British Steel invests £1.4m in new fleet of vehicles

British Steel is investing £1.4 million in a new fleet of vehicles to support the growth of its UK distribution network.

The vehicles – 7 of which were built at the Leyland Trucks factory in Lancashire – will improve the ability of the company’s metal centres to supply a wide-range of constructional steel products and services to businesses of all sizes, from major developers to local housebuilders.

 

Richard Farnsworth, British Steel’s Managing Director Construction, said: “This is a significant investment in our future which will enable us to provide an even better service to our customers throughout the UK.

“Our regional metal centres provide customers with a quick and convenient way of buying a wide range of steel products and a first-class fleet is central to our strategy of becoming the supplier of choice to this country’s construction industry.

“The vehicles, coupled with our extensive stock range, will enable us to meet customer needs with next-day delivery in the immediate area while customers can also still make their own collections.”

British Steel’s metal centres stock a range of constructional steel products including sections, bars, angles, channels, plate, sheet, mesh, flooring and hand railing. They also offer a range of further processing facilities including shot-blasting, painting and cutting to length so products can be tailored to customers’ precise requirements.

The fleet, which will be delivered in Spring 2019, is being supplied to British Steel through the Thomas’s Group, a family-run commercial vehicle business based in Birmingham. And the vehicles – which will serve customers across the South East, Midlands and Yorkshire and Humber regions – are being supplied by DAF Trucks.

Malcolm Robbins, British Steel Construction’s Logistics Manager, added: “We’re committed to improving our service to current and new customers across the network, and this investment will play a significant role in helping us achieve this.

“We recently visited Leyland Trucks in Lancashire to see one of our liveried DAF vehicles on the production line and it’s exciting to know the new fleet will soon be delivering our steel products across the country.

“I’d like to thank the Thomas’s Group and DAF Trucks Ltd for their expertise and support and we look forward to delivering an even better service in the new year.”

Phil Moon from DAF Trucks Ltd concluded: “DAF Trucks is honoured to be supplying vehicles to British Steel to work in their operation. To have some of the team from British Steel visit Leyland Trucks to see the new vehicles in production was great for both parties. Operators visiting the Leyland facility in Lancashire enjoy seeing their vehicles being assembled in the state-of-the-art facility, and we at DAF always learn more about the product and service needs of our customers. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship.”