TRUCK SALES DRIVES GOING TO WASTE

NOVEMBER|2018

IN THIS ISSUE> Ups and downs in UK truck sales figures

> EU gets tough on truck CO2 emissions

COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER > NOVEMBER 2018 3

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DFT TALKS SENSE AT LAST ON OLD TYRES

egular readers of

Commercial Vehicle Engineer

will know that we have not

hesitated to highlight much

of the nonsense that has

come from the government’s Department for

Transport (DfT) in recent times. They may also

recall that eight months ago we were especially

sceptical about the news that transport

minister Jesse Norman had commissioned a

twelve-month, £250,000 study by TRL (still better known by its original name,

Transport Research Laboratory) into the precise effects of ageing on the safety of

tyres. Nobody was being fooled, we maintained, by what looked like yet another

government delaying tactic in the aftermath of an horrific 2012 fatal coach crash

caused by the catastrophic failure of a steer-axle tyre that was nearly 20 years old.

Humble pie time. Judging by a House of Commons written statement from

Jesse Norman this month, just as this edition was being finalised, our judgment

of him back in March was unfair and too harsh. The statement points to an

updated Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness published this month by the

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) including guidance that tyres over

ten years old should never be used on any heavy vehicle (truck, bus or coach)

except in specific, limited circumstances. The TRL study is “proceeding well”

according to the transport minister and he says that he has made “additional

funds available to extend the number of tyre samples being analysed.” The

TRL report based on this research is promised next spring. Jesse Norman

deserves credit for having proven our scepticism ill-founded. We look forward to

publication of the TRL report but meanwhile would urge all commercial vehicle

operators in the UK to ensure they have the latest edition of the DVSA’s Guide to

Maintaining Roadworthiness and follow its guidance.

Next month’s edition of Commercial Vehicle Engineer will include a full report

on the background to the tyre-age controversy and where it might go next.

Tim Blakemore

Editor

R

THE CAR EXPERT THE TRUCK EXPERT THE VAN EXPERT

4 NOVEMBER 2018 > COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER > NOVEMBER 2018 5

CONTENTS

1128

NEW TRUCKS GOING TO WASTE

PEOPLE AND JOBS

CONTENTS 16>> NEWS Road safety in the UK is “bumping along the floor,” according to IAM RoadSmart. Yet truck manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz and Volvo Group are doing all they can to minimise road casualty figures.

18>> DIESEL ENGINES IN THEIR DEATH THROES?Far from it, judging by what exhaust emissions experts from around the globe had to say at a high-power symposium in Sweden last month. David Wilcox reports.

24>> TRUCKSCOT SCENETrucks in the Transport News spotlight this month include an 8x4 Scania tractor run by McFadyens Transport of Campbeltown; and a Daf XF510 from McAdie and Reeve of Orkney.

27>> THE TRUCK ADVOCATEOur learned friend from Transport News offers expert guidance on questions related to fifth-wheel couplings and category C driving licence limitations.

28>> PEOPLE AND JOBSMichael Bolger is the new engineering director at Cheshire-based Cartwright Group. Richard Else has left McLaren Automotive to become manufacturing director at Tiger Trailers. Robert Grozdanovski has been appointed Volvo Trucks UK managing director. Nigel Butler has resigned as Renault Trucks UK commercial director and been succeeded by James Charnock.

18

6>> POINTS OF VIEWFleetCheck boss Peter Golding wonders how long it will be before vehicles working in the gig economy are brought into line with mainstream fleet standards on vehicle and driver safety.

8>> NEWSTrucks going boldly in different directions on an urban planet.The latest gas-fuelled and electrically-powered trucks, together with London’s imminent “direct vision” standard, were among the talking points this month at the latest Freight in the City show.

11>> NEWSWastes management strong in a weakening UK truck market.Demand for new trucks has fallen for the fifth quarter in a row, but some manufacturers have plenty to smile about, especially in the wastes management sector.

WHAT NEXTFOR DIESEL ENGINES?

6 NOVEMBER 2018 > COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER > NOVEMBER 2018 7

POINTS OF VIEW

ehicles driven by owner-operators and working in the gig economy need to be brought into line with

mainstream fleet standards.These cars and vans and their drivers

are really just another element of grey fleet management and should be treated in exactly the same way.

We have all had a parcel or hot food delivered to our home or office, I daresay, looked at the vehicle being used and strongly suspected that it would not meet even the most basic fleet standards. And more often than not you discover that the driver started early and will be driving late into the evening.

Yet legally these are grey-fleet vehicles to which normal grey-fleet safety principles should apply, on everything from maintenance to driver competence, as well as non-legislative corporate principles such as environmental considerations and more.

The standards applied by companies operating in the gig economy appear to vary widely. Some businesses seem to take their responsibilities seriously and apply the kind of measures that would be seen in any other fleet operation, but others appear almost to have no managerial control at all,

judging by vehicle condition. My view is that, over time, in the same way that recent rulings have made it clear that major gig economy platforms are employers rather than technology companies, their fleet operations will become more professional.

The question is: how long will this process take? While it is going on, there are likely to be a lot of vehicles on the road that are potentially poorly maintained, badly driven, grossly polluting and perhaps even outright dangerous. This is clearly wrong.

Do we, as an industry, have a duty to do something about this? In answer to that tough question it could be argued that there needs to be some kind of mechanism for reporting gig economy vehicles and drivers apparently failing to meet the most basic standards.

One possibility is that the Health and Safety Executive’s existing anonymous whistleblower system could be used. But perhaps the first step should be to publicise the idea among gig economy workers to make them fully aware that their employers need to be looking after their safety.

Peter Golding,Managing director,FleetCheck

Follow us on Twitter @CVEngineer1.

Write to the editor at: Hilltop House, Beech Hill, Headley Down, Hampshire GU35 8BD

e: tim@cvengineer.com t: 01428 605 605 Please be sure to include your postal address and a daytime telephone number.

V

CVE WELCOMES LETTERS, COMMENTS AND TWEETS.

TOO MANY SHADES OF GREY

Peter Golding

Grey fleet management needs to cover vehicle and driver safety cross the automotive sector, transport operators and commercial vehicle engineers demand the reassurance

of a genuine brand turbocharger that guarantees a standard of quality and warranty for performance and durability. However, when the original product comes to the end of its lifespan and it is time to replace, operators and repair workshops are driven by cost and availability, often resulting in the use of non-genuine parts. This can impact engine efficiency, reliability and even safety.

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QUICK REPLACEMENT SOLUTIONTime is of the essence in commercial vehicle repair and maintenance. Downtime costs money. Non-genuine parts frequently present buyers with what looks like a cost-effective solution.

“Unfortunately, though, this is usually only a quick fix,” Hammon adds. “In the long run, what we actually see is that non-genuine parts ultimately cost businesses and operators more money.”

A Genuine Holset Reman Turbocharger not only provides initial cost savings at 30 per cent less than new Holset turbochargers, it also guarantees reliability with improved fuel efficiency. Non-genuine turbos are often poorly machined and can expose the engine and its performance systems to complications in safety, engine power, additional costs to repair or replace parts over the life of the engine and also can lead to increased fuel consumption and higher emissions.

ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLEThe industry has come to realise that one-way processes that take products from manufacturers to landfills are no longer sustainable. The negative environmental and economic impacts of simply discarding manufactured products have become too great to ignore.

The advancement of technology has allowed for remanufacturing to reuse parts without compromising the quality of the remanufactured product. Cummins is leading the way in sustainability and energy efficient processes. To date, Cummins’ remanufacturing business has avoided up to 90,700 tonnes annually of greenhouse gases, reclaiming up to 27,000 tonnes of material annually.

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THE RISE OF REMANUFACTURING

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

8 NOVEMBER 2018 > COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER

NEWS

ince 1950 the number of city dwellers in most countries has been growing fast, and this trend shows no sign

of ending. The percentage of China’s population living in cities rose from 13 to more than 40 between 1950 and 2005. Now it is forecast to rise to more than 60% by 2030. In the UK in 1950 there was already a high proportion of the population, 79%, living in cities. But still it keeps growing and is forecast to be more than 92% by 2030.

Statistics like these help explain the growing popularity of events like the Freight in the City show, now in its fourth year. The latest in this series was held this month in London, with topics such as air quality, vulnerable road users (cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians), and urban restraints on truck access high on the agendas of many of the 50-plus exhibitors.

One particular talking point was the highly contentious “direct vision standard” for truck cabs proposed by Transport for London (TfL). A third (and final) version of the TfL proposal is promised to be published for public consultation in January.

All-electric vehicles were much in evidence. On show for the first time in the UK was Volvo’s FE-Electric 6x2 chassis-cab with a plated gross vehicle weight up to 27 tonnes. Designed for refuse collection and urban distribution applications, it boasts a low-entry sleeper/crew cab, electric power take-off and was shown with a matched charger unit for its lithium ion batteries. The chassis complements the FL electric model introduced earlier this year (Commercial Vehicle Engineer April).

“With the growth in home shopping and home delivery, rather than going directly from A to B, it will be interesting to gauge the reaction from Freight in the

City to this vehicle,” says Volvo Trucks UK product chief John Comer, pointing out that the FE’s payload capacity beats that of no fewer than nine 3.5-tonnes gvw vans combined. “We are now starting on our journey from diesel to electric

power with the 27-tonne FE, or the more compact FL at 16 tonnes with a 300km (180 mile) range.”

The FE-Electric’s range on fully-charged batteries is put at “up to 200km (124 miles)”.

TRUCKS GOING BOLDLY IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS ON AN URBAN PLANET

S

Looking to the future: Daf tipper door window and Volvo FE Electric.

COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER > NOVEMBER 2018 11

Netherlands-based Emoss Mobile Systems specialises in converting commercial vehicles to all-electric or range-extended configuration, with gross vehicle weights from 3.5 to 27 tonnes.

Among the vehicles shown by Peterborough-based Bradshaw Electric Vehicles was one powered by lead-acid batteries yet still offering a seemingly generous payload of 712kg within a gross vehicle weight of 2.1 tonnes. The show model is fitted with a pressure washer and tank between the cab and body, a set-up said to be popular already with universities and local authorities.

Many gas engine options, both CNG (compressed) and LNG (liquefied), were on show in London this month. Volvo’s FH trucks powered by LNG engines (Commercial Vehicle Engineer November 2017) are now in series production. Iveco offers natural gas engine options across its range from the Daily up through the Eurocargo to the Stralis. Pride of place at Iveco’s Freight in the City display went to a 460hp 6x2 LNG Stralis tractor, a Daily electric van and a Stralis X-Way tipper.

Iveco’s head office in Turin, Italy is seeking to quash rumours of an imminent replacement for the ageing Stralis cab. A statement from Turin this month threatens legal action against anyone continuing to publish scoop images on social media channels or anywhere else. Photographs published recently “show one of the many studies that the company is conducting and therefore has no official value nor is it final,” according to the statement. What seems certain is that journalists will be unlikely to accept Iveco’s invitation to stop publishing images of its vehicles which may or may not be entirely new without “written authorisation” from the company.

Scania had both CNG and LNG trucks on display as well as a 360hp eight-wheeler tipper with tridem axle configuration. This truck’s new L-series cab boasts a five-star rating under TfL’s “direct vision” standard and comes with three roof heights.

The familiar low-entry high-visibility cabs in the Dennis Eagle Ecollect and Mercedes-Benz Econic ranges are now available on a wide range of urban chassis

models. On show was an Econic urban tractor and a 4 x 2 rigid with vehicle recovery/transporter bodywork. The Econic 1835L 4 x 2 urban tractor is powered by an OM936, in-line six-cylinder, 7.7-litre, 260kW (354hp) Mercedes diesel engine driving through a PowerShift 3 automated manual gearbox.

Two variants of the Dennis Eagle 8x4 Elite urban safety vehicle range were on

display. One, with a Fruehauf lightweight 14-cubic-metre tipper body, boasts an electronic tag-axle steering system. The second is a mid-steer fitted with a Thompson Loadmaster Lite tipper body and Palfinger Epsilon M135L HPLS crane and bucket grab. Common to both is a Euro 6 Volvo 7.7-litre diesel engine driving through an Allison MD 3000 six-speed automatic gearbox.

City slickers: from Bradshaw, Scania, Volvo and Mercedes.

conomic and political uncertainty is being blamed for the latest fall in demand for new trucks in the UK. Registrations

of all new trucks at six tonnes gvw and above fell by 7% in the third quarter of this year compared with the same period in 2017, according to figures published this month by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). In the year to the end of September, compared with the same period in 2017, registrations of rigid trucks between 6.0 and 16.0 tonnes gvw are down 14.4%, rigids above 16 tonnes down 7.2%.

Demand for tractive units remains strong by comparison, with three-axle tractor registrations down only 4.8% and those of two-axle tractors (now a tiny sector of the UK truck market) up 3.6% compared with the first nine months of 2017.

“While fluctuating fleet buying cycles are a natural feature of the hgv market, given this quarter marks the fifth consecutive decline, there is no doubt that a fall in operator confidence is having an impact on registrations of these big-ticket purchases,” says SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes. “Government must address the current economic and political uncertainty if we are to get more of these

high-tech, ultra-low emission vehicles on to our roads, and to ensure the sector can prosper.”

Daf Trucks continues to be the top-selling truck-maker in the UK by a clear margin, but its market share has fallen from over 30% last year to 27.4% in the first nine months of this year. With registrations down only 4.0% so far this year, Mercedes-Benz has strengthened its position in this market with a share up from 15.7 to 16.3%. But the manufacturer in the top four with most to smile about in the latest registration statistics is Volvo, with a registrations total in the first nine months hardly changed from that of last

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WASTES MANAGEMENT STRONG IN WEAK UK TRUCK MARKET

NEWSNEWS

10 NOVEMBER 2018 > COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER

Jones Skips of Wolverhampton: two new Volvo FL-250s and an FH-500 6x4

12 NOVEMBER 2018 > COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER

NEWS

year, taking its market share up a full percentage point from 13.3 to 14.3%.

The wastes sector of the truck market is one in which Volvo Trucks and its Volvo Group sister company Renault Trucks have both been stepping up sales efforts recently.

