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Tasca Tankers’ Complete Vessel Solution in Demand

By David Peart, area sales manager, Tasca Tankers Ltd

Tasca Tankers is expecting its in-house vessel manufacturing facilities to make 2010 one of the company’s busiest years yet.

2009 was a dynamic year for Tasca Tankers. We started building lpg vessels in-house and have worked hard to develop and further our relationships with both small independent companies with one or two vehicles, right up to the major lp gas suppliers and their subcontractors.

From the solid foundations laid last year, 2010 has seen a dramatic increase in the number of enquiries from companies requesting Tasca Tankers to provide complete supply solutions, including the supply of chassis from our extensive network of dealers. We have already received new orders from existing and new customers for builds this year, and our workload for refurbishment and recertification work is increasing constantly. 2010 looks like it could be one of our busiest yet.

Our first new complete build was an 8 tonne payload vehicle for BATA in Malton, North Yorkshire, which has now been fully commissioned and delivered to the customer. We have worked hard with the team at BATA to build a vehicle suitable for the tight rural deliveries that this vehicle is required for, keeping the rear overhang to an absolute minimum, plus designing the vessel to provide excellent roll stability characteristics for use on rural lanes and farm tracks.

Using our standard modular design concept of bespoke vehicles made from modular components means that not only has the vehicle achieved the 8 tonne payload required, but it has also achieved the customer’s requirements under the 18 tonne GVW (including a full road fuel tank and driver) that the vehicle operates at. The concept of modular components means that, if the vehicle is damaged in an accident over the course of its life, we can send out replacement parts direct to the customer, minimising downtime.

Our extensive use of aluminium components and brackets means that we can provide both excellent payloads and reduce the deterioration in appearance from rust due to scrapes and minor bumps.

Our new integrated meter/control system, which has been fitted at the rear of the BATA vehicle, has had exceptional feedback from customers who have requested the system. The compact design of the cabinet allows the rear overhang to be kept to a minimum, improving manoeuvrability.

The cabinet brings all the controls that the driver will need to carry out a delivery to one ergonomically designed area, including remote engine start/stop, pneumatic foot valve/PTO controls (where a clutch type PTO is used), and the meter head, which can be set for either a preset amount or allow a simple start up with the press of a button.

Having received feedback from the drivers of vehicles that are currently fitted with our standard remote control system, we are currently working with our manufacturer to incorporate a litre counter display in the remote handset. This new development should allow the driver to clearly see the volume delivered to a customer’s tank when the meter head on the vehicle is out of sight.

We are also looking to bring additional new safety features to our handsets, providing additional ease of operation for the driver. We will bring you more information on this in later issues of LP Gas.

Our design team are currently working on a new 8.4 tonne payload vessel for 18 tonne GVW lpg delivery wagons to maximise the carrying capacity of future vehicles. Tasca Tankers has always believed in continual development of our product to ensure that we provide the customer with the correct product for their application.

It is now six years since ADR was adopted as the regulation for the carriage of dangerous goods in the UK, bringing the UK in line with our European colleagues. Unfortunately, the derogation that has allowed the recertification of lpg road tankers by the means of non-destructive testing will no longer be allowed for ADR vehicles. However, the VCA/DfT are not looking to harmonise the recertification of ‘old’ tanks in line with ADR vessels at present, which will allow ‘old’ tanks to be recertified by means of non-destructive rather than hydraulic testing.

We have now completed our first six-year recertification of an ADR vehicle using a hydraulic test. Working with our preferred insurance company, we can offer a full range of in-house testing for both ‘old’ tanks and new ADR vessels.

Our tank shop currently holds approximately 60,000 litres of water in storage at any one time for hydraulic testing purposes, meaning we can test anything from a small rigid vehicle right through to a 25 tonne payload semi trailer.

Tasca Tankers can offer a complete range of vehicles to meet the customer’s exact requirements, ranging from 5 tonne mini bulk delivery vehicles right through to 44 tonne GVW semi trailers. We pride ourselves on providing a better build.

Contact Tasca Tankers Ltd on 01924 369007 www.tascatankers.ltd.uk