Turners adds 18 trucks for Francis Flower contract

Turners (Soham) has added 18 DAF XF and CF tractor units to its fleet for a new contract with Francis Flower, the manufacturer of limestone powder products, which recently acquired a Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) powder plant in Scunthorpe.

The trucks, eight XF 440 FTP and ten CF 440 FTP models, will be coupled with 18 specialised Feldbinder bulk powder tankers for the GGBS work.

Mick Stovin, commercial director at Francis Flower in Scunthorpe, said: “Our delivery service will handle 1.3m tonnes of product this year, with deliveries throughout the whole of the UK. Apart from our main production units we have another 60 silo sites around the UK to help meet customer needs, and on top of that we take orders up to 16.00hr every afternoon for next day delivery. That’s why we use Turners. We have had a long term relationship with Turners and it’s all about reliability and performance for us.”

The trucks bring the total of Turners’ DAFs to over 750, virtually half of the operator’s fleet. Fleet engineer Tim King, said: “It was in 2003 that we started to focus on the FTP model with its light mid-lift axle. It suited our varied work, and maximised payload for us. It’s absolutely ideal for the new powder work at Francis Flower, as there’s plenty of space on the chassis for packaging the discharge equipment.”