Energas Ltd, one of the largest distributors of cylinder gases in the UK, has added a DAF tractor unit and a 26 tonne DAF chassis to its fleet. Both vehicles were supplied on contract hire by commercial vehicle hire and fleet management specialist, Prohire Plc.
Energas supplies an extensive range of industrial cylinder gases, LPG, refrigerant gases, food grade and drinks dispense gases to a diverse client base across the country and the 26 tonner has been specified by Prohire’s engineers through discussions with Energas and the bodybuilder to enable it to carry various types of gas and different cylinder sizes safely and efficiently.
Modifications included the introduction of a specialist tail lift to the rigid vehicle with drop down sides to ease loading and unloading along with the addition of a ‘central spine’ to which cylinders are secured to prevent the potential risk of hazardous load movement during transit.
The decision to acquire the vehicles on contract hire is a departure from the traditional method of acquisition by Energas. Historically the company had always purchased its vehicles outright, but since being acquired two years ago by the French firm, Air Liquide, Energas has switched to contract hire as its preferred method of acquisition.
“We believe that contract hiring our vehicles is the way forward,” says the Energas Group Distribution Manager, Dave Richards. “It offers a number of advantages for a company such as ours, not the least of which is preserving our working capital for investment projects within the business and enabling us to accurately budget the running costs of our commercial vehicle fleet.”
Dave Richards chose to approach Prohire having seen work being carried out on a Prohire vehicle at one of the company’s body-builder partners.
“I was very impressed not only by how pro-active Prohire were throughout the build management process but also with their attention to detail and the high level of support that they offered including a comprehensive vehicle handover process,” comments Dave.
Both of the new vehicles have been finished in the new Energas livery and the tractor unit has been given a name – ‘Lois’ – in honour of Dave’s granddaughter.
“A number of our vehicles are named after members of our staff’s families, so I was thrilled that the new tractor has taken my own granddaughter’s name,” says Dave.
Andrew Morley, sales director at Prohire, comments: “we are delighted to have been selected by Energas as their commercial vehicle supplier of choice as we are now in the process of supplying further vehicles to Energas for delivery in 2014”
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