A major electricity distributor has taken delivery of eight 3.5-tonne Iveco Daily panel vans after praising their payload credentials.
UK Power Networks chose the vehicles after a demonstrator proved it could carry an extra 100kg in a payload test versus competitor models when fully kitted out with the firm’s chosen racking.
Supplied by Dunstable-based dealer Northern Commercials, the vehicles join the firm’s 3,000-strong fleet, of which 10% are Ivecos, and will support crews conducting repairs to power cables across Greater London, Kent, Norfolk and West Sussex.
The vans have been fitted with racking systems by Tevo and specified with an air-suspended driver’s seat for maximum comfort and a reversing camera to aid manoeuvrability. The load area also features a SwingLift crane, for safely lifting heavy goods into and out of the van.
The vehicles are expected to play a frontline role for the next six years and are spread across UK Power Networks’ depots in Ashford, Bury St Edmunds, Childerditch and Colchester.
Cliff Allender, transport operations manager at UK Power Networks, said: “Our crews carry out emergency repairs across the biggest power network in the UK, so the payload of the vehicles is vital. They need to carry all the tools and equipment necessary to deal with a whole range of issues – and the load-carrying capability of the Iveco means they can do just that.
“The speed in providing us with a Daily to carry out the payload test was excellent and so were the results. We are already looking at the possibility of adding more Ivecos to the fleet when we replace older models.”
