Stralis Hi-Way demonstrator convinces West Yorkshire haulier to replace a third of its fleet

Thursday 21st May 2015

Bradford-based haulier Brian R. Patefield Ltd has renewed a third of its fleet after taking delivery of nine Euro VI Stralis Hi-Way 6x2 (AS440S46TXP) tractor units. The Stralis tractors are the first new vehicles taken on by the company, which has traditionally only purchased second-hand trucks.

Delivered by dealer Northern Commercials, the new vehicles will replace older Renault and Iveco tractor units.

The business, which has been established for more than 40 years, maintains a fleet of 24 vehicles. Key to taking delivery of new trucks was a competitive trial which saw a Euro VI Stralis demonstrator impress alongside competitor vehicles in its class, receiving extremely positive feedback from the company’s drivers.

John Patefield, Transport Manager for Brian R. Patefield Ltd, says: “We were keen to see what a new Iveco could offer us; we encouraged our drivers to give us detailed feedback on the demonstration vehicle. They were incredibly enthusiastic about the Stralis Hi-Way; it delivered across the board.”

The drivers praised it for the overall comfort and amount of space available inside the long-distance Hi-Way cab. Iveco has ensured that the cab of its flagship vehicle is centred around the driver, with class-leading ergonomics, comfort and safety; providing an environment which maximises productivity on every job.

However, as with the majority of businesses, the final decision was taken on the basis of how the Stralis could reduce total cost of ownership compared with the older vehicles the customer was operating, and the best of the rest from the other demonstrator models trialled.

Key to the Stralis efficiency is Iveco’s HI-SCR system, which has been used to meet the latest emissions standard without the need for exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). This helps to deliver weight reduction and optimised fuel performance, whilst the simplicity of the SCR-only approach means long service intervals for the diesel particulate filter (DPF) of up to 600,000km.

Patefield continues: “Northern Commercials offered us an excellent package inclusive of servicing, which was far more competitive than what was offered by other dealers. It was enough to convince us to purchase new, instead of used, trucks – and to replace a third of our fleet with Ivecos in one swoop.”

Patefield concludes: “As the economy improves we will need our vehicles to stay on the road for longer as demand increases. An unreliable vehicle can have huge costs for a business, but we are confident that the Stralis will provide the performance that we need.”

The Stralis tractors will form part of the Brian R. Patefield Ltd general fleet, undertaking distribution work throughout Yorkshire and the rest of the UK. They are expected to be in service for five years and will travel up to 129,000 kilometres a year.

Each of the Stralis tractor units are powered by a Euro VI Cursor 11 engine which can produce up to 460 hp between 1,500 and 1,900 rev/min and 2,150 Nm of torque between 925 and 1,500 rev/min. They also feature a new Super Engine Brake which uses an exhaust throttle to improve the performance of an engine by up to 30 per cent compared to the previous generation of Iveco engines.

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