The latest 32-tonne vehicles follow 11 Renault Trucks C Range 8x4s delivered last year, also through Thompson Commercials, and support a major period of investment for the Yorkshire business.
Operating from purpose-built plants in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, and Brandesburton, East Yorkshire, Newlay manufactures and supplies asphalt to a diverse customer base.
The company runs its own transport fleet to maintain control over delivery availability and service levels, with vehicles split across the two plants and typically working within a 50-mile radius. The latest order further strengthens Newlay鈥檚 core 32-tonne asphalt delivery fleet, which is now built around Renault Trucks C Range 8x4s.
Jamie Brown, Managing Director at Newlay Asphalt, said: 鈥淥pening Brandesburton has changed the scale of the business. We had been delivering from Dewsbury across to the East Coast, sometimes 75 or 80 miles, because there was a real gap in the market in East Yorkshire for a locally based asphalt plant.鈥�
鈥淏randesburton gives us a production site much closer to that market, and the extra vehicles have been essential in supporting that growth. The fleet has more than doubled in size on the back of the new plant, so the trucks are a really important part of how we service customers across the region,鈥� he added.
The new Renault Trucks C 430s have been specified to give Newlay maximum flexibility across its asphalt delivery operation, with each vehicle fitted with an alloy insulated tipper body from PPG Fabrications and three rear asphalt chutes.
Jamie said: 鈥淎ll our wagons are set up the same way, so it doesn鈥檛 matter which vehicle we send out, it can do the job. They will bring raw materials into the plant first thing and then go out with asphalt deliveries to customers.
鈥淚t might only be three deliveries a day, but with asphalt you can be held on site for a couple of hours, so the truck has to be right for the work. The PPG bodies have worked really well for us and PPG have developed the body with us, making changes that suit the way we operate.鈥�
The vehicles can tip directly, feed paving machines or support hand-lay work where customers need material offloaded into wheelbarrows for smaller jobs such as footpaths, driveways and housing developments.
The latest trucks are specified with a strong package of connected and safety technology, including camera-based driver behaviour and lane departure warning systems, side radar covering both sides of the truck, intelligent speed assistance, tyre pressure monitoring and Renault Trucks鈥� 4G telematics gateway enabling subscription to Optifleet services.聽
Newlay has also fitted an exterior camera system covering the front, both sides and rear of the vehicle, alongside onboard weighing and overhead hazard detection to support safe operation when tipping near cables and other site risks.聽
Optifleet has become central to Newlay鈥檚 fleet management approach, giving the business a single dashboard for tracking, fuel economy, driver performance and tachograph downloads.聽
Jamie said: 鈥淥ptifleet is the big one for us. We can monitor tracking, fuel economy and driver performance, and we use it to create a driver league so the team can see how they are doing. It helps us look at things like harsh braking, idling and fuel use, and we can give drivers advice on how to improve.
鈥淚t is all built into the truck, so we do not have to add an external system. We log in to one dashboard and can see everything.鈥