Biffa celebrate 1,000th Volvo in style - with focus on safety

Biffa, one of the best known brands in the growing waste management and recycling sector and the leading name in waste collection in the UK, celebrated the recent acquisition of the company’s 1,000th Volvo truck with a specially built FM-400 8x4 fitted with Heil Front End Loader (FEL) bodywork.

Biffa has been operating Volvo’s for around 20 years and, to mark this occasion, the latest addition to the company’s collection fleet is fitted with a number of special cab features that distinguish it from its stablemates. For example, the ‘Prestige’ trim interior is upholstered in full leather with heated and vented electrically adjustable seats, walnut wood-trimmed dashboard, electronic climate control and CD player.

The cab is also equipped with high visibility red seat belts and a wide-angle internal mirror. Externally, the truck has polished alloy wheels.

In addition to creating a very comfortable work place for the driver, the Biffa 1,000th Volvo specification, in common with the rest of the company’s modern fleet - the average age of which is 5-years - is highly focussed on safety. The Volvo Powertronic fully automatic transmission features a built-in Volvo retarder and the braking system includes full EBS with Traction Control and Hill-Hold facility to prevent roll-back. Diff-Lock engagement and disengagement is fully automatic, a feature which protects the driveline and the driver when negotiating poor traction surfaces at low speeds by removing the need to stop to put the diff locks in.

The FM-400 was handed over to Biffa at a ceremony at Volvo’s Warwick HQ attended by senior managers of both companies, including Volvo Truck and Bus Centre London’s Hayes depot, who supplied the truck. After the official handover, the 1,000th vehicle went straight into service at the firm’s Edinburgh depot with Driver Gordon Brunton who has 25-years experience with the company.

Biffa Collection Director Nick Gregg was at the hand-over, after which he said, “We have been buying Volvo trucks for the last 20 years and have a long-lasting relationship with them. One of the prime considerations in choosing a Volvo truck is the fact that they pay great attention to safety and that is very important to us at Biffa. They have also been very supportive whenever our business demands have changed and they are always at the leading edge of technology development.”