As an inner-city operator, LondonEnergy taking the safety of pedestrians into account is an overriding concern.  These safety concerns were at the forefront of the decision to change their preferred manufacturer from Mercedes to Volvo when the company bought nine 8×2 hookloaders to upgrade their complete hookloader fleet.

LondonEnergy Fleet - New Volvo FM 8x2 Hookloaders2
LondonEnergy Fleet – New Volvo FM 8×2 Hookloaders

The Volvo FM Specification – Built for Safety

Nothing special about the specification of the trucks.  They all use Volvo’s 11-litre engine with 430hp available, but the customer has specified each vehicle for maximum safety.  This means a four-way recordable camera system linked to a dashboard-mounted monitor, Halo Cycle Minder sensors with audible left-turn alerts, an auxiliary lower window in the passenger door to give the driver a clear view of other road users and LED strobes and beacons for maximum visibility.

The FMs also feature Volvo’s radar-based adaptive cruise control with forward collision warning system, which can be activated by the driver and will maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front by controlling the accelerator and all available brakes. In the event of heavy braking, the FMs brake lights also flash rapidly to alert road users behind, helping to avoid rear-end collisions.

All vehicles come equipped with Volvo’s Dynafleet telematics system, which enables the exact location and status of each truck to be tracked 24/7, for security and efficiency. The Dynafleet system also analyses both vehicle and driver performance data to recommend ways to reduce fuel usage and emissions.

Local Dealer Supply

Supplied Volvo Truck and Bus Centre London, the Volvo FM hookloader fleet will be used to service LondonEnergy’s re-use and recycling centres, transporting waste products for processing at its flagship EcoPark facility in Edmonton.

Katie Blowes, Transport and Logistics Manager at LondonEnergy, says:

“This order marks our return to Volvo after several years running hook-loaders from another manufacturer. We considered our options carefully, but Volvo won our business based on the suitability of the FM for our inner-city operations, its impressive build quality and the great aftersales support available from our local dealer.

“The new fleet marks a big step forward for us in improving safety and our environmental impact, both of which play an important part in our business strategy. We aim to achieve Earned Status Recognition with the DVLA and FORS Gold Standard to show the high quality of our operation.”

R&M Agreement

The new trucks, which feature Boughton Engineering bodywork, will be on the road seven-days-a-week, covering up to 200,000 km per annum between them.

The trucks have been supplied with a Volvo Gold Contract which promises 100 per cent uptime and covers all preventive maintenance and truck repairs within the Volvo Trucks dealer network. All routine maintenance will take place at Volvo Truck and Bus Centre Enfield, situated less than four miles from the customer’s base.

Katie continues: “Our drivers were really pleased when we announced the deal with Volvo. There was a definite sense of excitement around the new trucks arriving and they’ve been eager to get them out on the road!”