Garvagh-based waste management specialist RiverRidge Recycling reckons its making fuel savings of over two miles per gallon from its first pair of Mercedes-Benz Arocs eight-wheelers.
Supplied by Newtownabbey dealer Mercedes-Benz Truck & Van (NI), the Arocs 3243s are powered by 430 bhp Euro 6 engines and were spec’d with hookloader equipment courtesy of Farlow Engineering, also of Garvagh.
“Our work varies, with some runs including a lot of urban, Operator said its new Arocs have almost doubled its fuel economy Truck’s livery serves to highlight the 4Ts stop-start driving,” said transport manager, Stephen Thompson. “The Arocs are returning 8.5 to 10 mpg, which is a huge improvement on the 4.5-6.5 mpg we were getting from the non-Mercedes vehicles they’ve replaced.”
Thompson said the Arocs cover anything up to 800 km a week, so the potential savings are significant. “We knew we were getting a good truck and expected the Arocs to be pretty good on fuel, but the savings are worth a lot more than we dared hope,” he said. And Thompson said the firm’s drivers are also happy with the new trucks. “The manufacturer has put a lot of thought into making the cabs look great, both inside and out, and they’re very driver-friendly,” he concluded.
The Arocs are now working across the six counties of Northern Ireland, collecting skips and recycling bins with capacities of up to 45 cubic yards from local authority amenity sites and private customers.
These are returned to a high-tech processing centre which RiverRidge opened recently following a £3.2 million investment, where loads are segregated for recycling.
