Tewkesbury-based Cotteswold Dairy has returned to Asset Alliance Group to refresh its DAF-powered delivery fleet.
The family-run business has added 13 new generation rigid trucks ranging from 7.5-tonne to 18-tonne DAF XBs, with a variety of power outputs. The order also includes two 26-tonne DAF 340 XDs.
Ruairi Spencer, Fleet Logistics Manager at Cotteswold Dairy, says: “We first used Asset Alliance Group in 2020 to secure new trucks at a point when it was difficult to do so due to the pandemic.
“We’ve returned to them since thanks largely to their excellent customer service and the simplicity of the process. They know their subject, and when I put the phone down to them, I can return my full concentration to my day job, safe in the knowledge that they will do exactly what they have promised, efficiently and without fuss.”
The new trucks all feature Solomon Commercials temperature-controlled bodies and Carrier Transicold refrigeration units. The 18-tonne and 26-tonne units are also fitted with Dhollandia tail lifts. Day-to-day, the new arrivals will service the dairy’s customers in semi-retail and those in the foodservice sector.
The new DAF XBs have been supplied on five-year contract hire agreements, while the larger XDs are on seven-year agreements. The vehicles’ liveries have been produced by Smaldon Signs & Vehicle Graphics in Clitheroe, Lancashire.
The deal was facilitated by Simon Bird, National Accounts Manager at Asset Alliance Group, and includes repair and maintenance, offering peace of mind and the simplicity of a single monthly payment.
“I’m a big fan of contract hire, it’s the best way to do things in my opinion. As a business we can concentrate on delivering a great service to customers, with smart, reliable vehicles in a fleet that is refreshed regularly,” says Spencer.
A quarter of the dairy’s DAF truck fleet has now been supplied by Asset Alliance Group.
Cotteswold Dairy traces its roots back to the 1930s, and the business is led today by Managing Director George Workman, grandson of founder Harry. Headquartered in Tewkesbury, it operates from five depots: Cheltenham, Shrewsbury, Hereford, Conwy and Hemel Hempstead. As well as supplying customers in the semi-retail and wholesale sectors, the business provides traditional doorstep deliveries to the public via electric milk floats.
