One hundred new Box Vans. A new trailer specification. One of the most recognisable fleets in the UK.
Royal Mail has ordered 100 new Montracon Box Van trailers, with delivery now underway and the first trailers beginning to join the Royal Mail fleet.
The scale of the order is significant, but there is another important part to the story. This wasn’t simply a case of supplying 100 trailers to an existing specification.
Our Sales and Engineering teams worked closely with Royal Mail to understand what was needed from the trailers and develop a new Royal Mail-spec Box Van around those needs.
Starting with the operation
The right trailer specification starts with understanding how the equipment will actually be used.
Throughout the development process, our Sales and Engineering teams worked with Royal Mail to understand its Box Van requirements and translate them into an agreed trailer specification.
That collaboration was important. Rather than starting with a standard Box Van and assuming it would suit the operation, the process started with what Royal Mail needed from its trailers.
The result is a specification developed specifically for Royal Mail and an order for 100 trailers manufactured here in the UK.
A new Royal Mail-spec Box Van
The project has also resulted in another development within our Box Van range.
Following the recent launch of the Montracon Lightweight Box Van, we have now developed a new Box Van specification specifically for Royal Mail.
The two developments demonstrate something important about trailer specification. There isn’t one Box Van that is right for every fleet.
Different operators carry different loads, work in different environments and have different priorities for their equipment. The specification needs to reflect those differences.
For some fleets, reducing unladen trailer weight and increasing payload potential may be a priority. Another operation may require a completely different approach.
That is why understanding the customer comes before deciding what the finished trailer should look like.
Turning the specification into 100 trailers
Developing the specification is one part of a project on this scale. Manufacturing it consistently across 100 trailers is another.
The Royal Mail order has involved teams across Sales, Engineering, Production and Quality, taking the project from the initial discussions and development work through to manufacturing and, now, delivery.
All 100 Box Vans have been manufactured at our UK manufacturing operation in Doncaster.
Keeping trailer manufacturing in-house allows the different teams involved in a project to work closely as the agreed specification moves from engineering into production.
With an order of this size, consistency across the fleet is particularly important. Each finished trailer needs to reflect the specification agreed with the customer and the quality, strength and longevity expected from a Montracon trailer.
British manufacturing for a major UK fleet
Manufacturing these trailers in Britain is another important part of the project.
For almost 50 years, we have manufactured commercial trailers in the UK. Projects such as the Royal Mail order bring together that manufacturing experience with the ability to develop new products and specifications as fleet requirements evolve.
There are plenty of people behind an order for 100 trailers. From the initial conversations with the customer and the engineering work behind the new specification to the teams manufacturing and checking the finished trailers, it takes collaboration across the business to move a project of this scale from an idea to a physical fleet.
Now, those trailers are making that final transition from our manufacturing operation to Royal Mail.
From development to delivery
Delivery of the new Box Vans is now underway, with trailers beginning to join the Royal Mail fleet.
It is an important stage in a project that started with understanding what the customer needed and has resulted in a new Royal Mail-spec Box Van and 100 finished trailers.
For us, the significance of the project goes beyond the number of trailers involved.
Our recent Lightweight Box Van demonstrated one direction in which Box Van design can develop. The Royal Mail project demonstrates another. Both start from the same principle: the trailer should be specified around the operation it is going to join.
That approach gives our Box Van offering the flexibility to serve operators with very different fleet requirements rather than assuming one specification will work for everybody.
We would like to thank Royal Mail for working closely with our teams throughout the project. We look forward to seeing the new Box Vans continue to join the Royal Mail fleet as delivery progresses.
Considering new Box Vans for your fleet? Speak to our team about your operation and the trailer specification you need.
