Managing director, Jim Tyler, says, “We know we are a relatively small player in the world of logistics, but, with our fleet profile further boosted by these modern 6x2 mid-steer DAF units, we are attracting more and more business from a loyal and growing customer base. Customers like to know they are dealing with a successful and progressive operator” he says, “and these trucks show they are. Also, we have modern premises in Farlington, on the edge of Portsmouth, that offer clean and secure storage as well as a great base for our fleet.”
The choice of DAFs was driven by a number of factors, not least the fact the company has an earlier DAF tractor that is still going strong with some 1.35m kms on the clock.
Says Jim Tyler, “While I am looking forward to the potential 7% fuel improvement promised by DAF with the New XFs, and I hear other operators are getting it, this decision has far more to do with previous experience of the marque. 2MV Logistics is not an exclusively DAF fleet at the moment, but we’ve run DAF rigids for some time on our pallet service – we were a very early member of TPN, The Pallet Network – and day-in and day-out those trucks just deliver great robustness and reliability. The products are incredibly sound mechanically,” he says “and on the rare occasions we need something, we get fantastic back-up from Adams Morey, our local dealer, and DAF themselves.
“It’s also important that our drivers like the DAF brand, and there’s no doubt the two New XFs look great and create the right impression when they turn up at our customers. But important as these things are, it’s not just about that, or the improved fuel, or even price – it’s all about the fact that the trucks are reliable, perform well and, with the support of Adams Morey and DAF, they stay out on the road earning the company money. That really was a huge part of our decision-making process.”
The two new vehicles have been acquired through PACCAR Financial and have three-year DAF MultiSupport R&M packages. Jim Tyler comments, “We shop around for finance when we decide to use it, but it seems PACCAR Financial always comes out on top. I have used them on a number of occasions now and can’t fault them. As for R&M, we take the three-year package initially and then extend as and when we feel it appropriate.”
Alongside business growth in road, sea and air freight logistics across the UK, Europe and worldwide, 2MV Logistics reports steady growth in TPN activities it has been undertaking since 2004. In those early days, it was moving just 20 pallets a night. Today, it handles over 200 pallets going out and another 200 coming in through its base every night. “It has been a big driver for us in our general expansion, though the international side is also taking off strongly now” says Jim Tyler, who got into the business by working for another logistics provider after leaving school at 16. “I remember vividly having a customer on the phone asking for something that we were saying we couldn’t, or wouldn’t provide, because we couldn’t find anyone to sub-contract for us at sensible prices. I thought, ‘this is stupid – I could do that’; so I did. I was working part-time for the operator and part-time for myself, providing the services they didn’t seem able to find for themselves. After a couple of years doing that, I guess it was inevitable that, in 2003, I went into it full-time on my own.”
