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ACTROS WINS THE ‘THUMBS UP’ Some of Britain’s biggest and best-known retailers are now stocking their shelves with plasticware delivered by a new fleet of highly specified Mercedes Actros tractor units. The 4x2 Actros 1848s wear the colours of leading manufacturer Thumbs Up (Bury) and arrived via Bolton dealer Ciceley Commercials. Finished in striking metallic blue, with alloy wheels, they boast range-topping, air-conditioned and flat-floored MegaSpace cabs, as well as 480hp BlueTec® Euro 5 V8 engines that attract Reduced Pollution Certificates which bring £500 savings in Vehicle Excise Duty, annually for the life of each truck. Thumbs Up’s drivers also benefit from 12-speed Mercedes PowerShift automated transmissions and in-cab refrigeration units. “Aside from leather upholstery,” laughs director Darren McGuinness, “I don’t think there’s much more we could have put in these trucks.” Thumbs Up has ordered eight Actros, which are the subject of three-year contract hire deals with in-house finance arm, Ciceley Contracts. The first four are already on the road, with the remaining four due by the end of October. Thumbs Up manufacturers and supplies a comprehensive range of house and gardenwares to the UK’s major supermarkets and high street retailers. Most of the work entails just-in-time deliveries to regional distribution centres; the company also delivers extensively in Ireland. Because of the nature of the products they carry, gross weights are low – the new Actros are plated at 34 tonnes gcw but it’s not unusual for a fully freighted rig to weigh less than 23 tonnes. Thumbs Up operates a fleet of 18 trucks, of which Mercedes-Benz now claims the lion’s share. The line-up includes three 7.5-tonners and a pair of 18-tonners; the rest are tractor units. The company ran Mercedes in the 1990s but then switched to a rival manufacturer because of concerns over the quality of early Actros models and dealer back-up. Its new order represents the latest in a series of steps that have seen it gradually reaffirm its confidence in the three-pointed star. “The nature of our business means reliability and performance is essential. Today’s Actros is reliable, fuel-efficient and comfortable for drivers,” continues Mr McGuinness. “The Mercedes PowerShift transmission is right up there with the best two-pedal systems, and I also like the new safety features such as the extra blind spot mirror. “Ciceley understand our high standards and expectations and their after sales back-up is first class these days. Clare Wilkinson (Assistant Service Manager at the dealer’s Bolton branch) does a fantastic job for us.” Thumbs Up (Bury) Limited was founded in 1980 by Chairman John McGuinness, and remains a family run business under the leadership of its Managing Director, Richard McGuinness. http://www.mercedes-benz.co.uk
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