Mercedes-Benz Sprinter’s A Small Wonder For EEG
Unbeatable reliability and excellent dealer back-up meant that when drain maintenance specialist EEG needed a new fleet of 5.0-tonne vans, it turned once again to the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.
The company’s 17 new Sprinter 513 CDI chassis cabs were supplied by Western Commercial, whose dealership in Govan, Glasgow, is a stone’s throw from EEG’s headquarters. Each is fitted with bespoke body with water tank, jetting and suction equipment by Dutch specialist Rioned.
EEG Fleet Manager Douglas Stewart says: “These vehicles represent a new venture for us. But we already run around 50 Sprinter vans with CCTV equipment, which we use to inspect drains.
“We’ve been relying on Sprinters since 2002 and although they rack up some very high mileages, only very rarely does one suffer a problem. You can’t buy that sort of reliability anywhere other than Mercedes-Benz.”
“Western Commercial, meanwhile, has provided a consistently excellent service over the years. Van Sales Manager Joe Scott and his team are always helpful, courteous and highly professional, so much so that as far as I’m concerned Western is the best Mercedes-Benz dealership in the UK.”
EEG runs a fleet of more than 300 trucks – a combination of 26- and 32-tonners – which carry jet-vac equipment and work on various contracts for major utilities providers. “Mercedes-Benz enjoys a large share of our truck line-up too, including our last 20 chassis, thanks to an unbeatable combination of price, reliability and residual value,” adds Mr Stewart.
This time, though, the company required a fleet of much smaller vehicles capable of doing the same job on domestic properties where there’s much less room to manoeuvre.
“Our trucks are just too big to access these areas so we needed more manageable vehicles that combined a smaller footprint with a sufficiently high payload to carry the necessary equipment,” says Mr Stewart. “The 5.0-tonne Sprinter was the perfect solution.”
EEG is one of the UK’s largest providers of drainage and sewer cleaning, inspection and repair services, providing nationwide reactive and emergency maintenance and repair coverage. Operating from 23 main and satellite sites, it offers multi-utility solutions to clients ranging from local authorities and utility companies to industrial and corporate businesses.
The 5.0-tonne Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is available as a chassis cab, on which a wide variety of bodes can be fitted, or as a panel van. EEG’s latest vans are powered by fuel-efficient 129hp engines which are cleaner, more powerful and more economical than the equivalent model from the previous Sprinter range.
