Outstanding after sales support from local dealer Pentagon Commercials convinced award-winning transport and inland logistics specialist Pentalver to invest in a new fleet of Mercedes-Benz tractor units.
The high-profile operator - winner in November with JEVIC and AUTOHUB New Zealand of the Supply Chain Partnership prize at the Global Freight Awards - has traditionally run trucks by another manufacturer from its Southampton dockside headquarters.
But it put four Mercedes-Benz Actros tractors on the road last April, with the intention of testing the back-up from Pentagon's workshop on the nearby Nursling Industrial Estate.
The dealer's service team came through with flying colours, which explains why Pentalver entered 2013 with a fleet of 24 New Actros 2545s BigSpace units.
Each required a 15-hour pre-delivery inspection and a team of Pentagon technicians worked through two Saturday afternoons and three consecutive Sundays to meet the tight deadline and present the customer's new trucks, ready to work, on 1st January.
"We were delighted with the rapid turnaround," confirms Dan Withers, Pentalver's Head of Procurement & Process Excellence. "It was just another example of the excellent service that we've received from Pentagon. The dealer is highly professional from both the sales and after sales perspectives, proactive yet at the same time very responsive.
"The drivers have certainly taken to their New Actros while the trucks are already doing well in terms of their fuel returns, particularly on some of our heavier runs. And they're still brand new, of course, so the mpg figures will only get better as they 'bed in'."
Pentalver Transport Manager Russell Baker adds: "Pentagon have given us 100 per cent. Depot Manager Simon Jeffery and his colleagues communicate very well with the planners in our transport office, and provide a collection and delivery service when the vehicles are due for inspection or maintenance.
"Previously, we had to take the truck to the workshop ourselves, then return the next morning to collect it, so Pentagon's c&d service is saving us hassle and cost.
"Not once have they failed to arrive on time, and the trucks are always returned in a very clean condition. We used to get complaints from the drivers about grease left on steps or grab rails but not any more - since we moved to Pentagon these niggles have become a thing of the past."
Pentalver commenced trading in 1980 with 16 trucks. Today, the Pentalver Group employs approximately 700 people and operates a fleet of more than 200 tractor units - as well as Southampton, the company operates from a 30-acre container facility at Cannock which was purpose-built in 2007, and other depots in Felixstowe and Tilbury.
An established supplier of container-based solutions to many of the major shipping lines and freight forwarders, as well as the UK Government and Ministry of Defence, and numerous other 'blue chip' organisations, the company placed its first major order for Mercedes-Benz trucks in 2011, when Pentagon supplied a fleet of 30 Axor tractor units for operation from Cannock.
In addition to road transport, Pentalver has extensive interests in container sales, leasing and conversions, loaded and empty container storage and repairs, refrigeration services and cargo handling.