Gloucestershire-based Refuse Vehicle Solutions (RVS) is offering waste and recycling industry operators a quick and easy way to purchase 26-tonne Mercedes-Benz Antos trucks, fully built and ready to go to work.

Spencer Law, managing director of RVS, has teamed-up with Mercedes-Benz Dealer City West Commercials to launch his new RediTruck service.

He is confident it will prove a hit with customers who prefer to buy vehicles from stock rather than contend with long manufacturer lead times.

So far, RVS has ordered seven Antos 2527L chassis, all of which are being fitted with Dennis Eagle compactor bodies; the first five were quickly snapped-up by operators.

The company operates from a site with seven-bay workshop and two-storey parts department at Cam & Dursley, near Stroud.

Its core business entails purchasing, refurbishing and in some cases modifying, then retailing pre-owned refuse vehicles – all are subjected to rigorous quality checks and services, and supplied with 12-month MOTs.

Law said: “Many waste management companies run used and remanufactured refuse trucks supplied by RVS alongside others which they purchased from new.

"The problem with buying a new vehicle, though, is that you can wait up to nine months for it to be delivered by the manufacturer.

“For operators who often have to start work on a recently-won contract at relatively short notice, the only alternative is to hire a vehicle to tide them over. But given typical costs of £800-£1,000 a week this can be very expensive.

“That’s where RediTruck comes in. We understand our customers’ businesses so have built our new Mercedes-Benz vehicles to a good, fit-for-purpose specification, with axle weight measuring systems and trade bin lifts, which we know will appeal to the market.

“Crucially, because they’re in stock and can be ready to drive away at very short notice, customers do not incur any of the delays and high costs associated with purchasing refuse trucks in the conventional manner.”

Three of the first five RediTruck vehicles are in service with Exeter-based Devon Contract Waste, and a fourth is due for delivery before the end of February.