One example of where this has begun to pay off can be found in Wolverhampton where the latest new trucks to join the Jones Skips fleet are a 6x4 Volvo FH-500 tractive unit and two 4x2 Volvo FL-250 18-tonnes-gvw rigids. There are 43 trucks in this company’s fleet at present, most of them Dafs. Plain-speaking director Lyndon Rushby explains why his local Volvo dealer, Hartshorne Motor Services, won the latest order, especially for the two 18-tonners. “I’m very open,” he says. “If someone comes to me I say: here’s the quote I’ve already got and the spec. Now you have to match or beat it.” Options specified by Rushby for the two new Volvo FLs include steel suspension, the 250hp rating for their D8K engines, traction control, hill-hold and vertical exhausts. “They are a better drive than my other skip lorries and, so far, we’ve had no problems,” he says. “They’re doing just what I thought they would do.”

Mercedes-Benz Trucks too has been enjoying sales success lately in the wastes-management sector, not least with its low-entry-cab Econic range. One of the latest big Econic orders came from Suez Recycling and Recovery UK (formerly Sita UK), which handles around nine million tonnes of domestic, commercial and industrial waste annually. Following renewal of a contract with Doncaster Council, Suez has put 38 new Econic 2630LL 6x2 refuse collection trucks into service in the South Yorkshire town. The trucks are powered by 220hp Euro 6 Mercedes diesel engines driving through six-speed fully-automatic Allison gearboxes. Most are fitted with Faun Variopress VP22 bodies with Zoeller Rotary 3 bin-lift equipment. “This combination offers excellent reliability, quick and safe bin-lifting operations, and a competitive payload,” says Suez technical manager, fleet, James Griffin.

Manufacturer (parent or controlling group)

2018 first nine months

2017 first nine months

%change 2018 market share (%)

2017 market share (%)

Daf Trucks (Paccar)

8,298 9,941 -16.5 27.4 30.3

Mercedes-Benz (Daimler)

4,949 5,154 -4.0 16.3 15.7

Scania (Volkswagen)

4,658 4,897 -4.9 15.4 14.9

Volvo Trucks (Volvo Group)

4,343 4,356 -0.3 14.3 13.3

MAN (Volkswagen)

2,709 2,447 +10.7 8.9 7.5

Iveco (CNH Industrial)

2,199 2,628 -16.3 7.3 8.0

Renault Trucks (Volvo Group)

1,375 1,555 -11.6 4.5 4.7

Isuzu Truck (Isuzu)

665 659 +0.9 2.2 2.0

Dennis Eagle (Terberg)

574 547 +4.9 1.9 1.7

Fuso (Daimler) 468 534 -12.4 1.5 1.6

others (unidentified by SMMT)

70 56 +25.0 0.2 0.2

total 30,308 32,774 -7.5 100 100

Trucks at 6.0 tonnes gvw and above

No Suez crisis: 38 new Econics working on its Doncaster contract.

14 NOVEMBER 2018 > COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER > NOVEMBER 2018 15

E urope’s first regulations on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from trucks have been denounced as “excessively

aggressive” by truck manufacturers.Reacting to a European Parliament

vote this month, ACEA (Association des Constructeurs Européens d’Automobiles), an influential Brussels-based association of vehicle manufacturers with a membership including Europe’s seven biggest truck-makers, claimed that far too little time was being allowed for improvements being demanded in truck fuel economy (and therefore CO2 emissions). Meeting in Strasbourg this month, the European Parliament voted narrowly for even deeper cuts in CO2 emissions than had been proposed by the European Commission six months ago. “These targets go over and above the proposal made by the European Commission last May, which was already

very challenging,” says ACEA secretary general Erik Jonnaert.

The original commission proposals called for a 15% CO2 cut between 2019 and 2025, and 30% by 2030, applicable to most two-axle (4x2) and three-axle (6x2) trucks over 16 tonnes GVW. The baseline is next year because this is when trucks’ CO2 data will be calculated for the first time with VECTO (Vehicle Energy Consumption Calculation Tool) computer simulation software. This 2019 data will become publicly available in 2020, published by the European Environment Agency.

Last month, after considering the commission’s May proposals, the European Parliament’s committee on the environment, public health and food safety called for deeper cuts. Most of the committee’s amendments were then adopted by the full European Parliament sitting in Strasbourg on 14 November.

At the heart of the new CO2 target is a 35% cut for new trucks registered from 1 January 2030. A stepping-stone to this is a 20% cut, taking effect on 1 January 2025. Emissions are measured in grams of CO2 per tonne-kilometre. This is designed to take account of the greater productivity of bigger but thirstier trucks.

The precise CO2 target for each manufacturer is based on the sales-weighted average CO2 of all trucks sold annually by the manufacturer, compared with the 2019 figure. Manufacturers can earn credits or incur debts for over- or under-achievement along the way. But fines for excess emissions are designed always to be greater than the cost of meeting the targets.

Advocates of these targets argue that they are not as unrealistically ambitious as their critics say, not least because planned amendments to the European

TRUCK-MAKERS DISMAYED AT EU’S TOUGH STANCE ON CO2 EMISSIONS

NEWS NEWS

Union directive on truck weights and dimension will be in force before they kick-in, allowing truck cabs to be longer and thus more aerodynamically efficient.

Though the targets are based on VECTO simulations, the European Parliament makes no secret of its determination that truck fuel economy in the real world fuel will live up to expectations, thus avoiding any furore like that following revelations that actual car fuel consumption has fallen far short of official EU figures.

Truck manufacturers or national authorities will be required to make available actual fuel consumption data from standardised fuel meters. In addition, there will be on-road, in-service fuel consumption testing for conformity. Any on-road results found to be more than 10 per cent worse than VECTO-simulated fuel economy will then be used instead of the VECTO figures in calculating a manufacturer’s CO2 performance.

The regulations remain confined so far to trucks over 16 tonnes GVW (tractive units and rigids) with 4x2 or 6x2 axle configurations. Vehicles classified as “vocational” (not designed to deliver goods, so including refuse-collection vehicles, for instance) are not subject to the targets. But the commission has been told to report back to the parliament by the end of 2022 on the whole scheme’s progress. That could result in the 2030 target being amended and the net spread wider to include vehicles such as lighter trucks, other axle configurations, vocational trucks and even trailers.: “This regulation is the first step…,” says the European Parliament.

All buses and coaches are excluded from the CO2 cuts targets. And a proposal that “zero-emission” buses, such as those with pure electric (battery powered) drivelines, must account for at least 50% of every bus-maker’s new urban bus annual sales totals from 2025 (rising to 75% from 2030) was rejected by the parliament.

But it has introduced a “benchmark sales target” for zero- and low-emission (ZLEV) vehicles. A low-emission model is defined as one with emissions at least 50% below the equivalent diesel model. ZLEV vehicles must account for at least 5% of a manufacturer’s total annual registrations by 2025, rising to 20% by 2030. Crucially, though not covered by the CO2 targets, lighter trucks (under 16 tonnes GVW) and buses and coaches meeting the ZLEV definition will count towards a manufacturer’s annual ZLEV registration targets. The 2030 target is subject to review in the 2022 report. “Connected” manufacturers, such as MAN and Scania in the Traton group and Volvo Trucks and Renault Trucks in Volvo Group, will be allowed to pool ZLEV truck and bus sales to meet annual targets.

