MHW Magazine News and stories from the Materials Handling Industry
The largest privately-owned haulier in the busy Avonmouth area is now running its first example of the smallest commercial vehicle ever to wear the three-pointed star of Mercedes-Benz.
Wrings Transport has added the new Citan van to a fleet that also includes five other Mercedes-Benz vehicles, a pair of 3.5-tonne Sprinters and three Actros tractor units.
The Citan marks the entry of Mercedes-Benz into the small van market and leads the field in terms of fuel efficiency, achieving up to 65.7 mpg and producing CO2 emissions as low as 112 g/km.
Supplied by Avonmouth dealer City West Commercials, Wrings’ Long-bodied 109 CDI is powered by a 90 hp diesel engine – the Citan is also offered with 75 hp and 110 hp diesels, or a 114 hp petrol unit.
Managing Director Stuart Wring says: "We’ve always had little vans, which we’ve used as general runabouts and for express deliveries. But Mercedes-Benz has never offered a vehicle this small – until now!"
Before purchasing its new van Wrings trialled one of City West’s Citan demonstrators. "We put 4,000 miles on that vehicle in just two weeks, as it went up and down to Glasgow four times," recalls Mr Wring.
"It proved very economical in terms of fuel consumption, while the feedback from our drivers was also extremely positive; in fact, I drove the Citan myself, just to get a feel for it, and was very impressed."
He continues: "Mercedes-Benz vans have always been very reliable too. Our Sprinter panel van is now six years old and has clocked-up 300,000 miles, but it’s still as good as the day we bought it."
A general haulier and transport contractor, Wrings can trace its roots back to 1927, when Sidney Joseph Wring began using a horse and cart to deliver coal to hospitals and schools throughout the Bristol area. In its current form, however, the company was founded in 1995, when Sidney’s youngest son Royston, and his two sons Stuart and Martin, began trading with a single 3.5-tonne dropsider.
City West Commercials was appointed Mercedes-Benz truck and van franchisee for the South-West in 2009. Its Avonmouth dealership is just a couple of miles away from the four-acre ‘green field’ site in Hallen, on the Severn Beach, that has been Wrings’ headquarters since 2006.
"I’m really pleased with the service we’re getting from Mercedes-Benz in Avonmouth," adds Mr Wring. "Of all the dealers in this area, City West are the most proactive. They’re doing a great job of promoting the New Actros and will definitely be in the running for our next tractor order.
"They take the most care and they visit us more often than anyone else, as well as being the dealer that’s proudest and bangs the drum the loudest. All of which explains why we rely on City West these days to maintain most of our vehicles, including a number of non-Mercedes trucks."
