Fruit and veg merchant Canters towards growth

Date: Monday, January 7, 2008

Fruit and vegetable merchant Dennis Butler is celebrating its Silver Jubilee by opting for a Mitsubishi Fuso Canter 7C18 curtainsider. The 180hp 7.5-tonner is the first vehicle to bear the Hull-based firm's new livery and was supplied through Mercedes-Benz dealer H & L Garages; the Mercedes network sells and services Canter in the UK.

Dennis Butler operates eight Mercedes Sprinter vans and eight 7.5-tonners, all sourced through H & L. The new Canter — Butler's third — replaces a Mercedes Atego 7.5-tonner.

“Atego is a top-quality truck, and if I'm honest I don't expect the Canters to last as well,” says transport manager, Paul Mennell. “What they do offer, however, is a fantastic payload capacity. Our latest Canter will carry comfortably in excess of 3.5 tonnes, and that's the best part of a tonne more than the Atego.

“The drivers weren't too sure at first about switching from the Mercedes to the Canter, not least because they're all big lads and the Atego has what I would call a proper-sized cab,” he continues. “But they're certainly happy now.

“The Canter cab is roomy enough and well-appointed too, while the vehicle itself is easier to handle because it's that much smaller and very manoeuvrable. It's more like a van than a truck.”

In addition Dennis Butler has just taken delivery of a high-roofed Mercedes Sprinter 311CDI Long van; its third from the new-generation range launched last year.

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