BT Fleet has taken delivery of 22 new Euro-6 DAF LF 150 FA 7.5 tonners, to be used as lightweight Pole Erection Units (PEUs).
Designed in conjunction with SB Components for installation of communications poles on behalf of BT Openreach, the short-wheelbase trucks come with auger, crane, road-guarding kit and storage.
“Openreach has 3.5 million poles across the UK, and fleet utilisation is critical to providing an effective service,” said BT Fleet’s Commercial Director, Duncan Webb. “These latest DAF 7.5 tonners are already delivering significant operational advantages beyond our previous vehicles. With everything ‘on-board’, our trucks can now maximise their time in operation.
“DAF’s willingness to find a solution really impressed and, along with SB Components, we designed a new vehicle from the ground up. The result is a vehicle that ideally suits the end-user’s needs. In fact, the finished vehicle is an improvement over our initial concept. We now have 22 DAF LFs in service with another 15 on order.”
BT Fleet has used DAF products almost exclusively for poling applications since the early 1990s. The LF 7.5 tonner provides BT Fleet with a lightweight PEU vehicle while larger DAF PEUs are used for multiple poling operations.