Ryder cleans up in deal with laundry specialist Elis for 162 new DAF rigids

Ryder is supplying 162 new DAF vehicles to international textile, hygiene and facilities services specialist Elis.

The deal sees French group Elis make its first HGV order since it acquired UK firm Berendsen in a £2.2bn in Septenber 2017.

The new vehicles, which are being supplied in new ‘Elis’ livery designed specifically for the UK market, will replace outgoing models and will carry out laundry delivery collections across 38 Elis sites.

They are being phased into the Elis fleet with the final vehicles being supplied in 2020.

The new batch of rigid trucks includes latest specification Euro-6 18t DAF CF230s, 15t DAF LF230s, 12t DAF LF180s and 7.5t DAF LF150s.

The vehicles are being supplied on a full contract hire basis with full maintenance, including tail-lift.

The DAF CF and LF vehicles are specified with Bevan bodies with uprated tail-lifts and improved tail-lift controls, to cope with heavy usage which can involve up to 35 drops per day per vehicle.

Read more

• Food wholesaler Spizarnia in deal with Ryder to meet London ULEZ compliance
• Travis Perkins in fleet deal with Ryder
• See the DAF LF City at Freight in the City Expo

Improved internal restraining straps and mountings were also added to secure cages within the vehicle to reduce damage and improve safety.

Healthcare vehicles are specified with sanitation units for carrying hospital bed sheets and curtains, which ‘fog’ once sealed, to destroy bacteria. Portable sanitation units are also specified to enable other vehicles to operate in the healthcare sector.

All of the new vehicles include TomTom telematics and a 360 degree, four camera system which is Direct Vision Standard compliant.

Peter Kelly, Elis group compliance and fleet manager, said: "Ryder was awarded the contract to supply these new vehicles based on the competitive contract terms they offered together with the excellent support we receive from the account management team, the engineering team, and the Ryder network, who understand the service demands across our 38 sites."

Shaun Stephenson, Ryder engineering director, said: "Elis’ vehicles operate in an extremely demanding environment and our account management team and engineers have worked closely with Elis, and managed the supply chain, including the bodybuilders and specialist equipment suppliers, to ensure that we provide the right vehicles and specialised adaptations, service backup, and commercial terms to fully meet their operational demands.