One of England’s oldest family laundry businesses Buckleigh Laundry is replacing an older diesel truck with a battery-powered 4×2 rigid – cutting 32 tonnes of carbon emissions from its transport fleet each year.
The zero-tailpipe emission Volvo FM electric truck will be used for delivery and collection of the North Devon-based firm’s linen products to customer sites across the West Country.
Built on a 6,300 mm wheelbase, the 20-tonne FM Electric is equipped with six batteries offering a maximum range of 300 km. Power is delivered by two electrical motors which generate 450 hp and 2,400 Nm of continuous torque.
It is also backed by a Volvo Gold Contract ensuring maximum uptime through preventative maintenance, repairs, and continuous monitoring of key systems including batteries and other critical components, and is expected to cover in the region of 50,000 km annually.
The truck will recharge at the firm’s depot overnight and be ready for use the following morning. The long-term plan for Buckleigh Laundry is to electrify the entirety of its commercial vehicle fleet.
Henry Boyle, Managing Director, Buckleigh Laundry, said:
“As a business, we take sustainability very seriously and we believe that going green is a clear commitment to the future. The sooner we begin looking for a clear strategy to cut our emissions, the greater the impact we will have – that’s the reason we opted to go down the electric route.
“This one vehicle will save 32 tonnes of carbon from our commercial vehicle fleet being emitted into the environment every year it’s in operation.”
“This is a proof-of-concept project; if this first electric truck can perform strongly then the plan would be to transition our entire HGV fleet over time to electric. Some of the terrain we operate on in Cornwall and Devon is quite hilly and remote. It’s a challenging environment for it to prove itself but the early signs are hugely positive.”
Nigel Denford, Transport Manager at Buckleigh Laundry, said:
“The first truck we bought was a Volvo and we haven’t looked back. We have a very good relationship with Stuarts (the vehicle supplier). The service we get is spot on, which is not the case for all manufacturers. That goes a very long way. They have supported us on every step of this electric journey. The routes for the FM Electric have been carefully planned, and we are confident it will perform as expected.
“The two drivers who have been allocated to the truck absolutely love it, and the early feedback on the camera monitoring system has been extremely positive.”
Image courtesy of Volvo FM
