The fast-growing South Wales firm is selected Bevan Group to build the body as well as supply the racking, fit the tuckaway tail-lift, and design and apply the vehicle’s eye-catching livery.
The box body is a Bevan21, designed to reduce wind resistance while maintaining cubic load volumes. Features include a curved roof and a specially moulded air deflector and cab collar, with independent tests having shown that the streamlined body – which is also available as a curtainsider – is capable of cutting fuel bills by more than 15%.
Manufactured from lightweight Ecofont GRP panels at Bevan’s production facility in Halesowen, West Midlands, AV Coatings’ body has three compartments, accessed via single and double doors. The vehicle carries a small compressor and the reactor (spraying machine), while a sound-deadened compartment houses a generator. The product is transported in 45-gallon drums – up to four at a time can be carried – stowed towards the rear.
The Canter 7C18 chassis arrived via the Swansea branch of Mercedes-Benz dealer Euro Commercials (South Wales). Powered by a fuel-efficient 175hp engine, it offers both a compact footprint and the market-leading payload for which the Canter is renowned – with the tail-lift fitted and allowing a combined 170kg for the driver and fuel, the vehicle still offers a 3,210kg carrying capacity.
Part of the firm’s expertise is in the application of polyurea and polyurethane coatings, which can be put to an almost limitless variety of uses and have a significantly lower impact on the environment than traditional alternatives such as paint, epoxy and fiberglass.
Director Ian Rigden added. ‘The fact that our new truck has such impressive credentials in terms of fuel efficiency and carbon reduction is therefore entirely appropriate.’
Importantly, because the on board equipment is permanently bolted in place, the Canter is classified as a service vehicle. It is not, therefore, subject to an Operator’s Licence and nor is a tachograph required.
‘We used to run a 7.5-tonner on an O-Licence years ago and dealing with VOSA (the Vehicle & Operator Services Agency) was a lot of hassle,’ says Ian’s brother and co-director Andrew Rigden.
AV Coatings’ new truck replaces a 3.5-tonner which towed a generator. ‘We do a lot of work in London, where reversing with the trailer was often awkward and could even be dangerous,’ added Andrew Rigden. ‘Not only is the new vehicle safer, it’s also more secure, as generators are often stolen from trailers.
‘Bevan have also done a great job with the high-visibility livery. The more people that see us on the road, the better we like it – it’s a great mobile advertisement.’
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