Richard Read Transport has ordered seven DAF LF rigids and two XF tractors to help it meet strong growth across its transport and warehousing operations.

Richard Read, managing director, said: “Since the sad loss last year of my father, who founded the company back in 1946, we have undergone a period of consolidation and rationalisation.

"This has seen us move into the Pallex pallet network, where we already feel very comfortable, hence the immediate investment in the new DAF rigids.

"We have also been reviewing the make-up of the general haulage fleet to give us a more settled policy, as well as getting everything we run on this side of the business into the main corporate livery.”

Richard Read Transport has seen its pallet business grow significantly with the move to Pallex and is now routinely delivering around 180 pallets a day into its local postcodes, and making a similar number of collections – a 20% year-on-year growth that has also seen new jobs created with the operator.

The seven new DAF LFs deployed to this side of the operation include an eight-tonne, 12-tonne and five 18-tonne vehicles, all acquired through DAF Finance on five-year deals.

All have been specially liveried for the Read/Pallex operation.

Read reports steady growth on the transport side, with rising volumes among existing customers and new contracts also coming on board.

The new XF tractors will go straight on to routing long-distance trunking with the operator, who has a busy fleet update programme in train, following a major on-site auction that saw it divest itself of some 150 items, among them four trucks and a number of trailers no longer felt appropriate for the growing workload.