Bevan Group, a leading specialist in the commercial vehicle body build and repair industry, has launched it’s new range of environmentally friendly, 100% recyclable panelled Eco-Bodies, aimed at helping to dramatically reduce the impact of commercial vehicle fleets on the environment.

The key to the new range is the use of pre-painted polypropylene (Omnia) panels rather than GRP or other cored sandwich panels. The panels are painted with water based paints rather than solvent based paints, being less demanding on the environment.

The new range is available from 3.5 - 32 tonne vehicles and boasts a massive increased payload potential and improved fuel efficiency. The environmental potential of the range is also enhanced by the total energy saved during the panel production process.

Manufactured from the lightest panel currently available, the material component is polypropylene, a thermoplastic that can be melted and reused, and glass fibres that function as a high quality additive to strengthen the polypropylene.

The Eco-Body production system uses electro-fusion welding to fuse the panels together from the inside, therefore eliminating the need for mechanical fixings or bonding whilst optimising the mechanical properties of the thermopanel.

The first company to order the new greener bodies is SRCL®, the UK and Ireland’s leading healthcare waste management company. The vehicles have been purchased as part of a rolling contract to replace SRCL’s current fleet of 100.

Established in 2008 through a partnership between White Rose Environmental and Sterile Technologies Group, SRCL® provides a range of specialist services to NHS and private healthcare organisations, local authorities, pharmaceutical companies, GPs and dentists, safely collecting and disposing of all aspects of clinical and specialist waste.

The new contract of 13 x 3.5tonne Luton bodies on LDV Maxus chassis’, purchased on a 5 year contract from Chatfields in Manchester, is part of a fleet addition and renewal programme comprising 60 vehicles including single and double deck solo and drawbar configurations on bin and bag operations.

Purpose built for clinical waste collection, the innovative vehicles feature a customised load restraint and hydraulic lifting system to enable safe transportation of healthcare waste bins.

The first vehicles came off the production line last week, the remainder of the order will be delivered over the next month.

In addition to the design and build service offered by Bevan Group, SRCL® also utilised Bevan’s specialist vehicle graphics service for the bodies and chassis, with Bevan producing an eye-catching livery to reinforce the new SRCL® brand.

The lightweight new Eco Body boasts an increased payload potential (IPP) of almost 1/3, further complemented by the competitive unladen weight of the LDV Maxus Chassis.  This low weight also offers greater fuel savings, reducing the fuel consumption by 0.3L/100km per 100kg. For a service life of 180, 000 km this results in a fuel efficiency saving of 1177 litres, resulting in a 7.5% decrease in emissions.

Laurence Mullikin, Fleet Manager at SRCL® said: “It was an added bonus being able to embrace Bevan Group’s new eco-friendly technology in a product that has many regulatory demands being placed upon it.  It has enabled us to positively identify the eco-benefits of these vehicles in both procurement and operation and then pass that information on to our customers who are now demanding such information as a matter of course”.