| A stunning Mercedes tractor unit in the distinctive green and gold colours of world-renowned jam maker Wilkin & Sons played a three-pointed starring role in a recent edition of Britain’s best-selling truck magazine.
The Actros 2546 MegaSpace dominated the front cover of December’s Truck & Driver and was also the subject of a six-page feature article and pull-out poster. Winner of numerous trophies at Truckfest events, the Actros was supplied by Orwell Truck & Van, which enjoys a longstanding relationship with its famous customer. Wilkin & Sons has been producing Tiptree conserves since 1885 and is the proud holder of a Royal Warrant from Her Majesty The Queen. The firm operates several other Mercedes, among them a box-bodied 7.5-tonne Atego 822 and a 3.5-tonne Sprinter 311CDI van, both of which arrived last summer. |
Photo-journalist Tom Cunningham visited Wilkin & Sons’ 1,000 acre farm to interview Actros driver Kevin King, who started his career with the firm 17 years ago, in a Mercedes 307D van. Kevin’s first tractor unit, the traditionally signwritten Actros has proved faultless in the two years since it entered service. “We already had an Actros MegaSpace rigid on the fleet before ordering mine, so we knew the magnitude of the vehicle first-hand,” recalled Kevin, who rates his MegaSpace cab as way ahead of the competition. “I have drawers and lockers that are still empty, there’s so much storage space,”
he told Truck & Driver. “Cross-cab access is great, as is overall visibility. It’s a very smooth vehicle too, although on
the next model we’ll get the fullauto PowerShift gearbox as standard rather than the semiautomated (Telligent) version, which will be an added bonus.” |
| | |
