Highways Agency says goodbye to 'yellow army' with new fleet of 438 winter vehicles

[robert.saunders]

In response to this thread, this may be of interest.

Drivers will see a new style of winter treatment on England's motorways and major A roads from this Autumn, as the Highways Agency replaces its yellow 'gritters' and invests £45 million in a new fleet to tackle snow and ice.

Pre-wet salt, widely used across Europe including parts of the UK, is a new addition to the Agency's winter service this year. The new fleet also has the latest technology on board including GPS and data logging systems that give real time information on record which roads are being treated and how much salt has been used.

http://www.highways.gov.uk/news/pressrelease.aspx?pressreleaseid=167340

 

[W210 Fan]

very european colour orange

 

[nick mercedes]

Drivers will see a new style of winter treatment on England's motorways and major A roads from this Autumn, as the Highways Agency replaces its yellow 'gritters' and invests £45 million in a new fleet to tackle snow and ice

It would have been a bonus if they'd supported British industry and brought UK made trucks rather than German ones.

Once again the public sector shows where it would rather jobs go....

 

[Dieselman]

They probably looked at availability and how much the cost would be.

Don't worry, the £10m the probably saved could pay a lot of dole cheques..

 

[Swiss Toni]

It would have been a bonus if they'd supported British industry and brought UK made trucks rather than German ones.

Once again the public sector shows where it would rather jobs go....

I don't think the public are as daft as that.

I'd much rather know that they bought the right tool for the job than to see a fleet of Rover 75s with deep chin spoliers....

Wonder why they bought MAN? I guess these are likely to be built in their factory in Poland and priced well - MAN have stated that they wanted a bigger slice of the import market.

 

[Deadhead]

It would have been a bonus if they'd supported British industry and brought UK made trucks rather than German ones.

Once again the public sector shows where it would rather jobs go....

Er... not wanting to start a war here. But... someone called "nick mercedes" castigating a government organization for not buying British. On a website dedicated to owners of German cars.

More irony anyone?

 

[nick mercedes]

Er... not wanting to start a war here. But... someone called "nick mercedes" castigating a government organization for not buying British. On a website dedicated to owners of German cars.

More irony anyone?

I just think that the government and it's departments should spend their money in UK factories rather than in German ones.

Perhaps you value German jobs higher than UK jobs?

 

[scumbag]

opppps.

politics slipping in again.



still, while I can, british coal for british power stations anyone.

 

[maddog]

I just think that the government and it's departments should spend their money in UK factories rather than in German ones.

Perhaps you value German jobs higher than UK jobs?

Its all down to "best value" and the UK made stuff isnt the cheapest or most suitable for the job

 

[Dieselman]

Perhaps you value German jobs higher than UK jobs?

Without wishing to flame you Nick, but where do the goods you sell come from.?
The economy goes round and round and the Germans do trade with us as well as us with them.

The HA would have gone to tender on this and found the product that works best for the least cost, so saving the taxpayer money.

Are you saying they should waste money/support UK industry irrespective of the cost to the taxpayer.

Isn't that what happened in the '70s with the motor and motorcycle industry.?

 

[nick mercedes]

MAN have stated that they wanted a bigger slice of the import market.

MAN who brought ERF and then promptly closed it down and switched production to Germany.

MAN who also brought Paxman and Ruston the makers of diesel engines, and guess what happened...

It just seems wrong that a company that destroyed so much British engineering and manufacturing gets rewarded by the government.

 

[nick mercedes]

Without wishing to flame you Nick, but where do the goods you sell come from.?
The economy goes round and round and the Germans do trade with us as well as us with them.

The HA would have gone to tender on this and found the product that works best for the least cost, so saving the taxpayer money.

Are you saying they should waste money/support UK industry irrespective of the cost to the taxpayer.

Isn't that what happened in the '70s with the motor and motorcycle industry.?

I'm saying that we should do what every other patriotic country does and support our own industry.

Common sense, innit.

 

[Deadhead]

The UK is part of the EU. As a result any procurement costing more than [I think] 200 thousand euros must be advertised in the Official Journal of the EU. And the contact given to the bidder who's offer fits the requirement most cost-effectively. Which is probably why French Gendarmes now seem to be driving Ford Focuses.

However, my point was that those of us who think that driving German cars is the best solution for our particular circumstances are not in the best position to criticize the government for making similar choices.

 

[Dieselman]

MAN who also brought Paxman and Ruston the makers of diesel engines, and guess what happened...

Paxman and Ruston were both bust before any takeover. If indeed it was MAN bought them it was only for the names.
In reality I can't see why though as they were both gone.

JCB actually killed Ruston due to using hydraulics as opposed to cables for operating systems.

 

[Dieselman]

I'm saying that we should do what every other patriotic country does and support our own industry.

Common sense, innit.

So you are only going to trade in MG-Rover parts from now on.? All stock sourced in the UK.

Which is probably why French Gendarmes now seem to be driving Ford Focuses.

With diesel engines made in the UK.

Swings and roundabouts.

 

[nick mercedes]

Paxman and Ruston were both bust before any takeover.

I fear you're mistaken, both were doing well, given that their engines were in demand for fast ferries, note that the Ruston engine was renamed and liberated to Germany by Man.

 

[nick mercedes]

So you are only going to trade in MG-Rover parts from now on.? All stock sourced in the UK.

Why compare an individual with a government?

With diesel engines made in the UK.

*Assembled* in UK.

 

[Dieselman]

Why compare an individual with a government?

It was you brought the subject up, not me. It is probably fair to assume they went to the market and obtained the best deal possible for the taxpayer.

*Assembled* in UK.

That applies to all motor industry items. I deal with manufacturers that supply parts to foreign car manufacturers such as Nissan, Honda, Toyota, BMW.
Some parts are made here some in other countries.

Quite possibly some of the parts in the MAN lorries are made in the UK.

 

[Dieselman]

I fear you're mistaken, both were doing well, given that their engines were in demand for fast ferries, note that the Ruston engine was renamed and liberated to Germany by Man.

Paxman was taken over by Ruston-Hornsby and in turn R-H was enveloped into English Electric then Alstom before being sold onto Siemens.

Eventually MAN bought out the diesel arm of the business and attempted to ressurect manufacturing at Stockport, but found it uneconomical.

It's only Wikki, but..

In 2000 Alstom Engines Ltd. was acquired by MAN B&W Diesel AG (a subsidiary of MAN AG) to become MAN B&W Diesel Ltd. In 2005 MAN sold the Regulateurs Europa controls business to Heinzmann GmbH.

In 2003 MAN B&W announced proposals to transfer manufacturing to Stockport, and this was carried out by 2003. However, the Stockport plant proved unable to manufacture the popular VP185 engine efficiently, and thus in 2005, production returned to Colchester.



Of course, Colchester is like another country...

For anyone that fancies a proper history lesson. The author, Ray Hooley is an ex R-H employee and has saved many artifacts from factory.

 

[alanuk400]

It would have been a bonus if they'd supported British industry and brought UK made trucks rather than German ones.

Once again the public sector shows where it would rather jobs go....

Are we not all driving German on this site

Alan