News from Mercedes-Benz: RiverRidge Recycling is making fuel savings of two miles and more per gallon from its first Mercedes-Benz Arocs.
The proven reliability of previous Mercedes-Benz trucks, and driver appeal of the new model’s comfortable and well designed cab, were both key to the Garvagh-based waste management specialist’s decision to purchase the two eight-wheelers.
Supplied by Newtownabbey Dealer Mercedes-Benz Truck & Van, the Arocs 3243s are powered by state-of-the-art Euro-6 engines producing 430 hp. They are fitted with hookloader equipment by Farlow Engineering, also of Garvagh.
Transport Manager Stephen Thompson revealed, “Our work varies, with some runs including a lot of urban, stop-start driving. 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-Benzvehicles they’ve replaced. The Arocs cover anything up to 800 km a week, so the potential savings are very significant.”
He continued, “We were already running a couple of Mercedes-Benz Econic refuse collection vehicles which have been extremely reliable, and I have some experience of operating Mercedes-Benz trucks in previous jobs, so I knew the Arocs would be up to the task.
“The manufacturer has also put a lot of thought into making the cabs look great, both inside and out, and they’re very driver-friendly too. 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.”
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 the state-of-the-art processing centre which RiverRidge opened recently following a £3.2 million investment, where loads are segregated for recycling.
The Mercedes-Benz Arocs range comprises tractors and four-, six- and eight-wheeled rigids, with gross weights from 18 to 250 tonnes. All combine previously unseen levels of performance and efficiency with state-of-the-art Euro-6 engines, driving through Mercedes PowerShift 3 automated transmissions, which offer mpg savings of up to 5% compared to equivalent, outgoing models.
