Since Standard Engineering acquired our delivery lorry back in 2006 it has racked-up a staggering near 190,000 miles delivering their machinery to locations in the UK, Ireland and Northern Europe. In astronomical terms this would have got the vehicle over three quarters of the way to the moon! Unsurprisingly, like the Apollo missions before it, our vehicle is about to enjoy a well-earned retirement, and a new beast of burden has already been pressed into action.
How did our lorry run-up such a huge mileage? Well, below is an example of a machinery delivery from last Summer, showing how large distances can be racked-up quite quickly.
This installation featured all the potentially difficult issues we know and love. For one, the customer, Beechgrove Shoe Repairs, was some 470 odd miles away in Aberdeen. Secondly, we were to supply a reconditioned Power Unit, which, in complete form are an increasingly aging and rare animal. Thirdly, this machine requires two men on site to assemble. This wasn’t an insurmountable problem, as we have a Service Engineer, Pete, in Scotland, who could meet up with the delivery driver. And finally, the customer was in Aberdeen, some 470 odd miles away. (We appreciate that this has been mentioned already, but we believe it’s a big enough point to be worth repeating!)
To put the 950 mile round trip into context, from our base in Kettering, this distance would take you, as the crow flies, north to the coast of Iceland, east as far as Warsaw, south as far as Ibiza, and west just under halfway to Newfoundland!
The machinery was duly constructed, and the plan was drawn up for the delivery, with the vital input from customer Jim at Beechgrove Shoe Repairs. Whilst the proposal didn’t quite rival the planning for the invasion of Normandy, it still took a bit of putting together. Below are highlights from the rather grandly named “Plan of Campaign”
“Plan of campaign”
Friday 3 June 2011
Driver Kevin to load Power Unit onto lorry plus additional pallets for return of customer’s part exchange machinery.
Monday 6th June 2011
Kevin drives from Kettering to Dunfermline (360 miles) at a maximum of 56 miles per hour! Overnight stop at Premier Inn - Dunfermline
Tuesday 7th June 2011
Kevin drives from Dunfermline to Aberdeen (115 miles)
On the way, engineer Pete to meet up with the lorry near Dundee
Arrive at customer’s shop in Aberdeen: -
Customer’s existing machinery to be disassembled and put onto pallets
New machinery to be assembled and installed.
Upon completion, Pete is finished with our thanks, and Kevin to drive back to Dunfermline. (115 miles)
Booking for overnight at Premier Inn in Dunfermline
Thursday 8th June 2011
Drive back to Kettering from Dunfermline (360 miles).
As you can see, so much planning goes into each delivery!
Total Days 3
Total Mileage 950
Soreness of posterior 88%