CSG DRIVE FORWARD FLEET REPLACEMENT PLAN
A recession-busting multi-million pound capital investment plan has been announced by Southampton-based waste management company Cleansing Service Group.
It is the second expansion initiative to be unveiled by the company in a month, following closely on the firm’s acquisition of J & G Environmental, Britain’s leading waste handling services supplier to the printing industry.
CSG says it will spend £12 million over the next five years on a complete vehicle fleet replacement programme.
Some 175 new vehicles, ranging from CCTV-equipped vans to 6,000 gallon articulated tankers, will be ordered to give CSG “one of the best resourced transport departments in the business”.
Some of them are replacements for existing vehicles in need of updating, while others will extend the capability of CSG’s specialist waste road tanker fleet, which is already the largest operated in the UK waste management sector.
First to come on stream are ten vacuum tankers all mounted on DAF chassis cabs. Barrels and equipment will be supplied by Northern Ireland-based Crossland Tankers, which CSG has selected as its new fleet supplier of choice following an extensive tendering process.
Tanker capacity ranges from 2,000 to 6,000 gallons – the former deployed in CSG’s domestic sewage collection operation. The company is Britain’s largest supplier of domestic septic tank emptying services.
CSG operations director Steve Pashley said: “We chose Crossland for a number of key reasons, including competitive pricing, quality and the ability to accommodate us in our specific requirements by building to our exact specifications. They delivered consistently as they promised.”
Mr Pashley said a further 15 tankers were in the pipeline, while two vactor units and two front end loader (FEL) vehicles were now coming on stream. CSG pioneered the UK use of FELs for the collection of industrial dry waste.
Also on order is a £300,000 industrial oil and water recycler with high pressure jetting capabilities sourced from the Danish company Simon Moos Maskinfabrik and incorporating its advanced KSA treatment and recycling system.
“The diversity of our operation, from highly hazardous waste to domestic sewage and huge volumes of oil/water mixtures, has meant we have always operated a comprehensive fleet. By the completion of this investment programme, we will be operating one of the best resourced transport departments in the business,” said Mr Pashley.
CSG managing director Paul Quigley said that despite the current economic downturn, the latest investment reflected the company’s optimism for the future and formed part of “a robust business plan” which had seen CSG enjoying continued profitable growth during 2008.
“The reality is that the economic environment will continue to deteriorate, but our company is well placed to overcome these difficulties and come out the other side comparatively stronger than many of our competitors.”