Curtainsided LGVs deliver on cost and time, says operator

摘要

Transport business Euro-Track is trumpeting the benefits of curtainsided light goods vehicles (LGVs) which, it says, enable loads to be moved more quickly and cheaply. Its LGVs combine the advantages of Tautliner HGVs with small vans, according to managing director Lee Fearne. "They're uncommon here [in the UK], but very common on the continent," he explains. "There are no tachos and you can drive them on a normal licence. But you can still get 10 Euro pallets on one, rather than six on a normal van," he adds. Fearne explains that goods can be loaded from the side and the vehicles take up to 1,600kg, rather than the standard 1,200kg. Larger loads can also be carried with the same running costs of a van. "If you've got a van you can only put [the load] through the back door, and standard pallets are 1.2m. If you've got a 2m- or even 4m-pallet, you can't take it. But with a curtain van, you can," he says. "It's cheaper than air freight: 10 Euro pallets from Cardiff to northern Spain would cost £4,000. A van's going to cost you £1,200... It's also half the cost of a 7.5-tonner."