This month, five brand-new refuse trucks, all fitted with quieter, fuel-saving electric bin lifting technology have arrived at Hyndburn Borough Council. The new fleet replaces vehicles that were damaged during an arson attack in December 2019.
Half of the Council’s waste and recycling fleet was written off as a result of the attack. However, thanks to its 10-year+ relationship with contract hire and fleet management company Specialist Fleet Services Ltd (SFS), temporary vehicles were supplied almost immediately via SFS’ municipal vehicle hire division CTS Hire.
Steve Riley, Executive Director (Environment) for Hyndburn Council said: “The Council suffered an arson attack on its waste collection fleet early December last year, the upshot being half of its RCV’s had to be written off. However, due to our long-standing working partnership with SFS, they were able to source suitable replacement vehicles that started rolling in the following day. Collections teams and officers all worked extra hours that week, including the weekend, which enabled the service to catch up on all its domestic waste and recycling collections ready to start afresh the very next week. This was a fantastic team effort that I simply did not think possible on Tuesday morning when surveying the utter devastation”.
This month SFS has provided Hyndburn with permanent replacement vehicles, comprising five brand-new Dennis Eagle Olympus 19 Elite 6 narrow track mid-lift 26 tonne refuse trucks with Terberg OMNIDEL Electric bin-lifts, VT 4 HD camera CCTV system, VT Banksman reversing system and VT Turnalarm system, with the Council adding further fuel management, vehicle tracking and crew CRM equipment after taking delivery.
Michael Ainsworth, Transport Manager for Hyndburn Borough Council added: “It is quite remarkable that SFS has managed to provide these new replacement vehicles so quickly, especially factoring in Christmas and the Covid-19 lockdown. The Council considers the environmental impacts of all replacement vehicles, even more so since declaring a Climate Emergency last year. So, we took the opportunity to specify electric bin-lifts, which are quieter, save fuel and reduce CO2 emissions. The lifters and frame have also been painted green to make them stand out and the Council has reinforced its environmental credentials through simple messages on the sides of the vehicles. The new trucks look extremely impressive, so much so that we are keeping the same specification for our next five replacements due in 2021”.
Contract hire and fleet management company SFS has been providing vehicles to Hyndburn Borough Council since 2010. Established in 1992, SFS has a successful track record in delivering fleet and workshop management solutions to local authorities and the private sector, and runs a network of workshops as well as operating its own municipal vehicle hire division, CTS Hire.
Bob Sweetland, Managing Director, SFS: “We are delighted that we were able to help Hyndburn in this very challenging situation, first by providing temporary hire vehicles and then by sourcing permanent replacement vehicles. As a reliable vehicle partner, we go to great lengths to support our local authority customers to help them deliver essential services to their local communities.”
SFS: No ordinary contract hire company