Vehicles meeting the low-emission definition such as diesel/electric hybrids, will be allowed a plated gross vehicle weight up to one tonne heavier than a standard diesel truck. Zero-emission trucks and buses such as battery or fuel-cell models will be permitted a GVW up to two tonnes heavier than a diesel equivalent.

Truck manufacturers see the CO2 targets as unrealistic. “The research and development and production processes of the European truck industry would be negatively affected by these targets, for which the short lead time simply doesn’t match the long development cycles for trucks,” protests ACEA secretary general Erik Jonnaert. He singles out sales quotas for ZLEV trucks for particularly strong criticism. “Members of the European Parliament seem to be blatantly ignoring the fact that the potential for electrifying the truck fleet is far lower than for cars, due to issues such as extremely high upfront costs, range limitations, insufficient infrastructure (particularly along motorways) as well as reluctant customers,” he says.

ACEA had responded to the commission’s original proposals published in May with a counter proposal: involving CO2 cuts of 7% by 2025 and 16% by 2030. That would mean truck fuel economy improving on average by 1.2% annually in future, little more than the average annual improvement rate claimed by ACEA over the past 20 years.

But the European Parliament’s latest amendments have been applauded in some quarters. Stef Cornelis is “cleaner trucks officer” a big Netherlands-based lobby group, Transport & Environment. “Now it’s up to national governments,” he says. “Members of the European Parliament have sent a really strong signal for ambitious targets but also that they are achievable. Discussions will need to move quickly but the momentum is definitely there for a win-win outcome during this legislature and for a deal to be struck that goes further than the European Commission proposal.”

Electric shock: ACEA points to “reluctant customers”.

Tw0-axle tractors: VECTO data gathered from next year.

16 NOVEMBER 2018 > COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER > NOVEMBER 2018 17

this month Mercedes-Benz Trucks UK commissioned a UK-wide survey of drivers, cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians. One of its findings is that though 87% of cyclists and 91% of motorcyclists are aware that truck drivers have restricted visibility, 58% admit to having stopped or passed on the inside of a truck which then turned left. The research also underlined something that Mercedes arch-rival Volvo Group has been emphasising for several years, that eye contact between truck drivers (and indeed all drivers) and vulnerable road users is a vital element in road safety. Nearly all motorcyclists and cyclists (94 and 93% respectively) in the Mercedes-Benz Trucks survey acknowledged that seeing a driver’s face helped in understanding their intentions.

“At Mercedes-Benz we are committed to using the very best technology to increase visibility on the road, helping to keep both the driver and other road users as safe as possible,” says Mercedes-Benz Trucks UK managing director Mike Belk. “We have been developing innovative safety systems for more than 45 years and we continue to advance road safety with our latest trucks, including the Econic. We’re pleased that this year’s Road Safety Week campaign (run by road safety charity Brake) puts the focus on those who are most vulnerable on the road. Raising awareness of truck driver interaction with cyclists and pedestrians will help to guarantee the safety of all road users.”

The low-entry Econic cab and the wide field of vision afforded to a driver by its deep windscreen and fully glazed passenger door has been attracting more and more attention from operators in various sectors seeking to do everything

they can to minimise risk of accidents involving vulnerable road users. Under the highly controversial “direct vision” standard proposed by Transport for London (TfL) and due to come into force in the capital late next year, the Econic gets a “five-star” (maximum) rating.

Volvo Trucks ran a global traffic safety training scheme called “Stop, Look Wave” for several years until late in 2016 when the “See and be Seen” scheme aimed mainly at cyclists aged twelve and over was introduced. “The programme aims to improve understanding of how unprotected road-users and trucks can interact in the traffic environment,” says Volvo Trucks traffic and product safety

director Carl Johan Almqvist. “This time we are focusing specifically on cyclists, teenagers and adults alike. With the fast pace of today’s traffic it is vital that as many people as possible are aware of the risks in order to avoid incidents. To reduce the risk of traffic accidents we equip our trucks with increasingly intelligent safety systems and train truck drivers in the art of safe driving. But the human factor is of crucial significance in most traffic accidents, so it is vital to increase safety awareness among all road-users.”

To download the “See and Be Seen” campaign material, go to https://www.volvotrucks.com/en-en/our-values/safety/see-and-be-seen.html.

Econic cab: five-star London rating.

Volvo Trucks: global traffic safety scheme started two years ago.oad safety progress in the UK is “stuck in the slow lane”, according to the country’s biggest and most influential

charity in this field. Strong reaction to the latest, provisional, road casualty figures published this month by the government’s Department for Transport (DfT) comes from Neil Greig, director of policy and research at the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), now trading as IAM RoadSmart.

“Road safety in the UK seems to be once again bumping along the floor with no forward progress,” he says. “With eight years without progress it is clear that we have an increasingly complex picture of good news, such as safer cars and investment in new roads, being

cancelled out by more traffic and a hard core of human behaviour issues that are the most difficult to tackle. Road safety is everyone’s responsibility and the Department of Transport has rightly identified young drivers, older road users, rural roads and motorcycling as its key priority areas. Today’s figures are a sharp reminder that their eagerly awaited action plan for the next two years cannot come too soon.”

The latest DfT estimates show that 1,770 people were killed on Britain’s roads in the twelve months to June. This annual death toll has scarcely changed since 2012. The total number of people killed and seriously injured on Britain’s roads in the year ending June is put at 26,610, compared with 26,664 in the previous year.

IAM RoadSmart is far from alone in being dismayed at the lack of road safety progress made since targets were scrapped by the then coalition government in 2010. Edmund King is president of the AA, one of the UK’s two biggest roadside recovery service operators. “Progress in reducing road fatalities has been stalled for far too long,” he says. “We feel it is time to bring back a challenging target and aim to reduce annual road deaths to zero within ten years. We should also improve driver education, police enforcement and indeed engineering of some of our most dangerous roads.”

Truck manufacturers are increasingly keen to do all they can to drive down road casualty figures. Seeking to identify what action would be most effective,

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CLEAR VIEWS FROM TRUCK-MAKERS ON A WAY FORWARD FOR ROAD SAFETY

NEWS NEWS

Mercedes-Benz Trucks UK: nationwide survey of drivers and vulnerable road-users.

18 NOVEMBER 2018 > COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER > NOVEMBER 2018 19

DIESEL ENGINES IN THEIR DEATH THROES?

ar from it, according to exhaust emissions experts from around the globe who gathered in Gothenburg last month

for a high-power symposium offering a fascinating insight into the exhaust emissions technology likely to be behind the trucks and buses of the near future. David Wilcox reports.

Diesel-engined models accounted for around 43% of all new cars sold in the UK twelve months ago. Now their share of this market is down to 32% and falling. Statistics like these serve as a stark indicator of how fast and how far public perceptions of diesel have sunk.

This engine type’s reputation has suffered immense, some would say irreparable, harm as a result mainly of the

Volkswagen “dieselgate” emissions-test cheating scandal, poorly performing NOx-reduction systems, and flawed European emissions legislation.

Against this backdrop, it would scarcely be surprising if the prevailing mood at a Gothenburg, Sweden symposium last month, focused on heavy-duty diesel emissions control, was at least tending towards gloom and despondency. Not a bit

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Fof it. How so? In essence because heavy-duty diesels do not deserve to be tarred with the same brush as their lighter brethren.

