Trucks
Supplied by Steve Askew, Transport Solutions Executive at Volvo Truck and Bus Centre London, the Euro-6 Volvo FMX 420hp 8x4 tippers with I-Shift automated transmission systems are replacements for the company's existing Euro-5 vehicles.
Owner Jim O'Doherty says he has relied on Volvos ever since he was an owner-driver in the 1980s and they now represent the vast majority of his total fleet. The new tippers, with Day cabs and Thompson Loadmaster bodies, join an existing fleet of tippers, grabs, roll-on-offs, skip loaders and tractor units. In order to maintain the strict requirements needed for their FORS Gold accreditation, the FMX tippers have been specified with extra windows, cameras and all the relevant mirrors to keep both drivers and pedestrians safe.
The Volvo FMXs also come with extended warranties, but J. O'Doherty Haulage Ltd. intends to do all the maintenance in-house.
As Jim says, "We are 99% Volvo. Our local dealerpoint in Enfield, part of Volvo Truck and Bus Centre London, is only half a mile from us and we've always worked with them. We get good service and good residual values too."
Jim continues, "We do construction, demolition and muckaway work and that's what these new vehicles will be used for. They'll be off-road quite a bit and so it will be interesting to see how the I-Shift gearbox performs. We've got 60 drivers and they like them. The drivers of some of the other makes wanted to go in the new Volvos, so that must tell you something. I chose them for the best service and their reliability."
Family-run J. O'Doherty Haulage Ltd. specialises in the construction and demolition sectors and services contracts all around the country from its two depots in London.