refuse trucks we will see quite a high number of electric trucks running,” says Hemmerich. “On long haul? Not really, because the range and charging infrastructure are not there yet.” While MAN and Scania are sharing R&D on e-drivelines, Hemmerich insists the two brands will be differentiated by more than just the cab design. “There will be lots of similarities, but the characteristic of the driveline will always remain MAN or Scania,” he says. “Traton shares the VW philosophy of sharing basic engine technology across the group to develop them in time and have the best drivelines available.” While Hemmerich expects urban distribution to go electric fairly quickly, he foresees diesel being the main motive power for long-haul transport for “the next 10 to 15 years”, as neither the cost nor range of battery electric vehicles will be competitive.

PLANNING AHEAD: Thomas Hemmerich says MAN will be investing heavily to bring electic vehicles to the market

Zero-emission roadmap

The major European truck makers have, however, all signed a pledge to eliminate fossil fuel engines from their ranges by 2040, and last year MAN launched its zero-emission roadmap that set out its plans to test hydrogen vehicles using both fuel cells and combustion engines this year, before putting them on the road with customers in 2023 or 2024 as part of a Bavarian hydrogen demonstration project. Hemmerich says: “Our global factory for diesel engines is in Nuremburg and this is where we have established our Hydrogen Campus, supported by the university in Nuremberg and the Bavarian government. We think the hydrogen combustion engine might be the bridging technology and in the next step the fuel cell might replace it because with this technology you can get ranges up to 800km. We are also working on the whole lifecycle of hydrogen from production, the distribution infrastructure, and converting the hydrogen back into electricity.” 

HYDROGEN PROJECT WILL REQUIRE COLLABORATION AS WELL AS COMPETITION MAN’s Nuremburg hydrogen project is a partnership cooperation between MAN Truck & Bus, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), and Nuremberg Tech (THN), and Hemmerich questions whether any single OEM could find the resources needed to make the massive transition from diesel to electric. “Being under the umbrella of VW is a huge relief because of the enormous costs,” he says. “I wonder if a single commercial vehicle producer will be able to cope with the cost. Traton is also in talks with Hino about a partnership to support these developments.” While hydrogen is gaining ground among those looking for a low-carbon

26.4.21

driveline for long-distance heavy trucks, sceptics, including the influential Professor David Cebon of Cambridge University, argue that using renewable electricity to make hydrogen to power trucks is a very wasteful process that is far less efficient than putting electrical energy directly into batteries. Hydrogen is also a much more difficult gas to work with than methane, requiring high-pressure tanks and delivering less energy per kilogram. “A couple a years ago I had very similar concerns because the production, storage and refuelling of hydrogen engines is extremely challenging,” agrees Hemmerich. “But the technology has developed and there will be solutions for

hydrogen production. I think the battery capacity for full electric trucks or vans is the biggest challenge and this will just be a bridging technology. “The raw materials you need for the production of batteries is a very limited resource and the recycling of those batteries is a huge challenge. Using hydrogen to get an electric motor running gives you the range and minimises the payload problems with batteries. So I have changed my opinion and I do not think battery electric trucks will push out hydrogen. Maybe in 10 years it will be different, but on current knowledge hydrogen is the only way to get a longrange electric vehicle.” MotorTransport 21

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MT Awards 2020 winner profile Training Award

Gaining in training A

A renewed focus on training all of its drivers whatever their employment status has paid off in several important ways for Fowler Welch

ction was needed to address an increase in collision rates at Fowler Welch – and its thorough response resulted in it winning a well-deserved MT Training Award. With the rising number of collisions, damage costs had also escalated, while minor infringement levels had increased and the company felt fuel consumption could be improved. In response, the firm increased its focus on its people, fleet strategy and technology. This led to an investment in both the size and scope of its driver development team; an overhaul of its replacement programme and procurement strategy; and an upgrade of its telematics. Fowler Welch employs around 650 drivers across its sites and says various factors caused the rise in collisions back in 2018, mainly during slow speed manoeuvring. It does not attribute the historic issues solely to its use of agency drivers, but recognised the need to give that temporary resource pool the same level of training as employed drivers. “We started by introducing targeted safety campaigns

