Eleven new Dennis Eagle RCVs have been put to work by Norse Commercial Services after winning the contract covering domestic refuse collection in East Hampshire.
The vehicles are all Elite 6×2 wide rear steer chassis with Olympus 20 bodies and Terberg OmniDEL Xtra bin lifts which Norse says will provide maximum efficiency in East Hampshire where the area is characterised by rural communities and small towns. The vehicles will operate from the Norse depot in Petersfield and maintenance will be provided in-house.
The deal was clinched, said Norse, by Dennis Eagle being the only company who could guarantee delivery by the required date.
Group Fleet Manager Chris Davison said: “The majority of RCVs across the group are Dennis Eagle. We like the product and we get excellent back-up. The drivers and crews like the vehicles too – they have excellent cab lay-outs – and it helped that they were already familiar with the product too.
“We also think the Olympus body and Terberg lift provides the best combination. And add to that the chassis coming from the same source and the advantages of a one-stop shop are really significant in terms of managing the spec, the build and the delivery. And it is the delivery that is absolutely crucial in all our new contracts where we are bringing in a new fleet, as opposed to replacing existing vehicles.
“We took over the East Hampshire operation on September 30th and we had to have all the vehicles in place and ready to roll by that date. Dennis Eagle were the only ones who guaranteed delivery on time and they not only successfully did that but also carried out all the staff training and ‘trained the trainers’ in plenty of time too.”
The Norse contract for East Hampshire District Council also includes street cleaning and grounds maintenance for which the company has invested in an entirely new fleet of 38 vehicles. The Dennis Eagle vehicles are the only rear-loading RCVs in the fleet.
The vehicles are used for weekly domestic kerbside collections which alternate between waste and recycling. A dedicated glass collection is provided every four weeks and a garden waste collection service is offered too.