That certainly was the consensus among delegates last month at the latest in a long-running series of biennial events on this topic run by SAE International, a highly-regarded US-based engineering association and standards-setting body formerly called the Society of Automotive Engineers.

A study by respected engineering consultancy Ricardo confirms that most Euro 6 trucks actually do live up to NOx reduction expectations, not only in engine test-cells but also in daily use. “Published heavy-duty NOx data show that vehicles mostly meet real-world NOx limits,” says Ricardo, conceding however that “in some cases, under unladen congested traffic conditions, the SCR (selective catalytic reduction) after-treatment is not able to maintain an effective temperature for NOx conversion.”

Concern about NOx, a by-product of high-temperature combustion, is understandable, given the adverse effects it has on respiratory health and on the environment – essentially smog and acid rain. So, no matter how clean Euro 6 diesel truck and bus emissions may be, any shortcomings in NOx control cannot be ignored. And some have been revealed by the in-service compliance (ISC) checks of real working trucks introduced under Euro 6 rules (Euro VI, to be strictly accurate and distinguish them from those applying to cars and vans).

Iveco Eurocargo trucks were recalled early this year following discovery of excessive NOx emissions. And only last month Volvo Trucks announced that a component in its exhaust after-treatment system had been found to be “degrading more quickly than expected, reducing its ability to convert NOx.” Sounds like premature deterioration of the NOx catalyst, in other words, though Volvo Group has still to confirm what exactly is meant by “degrading quickly”. US in-service checks have also detected a problem with NOx catalysts behind Cummins engines. More such catalyst problems could yet emerge.

Excessive emissions under cool, low-load conditions; and age-related performance tail-offs are two particular targets of the latest updates to the Euro VI legislation governing trucks and buses. As a policy officer based at the European Commission’s Brussels head office, Bart Thedinga knows the latest Euro VI refinements inside out. They are collectively referred to as “Euro 6d”, and will apply to newly-registered trucks and buses from 1 September 2019.

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Coming right at you: tougher in-service emissions checks are on the way.

Reality check: trucks in service do match lab tests on NOx emissions.

20 NOVEMBER 2018 > COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER > NOVEMBER 2018 21

One of the key changes from then will be a beefing up of in-service compliance checks (ISC) using the latest PEMS (portable emissions measurement system) equipment, Thedinga told the Gothenburg symposium. Testing authorities will be encouraged to check exhaust systems working at low temperatures - precisely the sort of conditions in which below-par exhaust after-treatment performance and high NOx emissions are most likely to be found. The minimum power threshold for the test is being cut from the current 20% to 10% of the engine’s maximum. Vehicle payload may be anything from 10 to 100% of the maximum during the check, compared with 50 to 60% at present. Payload has a direct impact on exhaust temperature and hence catalyst performance.

Yet another tightening of the legislation, Euro 6e, is being finalised at present by the commission. This will makes the ISC PEMS test more challenging still, not least because NOx measurement will begin when the engine is cooler. The test starts at present when engine coolant temperature reaches 70 degrees Celsius. The 6e test adds a new cold cycle, probably between 30 and 70 degrees C. The same PEMS test will be used as part of the original type approval test, explains Thedinga, pointing out that it makes sense for the two tests to follow the same protocol. But ISC testing has a “conformity factor” of 1.5, meaning that emissions may be up to 50% above type-approval values.

The Euro 6e legislation is expected to be finalised by next May, according to Thedinga, probably starting to come into force in September 2020.

Johnson Matthey, BASF Catalysts and Umicore were among the catalyst suppliers represented at last month’s Gothenburg symposium. They outlined promising recent catalyst developments which are said to be boosting NOx conversion rates by 5-15 percentage points in the critical low-temperature zone below 200 degrees C. The implication is that the SCR systems needed to meet Euro 6e demands will not have to be radically different from those of today.

The performance of diesel particulate filters (DPF) is also being put under the spotlight more than ever by the updated legislation. In-service checks will include particulate numbers (PN) for the first time under Euro 6e.

Engines going through type approval tests already have to comply with PN limits. The smallest soot particles, which can penetrate deep into lungs, are not just weighed but counted as well. In future there will also be a PN test in the ISC check, with the aim of ensuring that

diesel particulate filters continue to work effectively on in-service vehicles.

The likely impact of this new check has been studied carefully by Volvo Trucks and DPF manufacturer NGK Europe. One finding is that a DPF’s particle number filtration efficiency varies with soot-loading. Particulate numbers can be “surprisingly high” at some points, particularly under high-load conditions, according to Volvo Trucks’ particulate filter specialist Martin Petersson.

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Soot accumulated in a DPF’s pores increases filtration efficiency, minimising PN count. But as the DPF becomes soot-laden its walls become coated with a “soot cake.” This prevents particles entering the DPF’s pores, so some pass straight through and into the tailpipe. Even routine passive regeneration of the DPF leaves some soot-cake on the DPF’s wall, explained Petersson, so PN filtration remains impaired. This means the chances of passing an ISC PN check may depend crucially on DPF soot-loading.

All in all, is the Euro 6e in-service particulate number check set to throw another spanner into the diesel engine’s works? Probably not, reckons NGK Europe’s Adolph Schaefer-Sindlinger. Work with different DPF pore structures is looking promising, he told the symposium. Reducing mean pore-size improves filtration efficiency. The challenge is to find the pore-size “sweet-spot” offering the best trade-off between optimum filtration and an unwanted rise in exhaust back-pressure.

A couple of mentions of Euro 7 legislation in Gothenburg would have set alarm bells ringing among truck and bus operators. Is this really in the pipeline and if so, what will it mean for diesel engines in future? We put the question to the European Commission’s Bart Thedinga. “There is no talk of Euro 7 at the commission,” he says, adding cryptically: “We just talk about post-Euro-6.”

Some engineers use the term Euro 7 as shorthand for a possible new ultra-low NOx limit, perhaps following the example of the US state of California. Authorities there want to slash NOx emissions to below 10% of the current US federal EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) 2010 limit. That would mean a NOx limit equivalent to only 26mg/kWh, compared with Euro 6’s 460mg/kWh. If exhaust after-treatment systems were developed to satisfy limits that low in California it would be hard for European legislators to ignore them. And just such development work is already well advanced, according to several

speakers at the Gothenburg symposium. A two-stage SCR system would appear to be the most popular response to the ultra-low-NOx challenge. The first stage comprising a close-coupled SCR system (AdBlue dosing and NOx catalyst) close to the engine, perhaps at the turbocharger. One benefit of this location is that the first catalyst warms up fast, allowing de-NOx to start earlier and continue for longer when exhaust temperatures are dropping with low engine-loads. An additional NOx sensor and a sophisticated new controller apportion de-NOx work between the two stages, according to operating conditions. A two-stage close-coupled SCR system is capable of eliminating “close to 100%” of engine-out NOx, according to Mario de Monte of AVL, a big Graz, Austria-based powertrain development company. But the first-stage catalyst is exposed to high engine temperatures, he points out, so particular attention has to be paid to thermal ageing. AVL’s work so far on this has been confined to computer simulation.