MORE THAN JUST TICKING THE COMPLIANCE BOX While completing 35 hours’ approved Driver CPC (DCPC) training every five years is a legal requirement, Fowler Welch makes sure that it gets best value from its mandatory training, which is still taking place face to face in line with the temporary government safe working guidelines. “We deliver all DCPC in classrooms currently, with reduced numbers of course,” says Kerrigan. “We did register for online and have used that option a couple of times through the lockdown periods, but we felt the experience was very impersonal for both the drivers and the trainer. “We use the DCPC as a training tool and ensure that as well as delivering the statutory aspects, we also focus on key risk areas and business/industry priorities and issues. We have invested in upskilling all of our driver trainers to ensure they can deliver the modules confidently and that they interact with the drivers to ensure all parties get value from it. Because we focus on driver safety and new legislation, all drivers, however experienced, can learn something new and benefit from the sessions, and the feedback we get is really positive.” The company makes its in-house DCPC training available to its regular agency drivers as it believes the training helps improve the standard of driving by all and generates a payback on the time invested. “We make it available to our temporary colleagues as well, due to wanting to deliver the same message to all drivers that use our vehicles on the road,” says Kerrigan. “If all those who drive for Fowler Welch, regardless of their employment status, are driving the right vehicles in the right way, that is all we can ask of them. I am confident that this message and culture will ensure less collisions, less damage, improved performance and a more engaged workforce.” 24 MotorTransport

to focus on the main root causes,” says John Kerrigan, CEO. “Sadly, going back a few years we also had a couple of more serious collisions, which, in addition to the high volume of smaller incidents, triggered our recognition of the need to introduce a step-change in our approach. “We will always want and need a percentage of temporary resource to cope with our volatile volumes and we do not see this as a negative, as long as we spend time on the induction and onboarding of these drivers.” It is also growing its driver workforce by training up more inexperienced drivers, most of whom are far more receptive and loyal to the company as a result. “We have previously managed a successful internal warehouse-to-wheels scheme and in more recent years a really successful apprenticeship scheme,” says Kerrigan. “We do also employ newly qualified drivers and put them through a bespoke intensive training programme during their first month or so of employment. “In this period, they are supported by our trainers and will partner up with our more experienced drivers in an onboarding process before going out alone. In our opinion, these freshly trained drivers with a positive appetite for a future career are a low risk if managed well at the start of their journey, and are vital for the industry going forward.” Individual, targeted training replaced a one-size-fits-all approach and encompassed in-house Driver CPC courses (see box, left), user-specific post collision training, targeted remedial training and one-to-one practical training, all supplemented with safety campaigns and roadshows. Fowler Welch employs permanent driver trainers, who cover all the sites 24/7 and are supported as needed by driver assessors, whose core role is driving when not supporting the Driver Development team.

Measuring success

In the month following the first targeted safety campaign, the firm saw a 28% reduction in collisions year-on-year and a drop in average monthly spend of almost £21,000; year-on-year reduction in spend exceeded £416,000 when the full-year benefits were measured. As modern trucks get fitted with more and more driver safety aids, is there a danger that drivers get complacent and lose concentration? “As part of our training, we encourage drivers to use these aids when appropriate, but stress that ultimately they are in control of the vehicle and there are occasions when they should not use some of them, for example on icy roads or in poor visibility,” says Kerrigan. “We use outward facing cameras and these have helped in identifying causes of collisions and corrective training. Even when our drivers have not been at fault, it has helped to identify if we could have done anything different to avoid the collision. These aids and tools are used to support and educate, not to punish.” Fowler Welch, which is in the DVSA’s Earned 26.4.21

Motor Transport 26 April 2021

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