Econ Engineering

SIX MORE RE-FURBS FOR WIGAN

Updated. 12.March.2010

Wigan Council has acquired six more Econ re-furbished spreaders and chassis to replace similar equipment supplied five years ago...

Fleet manager John Derbyshire confirmed the switch to Econ equipment had begun in the mid 1990s and now the local authority’s 10-strong fleet consists entirely of re-furbished Econ vehicles. They perform well and he had been very impressed with the manufacturing facilities at the company’s Ripon site and the quality of the vehicles produced.

The latest contract is for 3 x 18 tonnes, 2 x 7.5 tonnes and 1 x 26 tonne units all mounted on Daf chassis, and fitted with low throw spreading and Spargo control boxes linked to a Masternaut GPS system.

Highways DLO manager Mark McCartney commented: “Traditionally we have gone for the permanently mounted option but it made sense to go for re-furbished models otherwise you have high value assets sitting around unused in a depot for six months of the year. 

“The quality of the work is excellent and it is only the registration numbers that tell you these are not new vehicles. They perform as well as new models, even if their life expectancy is somewhat reduced. We operate a five-year rotational plan at which stage these vehicles will be moved on.

Mark added that future plans included looking at changing to Econ’s swap body system so that both his Whale gully emptiers and the Econ spreaders could use the same chassis which would ensure high levels of utilisation.

In addition, he was very pleased with the effectiveness of the low throw system which had definitely brought about a drop in insurance claims associated with spreading with only two such claims over the past 12 months.