Ryder wins fleet replacement and maintenance deal with Safetykleen

Commercial vehicle rental firm Ryder has won a fleet replacement and maintenance contract with Safetykleen.

The contract will see Ryder buy 127 vehicles from Safetykleen’s lease providers and lease them back to Safetykleen, as well as take over the fleet management and maintenance of Safetykleen's vehicles.

Delivery of the vehicles to SafetyKleen has already begun after Ryder agreed a mobilisation period of just six weeks between the contract signing and contract start.

Safetykleen, which provides parts, washing equipment, and waste services to the rail, automotive, aerospace, aggregates and construction sectors, has a fleet ranging from Daf XF tractors through to 18-tonne and 15-tonne rigids, and Iveco Daily 7.2 tonners and 3.5-tonne vans.

The first batch of replacement vehicles, including six Daf XF 6x2 tractors fitted with Space Cabs, has already been delivered, with full fleet replacement scheduled for early 2017.

Under the deal Ryder will also maintain the vehicles either overnight or at weekends to reduce vehicle downtime - a service offering which was central to Ryder's successful bid.

Andrew Homes, Safetykleen purchasing director, said: "The tender and negotiation process with Ryder helped us to review exactly what service we required.

"It became clear that our key requirement was to have our vehicles on the road with as little downtime as possible in order to service our customers. There was also added value in working with Ryder in that we were able to review our fleet specification and ensure it was fit for purpose."

Robin White, Ryder sales and marketing director said: "The detailed tender process and short mobilisation periods were challenges that we were happy to respond to. We know how crucial vehicle uptime and availability can be for our clients and we relished the opportunity to focus on that with Safetykleen."