Drinks distribution specialist Nectar has treated itself to an early 25th birthday present in the shape of a pair of 7.5-tonne trucks with the first fast access curtain slider bodies to be built by the Bevan Group. The new arrivals are now delivering imported premium beers, wines and other alcoholic and soft drinks, to customers across the south of England.

Mounted in this case on Isuzu chassis, Bevan’s bodies feature curtains which are tensioned from front to back, rather than top to bottom as on a conventional curtainsider.

With locks at both ends and no time-consuming straps and buckles to contend with, drivers can slide back the curtains, concertina-fashion, in seconds, to gain access to the load. This configuration is ideally suited, therefore, to multi-drop applications.
And because Bevan’s body is built around an alloy fram
e with aluminium side raves and other components, it is also extremely light, an attribute that translates into highly competitive payloads.

Still family-owned, Wiltshire-based Nectar next year celebrates its 25th anniversary. The firm’s decision to invest in the two new vehicles, both of which represent extensions to its fleet, reflects soaring demand for its products.

Nectar now operates nine trucks, all of them 7.5-tonners. Working from the company’s headquarters in Zeals, near Wincanton, they deliver to upmarket hotels, restaurants, bars and nightclubs, as well as private individuals.

Managing Director Fiona Jukes explains: “We can’t run bigger trucks because we need them to be sufficiently compact and manoeuvrable to reach our customers’ premises.

“When you’re transporting barrels of beer and cases of wine it’s always going to be weight rather than volume that is the constraining factor. So we’re delighted that, even with a driver on board, the lightweight bodies on our latest vehicles mean we have still achieved a very productive payload capacity of 3,950kg.

“And as our drivers can make as many as 25 deliveries a day, they greatly appreciate being able to get into their vehicles’ load areas so quickly and easily.”

The fast access curtain slider, which also features anti-vandal reinforced ‘pockets’ within the curtains, is the latest addition to the fast-growing Bevan Group’s comprehensive range of dry freight box and curtainside bodies for rigid trucks and vans. With production facilties in Halesowen and Oldbury, West Midlands, Bevan recently became the UK’s first commercial vehicle bodybuilder to be granted European Community Type Approval Status, more than five years ahead of the mandatory deadline.