Independents and hire firms among eCollect customers

NEW 4X2 ECOLLECT TARGETS

URBAN AIR QUALITY

The people who have worked on this project recently are (L-R), Alex Eddleston (Test Engineer), Joely Side (current Product Engineer), Ben Greenhow (Apprentice Engineer), Oliver Cole (Design Engineer), Dan Birch (Apprentice Engineer) and George Avery (Electrical Engineer).

The second configuration of the eCollect – an 18-tonne 4x2 all-electric RCV – has been launched.

It has been developed to meet urgent demand for a zero-emissions RCV to operate in urban areas with restricted access. These rounds are often in locations suffering from poor air quality.

The 4x2 is a smaller version of the multi-award-winning original 6x2 eCollect. Like its big brother, it has a Narrow Track chassis to provide outstanding manoeuvrability, but its smaller footprint allows it access to the tightest locations. Its 10m3 body is also still capable of carrying the same payload.

Being smaller, the vehicle needs less power and is fitted with three battery packs instead of five. These are carefully balanced to optimise its load, with one centre pack and one pack on each side.

Together, they provide it with 180kWh of power, comfortably enough for a full day’s work on a typical double-shift. It still has the same 200kW electric drive as the original eCollect.

The cab is also the same, with plenty of room for the driver and up to three crew. Bin lift options come from either our ever-popular Beta bin lift or the market-leading Terberg ‘Omni’ automatic split-lift range.

But while the charging system is the same as the 6x2 eCollect, with only three battery packs, it is quicker to charge, typically taking just 3.5 hours to reach 100% after starting with around 15% residual charge.

Design Engineer Oliver Cole led the development project for the Chassis Design team. They began the project in July 2020 and two development vehicles were built in June 2021:

“The key was to change as little as possible – it’s essentially the same vehicle as the original 6x2 but with a smaller footprint,” said Oliver.

The main thing that changed was we had fewer batteries packaged on a shorter wheelbase.

“But like the original eCollect, the 4x2 had to be put through a whole suite of tests and homologation, which always takes time. It involves several different teams – the electrical team, the test team, production engineering and others.”

The first 4x2 eCollect was trialled in Kensington and Chelsea, where it successfully worked on a variety of rounds earlier this spring. It routinely returned to the depot after a double shift with 30-35% of its charge remaining.

The nature of the trial rounds meant it travelled around 35 miles a day, but that will be typical of the urban rounds the 4x2 eCollect will be used on and there was plenty of charge left to do more if needed.

Alongside air pollution, carbon savings are the key benefit of introducing eRCVs. Switching to the eCollect 4x2 will typically save between 20 and 30 tonnes of carbon emissions each year – depending on how operators use it – which not only helps fight climate change but also reduces operational costs.

The 4x2 model was chosen because many of the places in which a vehicle of this size will operate have air quality issues. These remain a priority for many customers and consequently, the first orders for the new eRCV have already been received.

“It was a significant project for customers who have urgent issues regarding air quality and climate change. But it has clearly been a success,” added Oliver.

“The first 4x2 went into production this summer and of course, we’ve already moved on to developing the next iteration of the eCollect.”

Independent operator Bywaters starts electric fleet

Leading independent waste management company Bywaters has put its first eCollect to work in Central London.

The vehicle is the first eRCV the family-owned business has purchased as it bids to establish an all-electric fleet of refuse collection vehicles.

The eCollect is being charged at its Lea Riverside materials recovery facility in Bow, East London where electricity is generated by 4,000 rooftop solar panels. It is the largest retro-fitted photo-voltaic (PV) installation in the whole of London and reflects the company’s plans to provide the most sustainable waste management service in the UK and become carbon-neutral by 2030. Before buying the eRCV, the company trialled the eCollect on different rounds to test its functionality and battery life, and ensure it would only have a positive impact on the services they provided.

Bywaters’ Head of Logistics James Carlisle said: “This is just the first step on the road to establishing a 100% electric fleet. It is not only the right thing to do but will also win us customers and help us retain existing customers.

We’ve had a very good relationship with Dennis Eagle for years and after the trials, this vehicle was an obvious choice for us. It’s currently operating on an eight-and-a-half-hour shift and only using up 32% of the battery power.”

Orders placed for first 4x2s

The first orders have already been placed for the new 4x2 eCollect by operators around the UK.

Essex-based municipal vehicle hire specialist Fiveways has ordered a 4x2 eCollect with an OmniDEL lift for its operations in ultra-low emissions zones in the London Boroughs.

Nottingham City Council has ordered three 4x2 eCollects to join the 6x2s it already operates. They will feature a mixture of Terberg OmniDEKA and OmniTRADE bin lifts and will also be fitted with our own Safety Solutions 5 Camera System providing 360° vision.

And Veolia has ordered seven of the 4x2 all-electric RCVs for its London Borough of Kingston operation. Each will be fitted with a Terberg OmniDEL bin lift.

Birmingham trials its first eCollect

The UK’s largest local authority – Birmingham City Council – trialled its first eCollect earlier this summer.

