Twelve months after commissioning its first four-axled Mercedes-Benz Arocs Triple, agricultural supplies business Wynnstay is now running a second, identical vehicle.
Its factory-built 8×4 Arocs 3240 ENAs feature single front steer axles, double-drive bogies and – crucially – trailing and lifting rear-steer axles, which make them exceptionally manoeuvrable compared to a standard 32-tonne eight-wheeler.
Zak Edwards, Logistics Manager at Wynnstay Group plc, confirmed: “This configuration is ideally suited to an operation that involves delivering bulk animal feed to farms across North and Mid-Wales, because access to some of these locations can be very restricted.
“The Arocs Triple offers the payload capacity of a 32-tonner, but has a significantly tighter turning circle that allows it to get in and out of places for which we’d previously have had to use a 26-tonner.
“The result, of course, is increased productivity and reduced cost – these eight-wheeled Arocs will carry 18.5 tonnes of feed, as opposed to the 15 tonnes or thereabouts that we’d get on a six-wheeler, and that additional 3.0-3.5 tonnes equates to an extra delivery per trip.”
Both vehicles operate from the Wynnstay Group’s headquarters in Llansantffraid, Powys; the latest arrived via the Wellingborough, Northamptonshire branch of Dealer Intercounty Truck & Van. Both have ClassicSpace cabs and 290 kW (400 hp) straight-six engines which drive through 12-speed Mercedes PowerShift automated transmissions, as well as uprated 9.0-tonne front axles.
Their all-aluminium, bulk blower bodies, meanwhile, are by specialist manufacturer Priden Engineering, of Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, and feature multiple compartments as well as augers for ensuring that these are completely emptied during deliveries.
“The Arocs is a very modern, cost-effective vehicle, and has definitely put Mercedes-Benz one step ahead of the competition,” continued Mr Edwards, who attended a German launch event for the Euro VI construction range in 2013.
“These Mercedes-Benz Triples are every bit as well built as you’d expect of a vehicle bearing the three-pointed star. The first has been bullet-proof – you would normally expect the odd niggle from a new truck but in 12 months of operation it hasn’t missed a beat.
“Our drivers are also very happy with their trucks, which is hardly surprising given that the Arocs handles so well and offers everything they need, including a comfortable, air-conditioned cab.”
Wynnstay maintains the vehicles in its own workshop, which was recently the subject of a major upgrade that included the installation of a test bay equipped to DVSA standards, with a 25-metre pit, brake tester, shaker plates and headlight beam adjustor.
Founded in 1917 by a group of tenant farmers, the Wynnstay Group manufactures and supplies agricultural products to farmers and the wider rural community in Wales, the Welsh borders, the Midlands, Lancashire and Yorkshire. The Group operates two core divisions, Agriculture and Specialist Retail, the latter including a country stores business and dedicated pet product stores.
www.wynnstay.co.uk
