Mercedes loads up for Stockport recycling drive

Mercedes have supplied six hookloaders and skiploaders to a Stockport-based recycling firm to collect and transport waste from domestic and commercial premises


When you’ve just spent nearly £10M on creating a state-of-the-art recycling centre, you want the very best trucks to service your new facility. For Asset & Land (A&L) Environmental, that meant six Mercedes-Benz Axors – three 32-tonne hookloaders and three 18-tonne skiploaders.

Located close to Junction 25 of the M60 motorway at Stockport, the centre is the largest of its kind in the south Manchester area. It is capable of processing up to 200,000tpa of commercial and domestic waste, 80% of which will be recycled.

The trucks were sourced through Southfield Commercials, also of Stockport, and wear the smart liveries of Skiplift Waste Disposal, a sister company to A&L Environmental. The chassis were supplied by Mercedes-Benz dealer Enza, which is servicing them at its Trafford Park workshop, while the hookloading and skiploading equipment is by Manchester-based Hyva UK.

A&L group managing director Barry Kilroe explains: “We chose the Mercedes-Benz-Hyva combination because both manufacturers enjoy excellent reputations for the rugged reliability and versatility of their products. Their strong brand images also compliment our own, high-profile operation, and we expect these vehicles to prove efficient and cost-effective to run over the years to come.”

Developed on a four-acre ex-county council landfill site, A&L’s recycling facility is now serving customers along the M60 corridor south and east of Manchester, and into Cheshire and Derbyshire. The new trucks work six days a week, collecting waste and delivering separated recyclables such as aggregates, timber and plastics to other processing facilities.

The eight-wheeled Axor 3236s are fitted with light but strong Hyvalift 32 hooklift gear and Hyva Autosheeting systems. These vehicles carry bins with 20- and 40-cubic yard capacities, which are used to collect waste from commercial customers.

The Axor 1824Ks, meanwhile, feature hub reduction back axles for extra strength and durability, and steel front bumpers. They also came with optional Mercedes-Benz Autotrans automated transmissions, while the long telescoping arms that are a key feature of their robust Hyvalift 2012XL skiploader bodies make it easier for A&L’s drivers to pick up and drop their eight-cubic yard skips.

Initially, the 18-tonners are primarily serving local builders. But as the new business takes off, A&L confidently expects to increase its penetration of the domestic market and thus bring in more waste from which income-generating recyclables can be recovered.

A&L driver Mark Knott commentes: “I couldn’t be happier with my skiploader – the auto box is particularly useful when I’m on multi-drop work around town because it means that rather than having to worry about which gear I’m in, I can concentrate fully on what’s going on around me.”

The A&L Group was founded by Mr Kilroe in 2008 and, as well as its waste recycling and skip hire businesses, provides asset recovery, land acquisition and regeneration services; it also operates a crane hire business that trades as K-Lift.

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