HPH adds fuel efficient trucks to fleet

Haulier HPH has added four Mercedes-Benz tractor units to its fleet after the manufacturer came out a clear winner in a fuel efficiency test.

The Preston firm put its current tractor units up against a Mercedes-Benz trucks Actros Fuel Challenge and a vehicle by a third manufacturer.

After the Mercedes-Benz came out the clear winner, HPH has now added four Actros 2545 tractor units to its 60-strong fleet. They arrived via the Blackburn branch of Dealer Ciceley Commercials and have been hailed as “absolutely fantastic” by its drivers.

HPH picked a real-life, day and night application as the battleground for its month-long, three-way fuel fight. Its new Actros have now been assigned to the same operation, which entails hauling tissue products between Cumbria, Lancashire and North Wales.

Following HPH’s typical truck use pattern they will stay on this high-mileage job for a year, during which each will rack up some 250,000km, then switch to less intensive, single-shift general work.

The Actros are the subject of a CharterWay contract hire agreement which includes tyres, from Mercedes-Benz Financial Services.

General manager Steve Sugden said: “We’d been running trucks by the same manufacturer for some years but felt the time was now right to take a look at what the competition can offer. Having also seen and heard a number of reports about other operators making significant fuel savings with the Actros, we were particularly keen to see what the Mercedes-Benz truck could do.

“While I prefer not to quote specific figures, it’s fair to say that Ciceley’s Actros demonstrator performed exceptionally well, its mpg returns putting it ahead of the competition by a clear margin.”

He continued: “Other factors were important too, of course. The price had to be right and we wanted our drivers to be happy, while we also demand very high standards of support. Ciceley’s after sales performance will be measured carefully over the coming months and years, but we’ve been given all the right assurances and are confident that we’ve made the correct choice.”

HPH began trading as H Parkinson Haulage more than 60 years ago, and has served clients in the paper industry almost since its inception. Today, it offers transport and warehousing services to a range of sectors and is proud of its commitment to minimise impact on the environment by constant efforts to reduce consumption of fuel, water, energy and materials. The company also runs a fully equipped truck workshop with two dedicated DVSA Authorised Testing Facility (ATF) lanes. The Mercedes-Benz Fuel Challenger programme invites operators to put an Actros to work on their fleet, then compare its diesel consumption with the best of their own vehicles. The truck bearing the three-pointed star has won 90 per cent of the 310 Fuel Challenges completed since the first took place in 2014, achieving average fuel savings of 7.5 per cent.