MHW Magazine News and stories from the Materials Handling Industry
July 1999 was the first time that Isuzu Truck supplied a vehicle to the fleet of national equipment hire company A-Plant. With the passing of July 2009 a decade later, A-Plant has now taken delivery of its 150th Isuzu as the marque has become the mainstay of the company’s 7.5 tonne fleet.
Back in 1999, A-Plant had a total vehicle fleet of 500 vehicles. This figure has now more than doubled during this 10-year period to over 1100 vehicles, with Isuzu’s representation growing from zero to 150 trucks.
"A-Plant has been an integral part of the Isuzu success story over the past decade, with both companies growing significantly during that period. As one of the earliest customers to invest in Isuzu trucks, when we were little-known for commercial vehicles in the UK, A-Plant has been a shining example for us. They have proven the versatility and reliable performance of our products that are the hallmark of the Isuzu truck brand," said Keith Child, Marketing Director at Isuzu Truck (UK) Limited.
A-Plant cites the whole package offered by Isuzu as being the principle reason behind the popularity of the trucks at the national hire company, which has its head office in Warrington, Cheshire.
According to Shaun Winstanley, Director of Transport Services at A-Plant, "From the day we receive delivery of a new vehicle from Isuzu, the service we get is second to none. The organisation is totally customer-focused with an after sales service that is the envy of its competitors. The fact that we’ve taken 150 Isuzu trucks in the last 10 years is a testament not only to the product’s superb on-the-road performance, in terms of reliability and payload, but also to the amazing support we receive from both the manufacturer and dealer on a consistent basis."
So far this year A-Plant has taken delivery of 20 new Isuzu ‘Forward’ N75.190 7.5 tonne trucks all specified with the popular ‘Easyshift’ transmission and supplied by local Isuzu dealer – Warrington Vehicle Centre.
"The latest Forward range continues the proven Isuzu tradition of manufacturing trouble-free vehicles. We experienced a very smooth transition when the new truck range was introduced into our fleet for the first time and any issues were few and far between," said Shaun Winstanley.
The new trucks feature a variety of body types including LWB Beavertails, LWB Dropsides with Palfinger forward mounted cranes, SWB Loo tankers. MWB lightweight Beavertails and LWB Flatbeds with tail lifts for transporting specialist portable toilets.
"The service we get from our local dealer, Warrington Vehicle Centre, completely mirrors the whole Isuzu approach as they too are totally customer driven. As part of the vehicle specification programme, we work closely with Isuzu, the local dealer and the bodybuilders. All of our vehicles feature a range of specialist auxiliary equipment including tracking, on-board weighing, hands-free mobile kits, reversing cameras and removable side posts. On delivery of each vehicle, Warrington Vehicle Centre’s staff always carry out a full vehicle handover. They’ll spending a considerable amount of time with each driver to ensure that they fully understand the vehicle and its auxilliary controls," comments Shaun Winstanley.
A-Plant offers a vast range of plant, tools and specialist equipment to hire and is now firmly established as one the world’s largest ‘non-operated’ equipment rental companies. In the UK A-Plant employs a workforce totalling more than 2000 at strategically based locations nationwide and is listed as one of the FTSE-250 companies under Ashtead Group plc.