It will be move on to test beds next year. German powertrain research

company IAV also sees potential for two-stage SCR systems. IAV’s Vadim Strots said simulation studies suggest this architecture can remove more than 99% of NOx, meeting the toughest limits envisaged anywhere. But IAV believes some form of “thermal management” such as temporarily increasing exhaust back-pressure will be needed, making the engine work harder and heat-up quicker. The fuel consumption penalty resulting from this is put at around 3%. “We are not happy with this,” said Strots. “It defines the next challenge.”

Another snag with two-stage SCR systems, namely that the first catalyst is exposed to a risk of poisoning by sulphur and hydrocarbons as a result of its proximity to the engine, was highlighted by Johnson Matthey’s Andrew Newman. An upstream diesel oxidation catalyst offers a solution but this slows warm-up and the start of AdBlue dosing.

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PEMS testing (above): soon to be used at lower temperatures. Heart of the matter: Euro6e demands better catalysts and filters.

Getting warmer: exhaust after-treatment could soon start at the turbo.

22 NOVEMBER 2018 > COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER > NOVEMBER 2018 23

Alternatives to two-stage SCR identified by Newman include a lean-NOx trap (LNT) and passive NOx adsorber (PNA) immediately after the engine, holding NOx until the SCR catalyst is hot enough to deal with it. There are options aplenty for truck and engine manufacturers addressing tougher NOx limits, Newman concludes. But two-stage SCR seems to be the front-runner at present, with Daimler among several truck-makers looking closely at it. Nobody is yet ready to estimate what additional cost is involved, but given all the extra hardware and control equipment involved it seems sure to be significant.

Cutting NOx emissions from truck and bus diesel engines invariably involves a trade-off against carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions: fuel economy, in other words. A couple of possible ways to avoid this surfaced at Gothenburg last month. Tim Johnson, consultant to filter manufacturer Corning, thinks that GPS (global positioning system) satellite-based geo-fencing could be used to modify engine calibration on the move. On trunk roads the engine would major on fuel efficiency but in urban areas geo-fencing would automatically switch engine management to tighter NOx control. Cylinder de-activation offers similar potential, according to Johnson. In undemanding road conditions several cylinders are taken out of commission by shutting off their fuel supply and closing intake and exhaust valves.

A US study of cylinder de-activation that identified a 3.4% fuel-saving on the US federal test procedure, was cited by the Corning consultant. Crucially, NOx reduction is not undermined because heat is preserved for SCR catalysts under low-load conditions. Active cylinders work harder, so their exhaust gases stay hotter. “Everyone’s looking at it,” said Scania’s head of research and technology performance Per Stålhammar.

Andy Walker is technical marketing director at catalyst manufacturer Johnson Matthey (JM). Future buses looks certain to be battery-powered, he told the symposium, pointing to data showing that the total number of electric buses in service globally reached 385,000 last year. But over 380,000 of these are in China,

where they are heavily subsidised, he stressed. Parts of Europe nevertheless are moving swiftly in the same direction, said Walker. The Netherlands, for instance, had committed to all its new buses being zero-emission electric by 2025. Battery buses can already match or beat diesel equivalents in total ownership costs, maintains Walker. “Opportunistic charging”, at a bus stop for example, was helping pave the way for smaller, lighter battery packs.

Turning to electric trucks, Walker noted that ever-improving battery energy-density and falling prices were making battery power increasingly

attractive (technically and economically) for light- and medium-duty trucks on urban and regional work. Consultancy firm McKinsey had opined that battery trucks will make faster progress in Europe than elsewhere because our high diesel prices will make them cost-effective sooner. McKinsey forecasts that battery vehicles will account for 26% of light-duty trucks (below 7.5 tonnes GVW) bought in Europe in 2030. The forecast for medium-duty trucks (7.5 to 16 tonnes GVW) is 19%.

As for long-haul trucks, Walker suggests that hydrogen fuel-cell technology, with electricity generated on board, looks a better zero-emission solution. It overcomes the infamous range limitations of pure battery power and refuelling is fast, once you have a hydrogen infrastructure. “The whole industry is watching Nikola,” said Walker, referring to the American company aiming to deliver fuel-cell electric tractor units in 2020 to US customers. A European version of the Nikola truck is expected to start trials in Norway around the same time.

Paccar and Hyundai are two big established names also engaged in fuel-cell truck development, said Walker. He pointed to a Cummins study suggesting economies of scale could whittle-down prices of fuel cells and hydrogen to give a two-year payback for total cost of ownership of a fuel-cell truck versus a diesel. But there could be a fly in the fuel-cell ointment. “No government is going to wave goodbye to its fuel tax revenue,” observed Walker, accepting wryly that fuel duty on hydrogen would wreck current payback calculations.

Current thinking: lightweight battery-electric trucks are beginning to look feasible.

Johnson Matthey’s Andy Walker: beware the impact of shifting fuel duty.

Overhead opportunity: buses like this could have smaller, cheaper battery packs.

Fuel cell future? The Nikola Tre fuel-cell tractor planned for Europe.Take it easy: cylinder de-activation could save fuel and cut NOx emissions.

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24 NOVEMBER 2018 > COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER

Superbly finished Scania 164 580 8x4 Longline now running in the Campbeltown

based McFadyens fleet. Photo: Mervyn Walker.

TruckScotSceneOriginally published in

Orkney based haulage company McAdie and Reeve have added this DAF XF510 Super Space to its fleet. Photo: Darren Green.

Latest addition to the WW Mackie fleet of Alford is this S580 Next Generation Scania driven by Kenny Cowie. Photo: Alan Shearer.

NEWS FROM THE NORTH ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN

Latest addition to Inverness based owner operator’s fleet, Spence Transport Services, is this Scania Topline eight wheeled rigid complete with beavertail and Hiab. Photo: Darren Green.

Gow Transport of Caithness put this new Scania G450 Streamline eight wheel tipper to work in August, supplied by Scania in Inverness. Photo: Ian Lawson.

DAF 95XF Space Cab heavy recovery wrecker, still working hard for Sheriffmill Motor Co of Elgin and Inverness. Photo: Darren Green.

Hugh Porter Haulage’s DAF XF510 Super Space with Macauley step frame low loader trailer. Photo: Darren Green.

John Mitchell Haulage and Warehousing of Grangemouth has a fleet of over 105 tractor units. Latest to hit the road is this Scania Next Generation R500. Photo: Darren Green.

Ex-James Jack Lifting Services and GF Job, DAF XF510 6x4 Super Space is still hauling crane ballast in its third life, with Stoddart Crane Hire. Photo: Darren Green.

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One of a pair of Scania S650 6x2 tag axle units in the livery of bulk hauliers WJ&J Green of Corskie, by Garmouth in Moray. Photo: Ian Lawson.

Next Generation Scania S650 and four deck Plowmans livestock trailer in the colours of RW Stewart of Linlithgow. Photo: Sharon Moffat.

Tidy new MAN for A&F Grant of Ballindalloch, complete with tanker. Photo: Alan Shearer.

Elgin based DGM Transport put this new Scania R580 Topline Streamline 6x2 tag axle unit on the road as one of the last of the R Series models. Photo: Ian Lawson.

