Mulgrew goes back to Mercedes-Benz
Excellent all-round performance from a demonstration unit, and the confident expectation of significantly improved fuel economy figure compared to its fleet average, persuaded Mulgrew Haulage to invest in its first Mercedes-Benz tractors for 20 years.
One of the leading lights of the Northern Ireland transport industry, Mulgrew has purchased 10 New Actros 2545 units from Mercedes-Benz Truck & Van (NI) – four are in service already, with the rest due to follow soon.
Mulgrew’s trucks wear a distinctive livery and are a common sight on the roads of Ireland. Although its fleet has been dominated in recent years by another manufacturer, trade press coverage highlighting the Mercedes-Benz contender’s impressive mpg returns have caught the operator’s eye, particularly those reports including hard figures from customers with trucks already on the road.
“We’d seen and heard some very positive reports about the New Actros so we decided it was time to take a look for ourselves,” says Paul Mulgrew, a Director of the Dromore-based firm.
“We contacted Mercedes-Benz Truck & Van (NI) and were very pleased by the helpful and professional response we received. Sales Executive Roy Owens gave us a great deal of useful information and the dealer supplied us with a demonstrator.
“We ran that truck for an extended period to get a true picture of how well it performed, and the results were certainly pleasing. I don’t want to quote exact figures but it turned in some enouraging fuel returns, as well as being well liked by our drivers, so on this basis we decided to order 10 trucks.”
The New Actros have range-topping GigaSpace cabs and 450 hp straight-six engines. They join a fleet of over 100 top-weight tractor units which undertake a variety of general haulage duties acrossNorthern Ireland, the Republic, and mainland UK.
“They’ve only been on the road a month so it’s a little too early to get a benchmark fuel figure but with the evidence of the long-term demo, and what we’ve seen so far, the early signs are very promising,” says Mr Mulgrew.
“Our New Actros tractors are already a little way ahead of the fleet average and we expect them to improve still further as they bed in. They also look fantastic in our colours and are a great advertisement for the company out on the road.”
And he adds: “We’re also impressed with what we’ve seen of Mercedes-Benz Truck & Van’s service support. The dealer’s workshop at Newtownabbey looks like a smart, professional operation. We’ve been given all the right promises, so we’re confident that high-quality back-up will be there.”