The first 160 trucks to wear the latest version of the DX Group’s livery were built by Bevan Group and finished by its Graphics Depot division, while its Aftercare Response operation has now assumed responsibility for the maintenance of their box bodies and tail-lifts.
DX Group operates from headquarters in Slough and provides a range of next-day and scheduled delivery services covering parcel freight, secure, courier and logistics services, for both business and residential addresses throughout the UK and Ireland.
All based on 7.5-tonne MAN TGL chassis, its new trucks are fitted with Bevan21 bodies with aerodynamically efficient curved roofs, while their 1,000kg tuckaway tail-lifts are by DEL.
DX Group Fleet & Compliance Director Darren Bell – a former Fleet Manager of the Year – praised Bevan Group for the speed and efficiency with which it completed the 160-vehicle project.
"I’ve only been in the business a little over a year, and this was my first experience of dealing with Bevan Group,” he explained. "I’m happy to confirm that it has surpassed all of my expectations.
"The order covered a substantial number of vehicles, but Bevan Group committed to a tight, eight-week production schedule, which it then met. It also did so without prejudicing quality, as the bodies are clearly built to a very high standard.”
DX operates approximately 500 trucks. The line-up includes 125 tractor units and 60 rigids at 18 tonnes gvw, but 7.5-tonners form the backbone of the fleet.
The multi-faceted Bevan Group has been building vehicle bodies for DX at its production facilities in the West Midlands, for more than 15 years. For the last six of those, its Graphics Depot team have also been entrusted with the responsibility for applying the customer’s corporate branding.
"Here, too, Bevan Group’s service was exceptional,” confirmed Mr Bell. "The quality of the finish is first class and our new livery looks great, while the fact that we don’t have to send the vehicles to another supplier to get the decals done also contributes to the fast turnarounds.”
While the majority of DX’s new trucks have replaced older vehicles which have been stood down, 43 represent extensions to the fleet, reflecting the continued growth in demand for its services.
Darren Bell, who won the prestigious Fleet News Fleet Manager of the Year accolade in 2014, while working for security services specialist G4S, continued: "The market for dry freight box bodies is very competitive, but as Bevan Group were already a trusted partner of this business I decided to see how they performed, then consider whether we needed to do anything differently next time.
"I’m glad I did so because not only was the work completed to a very high standard and within the required timeframe, but Bevan Group’s flexible, ‘one-stop shop’ service also made life very straightforward from an administrative perspective. To cap it all, Managing Director Anthony Bevan and his colleagues are nice, easy people to work with, so we look forward to doing so again in the future.”
Winner in 2017 of Commercial Motor magazine’s inaugural Bodybuilder of the Year trophy, Bevan Group operates from headquarters in Wednesbury, and three other manufacturing facilities in the Black Country; it also owns St Helens-based Supertrucks, a specialist manufacturer of glass-carrying vehicles.
Aftercare Response’s field-based engineers, meanwhile, provide commercial vehicle operators nationwide with planned and round-the-clock emergency support covering bodywork of all kinds, as well as equipment such as cranes, tail-lifts, and roller shutter doors, and more specialist items such as impact protection vehicle ‘crash cushions’.