Palanackie-based haulier TP Niven has taken delivery of a concept tractor unit from Crossland Tankers as part of its programme to update the fleet. The concept tractor unit is a Volvo FM12 6×2 tractor unit which has the pumping and metering equipment, essential for farm collection duties, attached to it.
The pumping and metering equipment is usually attached to the farm collection tanker. However, the nature of a farm collection tanker means that the expensive equipment is only used while the tank loads, and is not in use for a significant amount of time – when the tank is full or on a journey to the dairy.
Bryan Ives, Crossland Tankers’ sales and marketing manager, says: “The concept tractor greatly improves milk haulier’s cost effectiveness and utilisation of the fleet. Usually the pumping and metering equipment is not used that much during the day, so the concept of having the equipment on the tractor unit, means that it is effectively working 24 hours a day, seven days a week in the local milk fields.” Ives continues: “Once the farm collection tanker is full it can be coupled to a normal tractor unit, which then takes it to the dairy. This means that the concept tractor can be coupled to an empty tanker to continue collecting milk from the local farms, which vastly improves fleet utilisation.”
TP Niven provides general haulage and milk distribution services nationwide and has two other sites, in Dalbeattie and Lockerbie. Jim Niven, managing partner at TP Niven, comments: “We decided to get a concept tractor unit as this offers us greater cost saving and increases our efficiency. We can now operate farm collection tankers up to 44 tonnes, so we no longer need to use reload trailers.” He continues: “We wanted to update our fleet and this is our first trial of this type of concept. Crossland’s response time was very quick and the build is excellent.”