Dyce Carriers Ltd have added this Volvo FH16 750 double drive hub reduction unit plated for 120 tonnes to their fleet with lifting rear axle, seen here coupled to their equally new Nooteboom five axle step frame. Photo: Mervyn Walker.

NEWS FROM THE NORTH ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN

THE TRUCK ADVOCATE

I am an owner driver, but recently a relative has been driving my truck

and has been invoicing me for his services. However a friend has advised me that this may not be legal. Could you clarify?

This has been a subject of much attention over recent times.

Many driving agencies have been found to promote the practice of drivers establishing their own limited companies and invoicing for their services. Whilst also not in the interes t of the driver who loses the benefits of employee status, these arrangements are in breach of legislation relating to ‘disguised employment’.

There are certain occasions where these arrangements are legal but, broadly speaking, someone is only genuinely self-employed if they are an owner driver who has full control and responsibility for the vehicle, its maintenance and its licensing.

Traffic Commissioners across the UK have been vigilantly policing operators in their jurisdictions and we have seen this issue being discussed at Public Inquiry as it drills at the ‘fair competition’ pillar of the operator licensing system.

We recommend that you consider registering your relative as an employee of your business, paying the necessary insurance and tax; otherwise you are running the risk of regulatory action.

Occasionally, we require drivers’ to drop solo tractor units at some

of our other sites. Would a driver with a class 2 (category C) licence be able to drive these?

There is often a lot of erroneous information that circulates

suggesting that the fifth wheel must be removed for this to be legal; but to confirm, it is permissible to move solo tractor units around on a category C licence which allows the driver to operate rigid vehicles of any size. No removal of the fifth wheel is necessary.

A category C+E licence is only required if a trailer is to be attached to the unit.

We close down for a fortnight over the festive period and during

this time, we have two inspections due on vehicles in our fleet. We were going to complete these when we return in January but where would we stand if DVSA were to inspect our records?

There is no issued guidance from DVSA on the correct procedure

should an operator miss a scheduled inspection.

As per the undertakings of your operator licence, you are expected to inspect vehicles at the intervals agreed at the point of application.

Good practice would be to ensure that the vehicles continue to be maintained within the maintenance schedule. This would mean presenting the vehicle for an earlier than usual inspection on the next round.

Alternatively, it may be prudent to inspect the vehicles prior to any shut down and revise the maintenance schedule accordingly.

GRT is a transport and training organisation specialising in road transport legislation and regulation, offering a range of operator licence compliance services and operating across Scotland and the north of England.

In conjunction with Transport News, GRT presents this regular Q&A column dealing with compliance and legislation issues relating to road haulage. Readers who have any queries can call 0141 237 6950, visit www.grtconsultants.com or post questions on our Facebook page, @GRTConsultants.

One of our vehicles is presently SORN whilst we consider replacing

it. However the tachograph calibration is due for expiry soon. Are we committing an offence by not renewing it on time?

Whilst the vehicle is off-road, it is at your discretion whether you renew

the calibration in line with the expiry date. The published tachograph legislation explains that ‘operators must ensure… requirements are complied with before a new or used vehicle goes into service’.

However, before it goes back on the road, it must be recalibrated as it is an offence to drive one in public otherwise. It is permissible to drive the vehicle without calibration from its place of storage to an Approved Tachograph Centre for a pre-arranged booking.

Tachograph calibration is assessed during annual testing; if the calibration has expired, it would be grounds for failure.

Can you be penalised at the roadside if you don’t have a hand

torch in your cab?

You cannot be issued with a prohibition notice for not carrying a

torch in your cab; however the chances of identifying prohibition worthy issues are reduced without one.

If stopped by DVSA at the roadside, especially in the winter months, the examiner may enquire whether you have one and if not, how you were able to perform a thorough enough daily walk-round check during hours of darkness.

Furthermore, the Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness recommends that a torch may be needed to perform adequate safety checks.

Best wishes to all readers for the festive period. Bookings made by readers in December will receive a 10% festive discount on all courses booked online.

You can see our course dates at www. grtconsultants.com/events. Select your course, click ‘Book Now’ and simply enter the coupon code TN2019s.

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hree months after being appointed managing director at A&R Vehicle Services, Gary Lay is more convinced than

ever that there is huge potential for growth at the Darlaston, West Midlands-based operation. It specialises in repair and refurbishment of trucks, trailers, buses and light commercial vehicles, and already has some of the UK biggest fleet operators among its customers. “We’ll certainly be marketing ourselves more aggressively than we have in the past because I’m convinced that there is significant potential for growth at a company which has been something of a sleeping giant,” he says. “Not only will we be working to attract orders from operators with which we’ve never worked before but we’ll also be endeavouring to win new and extended business from established customers.”

A&R was acquired five years ago by Bevan Group, a fast-growing truck bodybuilder based in Halesowen, West Midlands. George Simpson, a former Christian Salvesen UK fleet engineering manager and former Stiller Tankers managing director, was A&R managing director at the time. He remained in that post following the Bevan takeover but left in March 2017 to run Weekend Wheels, a Northampton-based driving school. Since then, Bevan Group managing director Anthony Bevan has taken direct charge of managing A&R and its 58 employees. “A&R was crying out for the right leadership and we were keen to attract a strategically-focused industry professional who could see the tremendous potential of this business and has the enthusiasm and skill-set to make the most of it,” says Mr Bevan. “Having been a supplier to Gary for a number of years, I had no doubt that he was the right man for the job.”

For nearly seven years before joining A&R, Mr Lay had worked for the Northampton-based DX group, a big logistics group specialising in parcels, courier services and secure freight. He was initially DX (Group) support services director, then managing director. Mr Lay’s 40-year career in road transport began as a truck technician apprenticeship. Companies he then worked for in increasingly senior roles before joining DX include Swift Transport Services, Tibbett & Britten, NYK Logistics and Yaxley Coachworks of Peterborough.

“Fundamentally, A&R is a great business,” he says. “We have the backing of a financially strong and supportive parent in Bevan Group, and we’re ideally

located at the heart of the country, close to motorway links. We also have some fantastic facilities, with scope to expand when we need to. Most importantly though, I’ve inherited a very loyal, experienced and highly skilled team. All they’ve been lacking is the right direction and motivation, which is where I come in.”

The 2.4-hectare (six-acre) A&R site at Darlaston includes 3,700 square metres (40,000 sq ft) of workshop space housing chassis-straightening equipment, paint preparation booths, and three low-bake paint ovens.

Ron Rushworth and his brother Trevor jointly founded the business in 1989. Trevor Rushworth retired as A&R chairman in 2017. Ron Rushworth remains a director.

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A fter nearly twelve years as engineering manager at Leyland Trucks, Michael Bolger has

moved to Cheshire-based trailer-maker and bodybuilder Cartwright Group as engineering director. The main aim of his appointment is to give technical director Lionel Curtis more time to spend on future development projects, according to Cartwright Group managing director Mark Cartwright. “Our growth in recent years has been unprecedented and we recognise the major benefits we can potentially develop for our customers through investing in Lionel’s passion and skills as an innovator,” he says. “We believe we now have the dream ticket, having appointed a highly experienced engineer in Michael Bolger to head our engineering team and allowing Lionel Curtis the time and flexibility to focus on innovation and development projects that we hope will be game-changers for the future.”

