Some kind of recognition is welcome after 40 years of service. Forget a card and a nice watch in a gift box, long-standing driver, Gary Hughes, who has worked for the business for more than 40 years just got himself a brand new Volvo FH540. Working for Mid Glamorgan-based Alan Price & Sons, Gary gets a Globetrotter XL cab and tonnes of other goodies to make the 120,000kms he drives in a year altogether more pleasurable.
Supplied by Darren Padfield, Area Sales Manager at Truck and Bus Wales and West, the new model FH features the most powerful variant of Volvo’s 12.8-litre D13K engine, producing up to 540 hp. It is the latest Volvo to join the bulk haulage specialist’s 17-strong fleet and follows another FH that arrived earlier in the year.
Equipped with the I-Shift Dual Clutch transmission, the truck’s high specification also includes a leather interior, swivelling passenger seat and a reclining bunk, plus a microwave and 33-litre fridge-freezer.
Top Spec Truck
“We spec’d the new FH with the Dual Clutch as the driving experience is simply phenomenal,” says Ben Price, Traffic Manager at Alan Price & Sons. “This is a very special truck for a driver who has given a huge amount to our business over four decades. The interior spec is truly first class, and Gary is delighted.”
“It’s early days but so far he’s been very impressed with the performance on the road. The pulling power from the engine is immense; he says it’s a fantastic truck to drive and visually it makes a great statement for our business too.”
Alan Price & Sons expects the new FH tractor unit to clock up around 120,000 km per year, transporting bulk and waste recycling across South Wales.
Featuring the firm’s instantly recognisable blue and white stag livery, the truck’s exterior also benefits from LED headlights, side skirts, Alcoa Dura-Bright alloy wheels and additional lights supplied by TranzTech.
It has been provided on a five-year finance lease agreement through Volvo Financial Services and is backed by a Volvo Gold Contract, which will see all routine servicing taken care of by Truck and Bus Wales and West’s depot in Pontypridd.
With two further FHs ordered for early next year, Volvo will soon take its share of the Alan Price & Sons fleet to more than 90 per cent.
Alan Price & Sons is a family-run bulk haulage contractor based in Deri and has traded since 1971. It is managed by directors Raymond and David Price.