Wincanton Order More Teardrop Trailers For Its Lafarge Contract

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Wincanton has bought another batch of lightweight Don-Bur Teardrop™ trailers for its construction fleet following successful in-house trials.

The 20 new triaxle, curtain-sided Teardrop™ trailers, with a 5,820kg kerbweight, follow the original deal for 25 Teardrops last year and will be used for Wincanton's work with Lafarge's UK plasterboard division.

Wincanton's trials with the Teardrop™ improved fuel consumption by up to 8% compared to standard curtainsider trailers.Chris Kingshott, MD for manufacturing at Wincanton, says the trailers could increase fuel saving to 10%. "Wincanton works closely with Lafarge to develop transport solutions to fit our needs," he says.

"Following the success of the first wave of Teardrop™ trailers on the contract and the continued environmental benefits, the 20 new trailers have been introduced to replace standard curtainsider trailers.

"The addition of the new trailers to our fleet underlines our leadership in this sector and demonstrates our desire to continually deliver improved efficiencies for our customers," he adds.

The trailers will be part of a 725-stong fleet in Wincanton's construction division, which includes its own vehicles and sub-contractors. The new trailers will operate out of Bristol and Ferrybridge, Yorkshire.

Wincanton signed a five-year, £50m, contract to run the transportation for DIY product manufacturer Lafarge Plasterboard - handling more than 28,000 loads per year of dry lining and plasterboard - in March 2009.