After graduating from the University of Salford with a degree in mechanical engineering, Mr Bolger worked for nearly three years at Ford Motor Company’s Basildon, Essex base as a component engineer. From there he moved to the Warwickshire office of Altair Engineering, a US-based computer software firm specialising in product design and development, as software business manager. After 11 years at Altair, Mr Bolger joined Leyland Trucks, a sister company of Daf Trucks in the giant Paccar truck-making group, in 2007.

“I am delighted to be joining Cartwright at a time when the company is expanding into new and international markets,” he says. “I was aware of their reputation for producing high-quality and reliable products, and their customer portfolio of household names speaks for itself.”

Lionel Curtis was engineering manager at Gray & Adams, a Fraserburgh, Scotland-based trailer-maker and bodybuilder specialising in the controlled-temperature sector, before moving to Cartwright Group four years ago as technical director. “The move to further develop and expand the engineering and technical areas has created an exciting new chapter for Cartwright and allows me to spend time on innovation and ideas for future product development that are sometimes out of the box but which will enable Cartwright to stay at the forefront of the industry,” he says.

At Cartwright Group’s near-neighbour and arch-rival trailer-maker Tiger Trailers, set up four years ago by Steven and John Cartwright, Richard Else has been appointed manufacturing director. Mr Else, 50, has been manufacturing director at McLaren Automotive, a Woking, Surrey-based manufacturer of high-performance and racing cars, for the past year. For nearly 17 years before that he worked for the Jaguar Land Rover car-making group in the West Midlands, initially as operations manager and latterly as operations director.

Tiger Trailers is preparing to move its trailer-making operation to a new £22 million purpose-built factory in Winsford, Cheshire. One of Mr Else’s key responsibilities will be to manage the move and make this site run as efficiently as possible.

“The opportunity to join such a young, dynamic, family-run business on its exciting journey was simply too good to miss,” he says. “With our genuinely state-of-the-art manufacturing facility almost complete, the prospects for Tiger Trailers fill everyone in the company with real excitement and passion. My first remit is to manage the transition to our new manufacturing facility but I’m already fully focused on engaging the power of the people to deliver a better, even more efficient production process to meet and exceed our customers’ expectations. I want to help position the business as an internationally recognised example of UK manufacturing at its very best.”

Gary Lay

Lionel Curtis

Richard Else

Michael Bolger

30 NOVEMBER 2018 > COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER

nstitute of the Motor Industry (IMI) chief executive Steve Nash has been appointed trustee board chairman at Ben,

a Berkshire-based charity specialising in support for motor industry workers. Former Volkswagen Group (UK) managing director Robin Woolcock has chaired the Ben trustee board for the past four years. He remains a trustee, now heading a committee in charge of the charity’s “health and wellbeing” division.Mr Nash has a long and distinguished motor industry career behind him, much of it spent at the BMW group, which he joined in 1986. A string of promotions took him to group aftersales director before he joined the IMI as chief executive in 2012. “We are delighted that Steve has taken up the role as Ben’s chair,” says the organisation’s chief executive Zara Ross. “Steve is renowned for his strategic leadership, experience and depth of knowledge of the automotive industry. This will be invaluable as the sector embarks on a period of significant change. Steve will help Ben’s progress to the next level of its transformation. We would also like to give a warm welcome to our new board members: Sharon Ashcroft, Chris Thomas and Mark Outhwaite, and to Sarah Baylis, who joins our people and nominations committee. Each of them brings considerable knowledge and experience in their respective fields and we very much look forward to working with them.”

Sharon Ashcroft is human resources director at TrustFord, Ford Motor Company’s wholly-owned dealer group. Chris Thomas is finance director at the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMIF), a London-based trade body representing motor industry sales and service businesses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Those in Scotland are represented by the independent Scottish Motor Trade Association (SMTA). Mark Outhwaite is a director at Outhentics Consulting, a Wiltshire-based management consultancy specialising in the health and social care sector.

Sarah Baylis is human resources boss at Thatcham Research, a big insurance company-funded research organisation based in Berkshire.

“I’m passionate about playing my part in Ben’s future by helping develop and indeed continue the charity’s success in supporting the people who work, or have worked, in the automotive industry with their health and wellbeing,” says Mr Nash.

More information at www.ben.org.uk.

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COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER > NOVEMBER 2018 31

V olvo Group has wasted no time in appointing a successor to Arne Knaben as boss of the Volvo

Trucks sales and marketing operation in the UK and Irish Republic. Mr Knaben was managing director of Volvo Group UK until two months ago when, following a radical senior management restructure, he was promoted to vice president at the head of the Volvo Trucks Middle East and North Africa division, based at Volvo Group’s global head office in Gothenburg, Sweden (September). From 1 January next year Commercial Vehicle Engineer the new boss of Volvo Trucks UK and Ireland, based in Warwick, will be Robert Grozdanovski. For the past four years he has been running the group’s central east Europe truck business, based in Prague, Czech Republic. Mr Grozdanovski, 51, has worked for Volvo

since 1997, originally in its bus division. He joined this after graduating in engineering from Gothenburg’s Chalmers University.

A string of promotions since then has taken him to posts including commercial trucks director for central east Europe, based in Warsaw, Poland, and general manager of the company’s Slovakian trucks business, based in Bratislava.

In his new job in the UK from 1 January, Mr Grozdanovski will report to Volvo Trucks Europe president Roger Alm.

“I look very much forward to the move and to start working together with my new colleagues, dealers and customers in both the UK and Ireland,” says Mr Grozdanofski. “I can see the solid development of Volvo Trucks’ position in both countries under Arne Knaben’s leadership and I’m eager to learn and continue developing our presence

and support in both markets to make our customers in UK and Ireland even more successful in the future – especially with all the challenges and uncertainty that Brexit will undoubtedly bring.”

nother senior Volvo Group manager starting a new job in the UK is James Charnock. He has been used trucks

director for both Volvo Trucks and Renault Trucks in the UK for nearly four years but this month has been appointed commercial and services director at Renault Trucks UK, reporting to its newly appointed managing director Carlos Rodrigues (Commercial Vehicle Engineer September). Mr Charnock’s move follows the surprise resignation of Nigel Butler. He has been Renault Trucks UK commercial director for more than 11 years and chaired the commercial vehicle section of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) between January 2016 and last month. Mr Butler says that he is now looking for a completely fresh challenge, perhaps in the truck market but possibly in other sectors such as bus and coach or telematics. Mr Butler’s extensive commercial vehicle business experience includes jobs as a Foden Trucks regional

sales manager in the 1990s, nearly five years as a key account manager at ERF, and nearly six years working in sales at the Paccar group’s finance division. Mr Butler joined Renault Trucks UK as commercial director in July 2007.

Mr Charnock’s previous jobs include sales manager at ZF, project manager at Lex Auto Logistics, and fleet parts sales director at Daf Trucks. He joined Volvo Group as managing director of its Roadcrew Solutions division in 2011.

“I am delighted to welcome James to the Renault Trucks executive team,” says his new boss Carlos Rodrigues.

“His skills, experience and track record speak for themselves, while his drive, enthusiasm and inclusive approach will invigorate and accelerate our growth in the UK & Ireland.”

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Robert Grozdanovski

James Charnock

Nigel Butler

Mark Outhwaite

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