It successfully operated in the city’s Clean Air Zone for three weeks in July and August, collecting waste and recycling material from the city centre.

Not only did it operate with zero emissions, it didn’t incur a charge for entering the city’s Clean Air Zone which was introduced by the council with a strict ruling that its own vehicles would not be exempt.

Managing Director of Commercial Lending, Dave Newcombe.

Leading hire company SFS introduces our eRCV

Three new eCollects, which will soon be powered by renewable energy, have started working in Exeter to help the city become carbon neutral by 2030.

The vehicles were introduced by Exeter City Council’s fleet partner SFS as part of a seven-year fleet agreement and started work on July 1.

The Northampton-based contract hire and leasing specialist is part of the Paragon Banking Group, whose Managing Director of Commercial Lending, Dave Newcombe, went to see the eCollects in place.

He said: “As a supporter of the government’s ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, I’m delighted that Paragon and SFS are able to support Exeter City Council’s goals to decarbonise their refuse fleet.”

The decision to introduce the all-electric RCVs followed a successful trial of the eCollect in Exeter last year.

SFS Managing Director Bob Sweetland, said: “The decarbonisation of Exeter’s RCVs is an important step.

We are confident that the benefits of the new fleet will be appreciated by both crews and residents. It provides an excellent real-world example to other local authorities of what is now possible and how it can be achieved.”

To further reduce the council’s impact on climate change, the new electric fleet will eventually be powered by the Water Lane Solar Park in Exeter which, at the time of going to press, was expected to go live this month (September).

WEATHERING THE STORM

How Dennis Eagle navigated the way through unprecedented change.

First there was Brexit, followed by the pandemic, then the microchip crisis and finally Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the global economic chaos it’s caused.

Any one of these could present a career-defining challenge to a purchasing professional but incredibly, they came along one after another in the space of around five years.

For Paul Marvin and his team, getting through each of them was crucial. It kept our factories working and our customers operating. It required good judgement, sheer grit and determination and occasionally, a bit of luck.

“I’ve never experienced anything remotely like it and I’m not sure if it’s changed me as a person,” says Paul, our

Head of Purchasing and Supply Chain.

“It really all started after the Brexit referendum. We had a lot to learn… new processes and laws … and there were obviously going to be supply chain issues, though it wasn’t clear what they’d be.

So, we set about buying stock we thought may be difficult to source – especially the high value stuff, like engines. And we got a warehouse just around the corner from our headquarters in Warwick to keep it in.”

Of course, nobody could have realised how fortuitous that move would turn out to be. Thanks to the company’s foresight over Brexit, we were better placed than many to cope. The challenges, however, remained huge. “We’d just about got on top of it all when Covid came along. France and Spain pretty much closed down overnight, so many materials were quickly running short,” explains Paul.

“There were some very long days and nights worked back then. People spent hours on the phone, finding supplies and sitting on them until we got them.

You had to be able to trust people – not just to do their normal job but to go above and beyond while coping with the complications of working from home. And they did.

We also had to source PPE. While others were struggling to get it, we somehow managed. In the end, we got production back up in five weeks.

It required a very flexible approach from our manufacturing colleagues. It’s testament to just how good the teams in Blackpool and Warwick are, but Dennis Eagle seems to be a company where flexibility is normal.

Somehow, we kept manufacturing going throughout 2020 while the supply chains were still reeling – even though we recorded close to a record output.

Paul Marvin – Purchasing Manager and Stacey Irvine – Supply Chain Manager - Purchasing.

Then, just as we thought we would get back to some sort of normality, the microchip issue hit home. It was more difficult than ever but the Purchasing team negotiated brilliantly and again, we kept production going.”

He continues: “I suppose we should have known better but coming into 2022, we thought we could see a period of calm and stability ahead. Then Russia invaded Ukraine and turned the global economy on its head again. The impact has been profound: steel is up from £550 to £1,500 per tonne and energy costs have gone through the roof.

Throughout all this, we’ve been dealing with production for the new venture in the USA. We started on that four or five years ago, sending people over to set the supply chains up, establish accounts, provide credit checks. It was a lot of work and a lot of the businesses we were dealing with took a lot of convincing.

We’re currently managing it all from Warwick with different working hours to cope with the time difference – and that’s all fine. But the volume of vehicles we’re producing has grown exponentially. It actually feels great to be challenged for a positive reason once again!”

Our Supply Chain team had a few personnel changes to cope with following Covid. After 10 years with the company, Sally Warren retired six months into lockdown. Supply Chain Manager Helen Bricknell, who had been a tower of strength throughout, retired in May 2022 after 22 years – but not before training Stacey Irvine as her successor. The transition has been seamless.

At the end of this rollercoaster ride, the Purchasing teams are finally returning to some sort of normality and mapping out precisely what that means so we can keep prices stable and reliable.

And although Paul is emerging from five years of chaos, he will be glad to take some of the lessons that have been learned with him.

“There are two invaluable things that I’ve taken from all this,” he says.

“First, the value of the team – it is so important. It was the key to getting through those major challenges. And second, trust is vital – you get it back ten-fold.”