Maidens of Telford has increased its fleet to 65 vehicles after seeing a rise in pallet volumes in 2014.
MD John Maiden told Motortransport.co.uk that the firm, which covers the SY postcode area for Palletforce, said pallet work is "progressing quite nicely" and has seen an increase in business.
It has this month put into operation three Iveco Stralis Hi-Way tractor units, which are the first Ivecos to join its fleet in over 15 years.
Supplied by Guest Truck & Van, the Ivecos are powered by the 460hp Cursor 11 engine. They are expected to remain in service for five years, clocking up around 100,000 miles annually.
The operator also plans to add five MANs to the fleet in March, followed by a further five in September. It last year put 16 MANs into operation.
The firm last year launched a scheme to get younger drivers into the business and is in the process of training up its fifth youngster. Maiden said the scheme is working well and started in September by getting the sons and grandsons of some of its existing drivers on board. Now the company hopes to expand the opportunity into the local area.
This month also sees Maiden’s drivers embark on their first wave of training ahead of the next Driver CPC deadline in 2019. Maiden said it puts every driver through their required training once a year, normally in January.
“If you’re not organised then it will jump up on you,” he added.
