UK building supplies company Travis Perkins has ordered 400 new delivery trucks equipped with Hiab loader cranes for delivery over the next three years, starting in January.
The investment is aimed at providing improved fuel economy, lower emissions, higher safety levels and more efficient unloading on site.
The cranes in the order are Hiab’s new iX.162 Hipro BSS-2 models which will replace the existing cranes on the company’s heavy site delivery vehicles in the Travis Perkins merchants and 'Keyline Civils Specialist' businesses. This version of the iX.162 is around 150kg lighter than the X-Hiduo 162 that it replaces, providing a higher payload and lower fuel consumption. To further reduce carbon emissions, the new cranes have been designed so that the engine can be stopped and restarted from the crane’s remote controller, reducing idling emissions and noise.
Despite being lighter, the new model has a better load chart than its predecessor and comes with Hiab’s all-new CombiDrive 4 remote controls, which has confirmed view sensors and automatically detects operator positioning providing improved safety for operators, customers and the public. In most cases the cranes will be rear mounted.
The new cranes will be supplied to Travis Perkins and Keyline with HiConnect telematics installed in order to monitor the performance and safe operation of the crane, combined with Hiab ProCare full service contract.
Travis Perkins fleet director Richard Byrne said: “These new cranes represent a significant investment. They support our plans to innovate and grow, and they cement our place as a leading partner to construction by serving our customers with improved safety and efficiency. All new cranes will come with a maintenance contract, which means they will be maintained to the highest standards by Hiab. They also support our own commitment to net zero and the decarbonisation of our customers’ supply chain - a commitment we share with Hiab, whose values very much align with our own.”
Gage Roberts, Hiab key account manager UK & Ireland, added: “We are all very excited to introduce the first iX.162 HIPRO BSS-2 to Travis Perkins and get this unit out working in the field. It became very apparent that when specifying a crane for our customers, the safety features alongside the environmental factors are much more prominent considerations than they ever have been previously. The new crane has an abundance of innovations that will all work towards this crane being the safest, most efficient and most productive crane in the industry. It is also great to work alongside a strategic partner such as Travis Perkins plc - a company that always demands the very best, something that benefits both businesses enormously.”
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