TIP announces orders for 1000 new trailers for 2015

Following on from its 2014 order for 900 new trailers for its UK rental fleet, leading trailer company TIP Trailer Services has announced a further a multi-million pound fleet investment programme at this year’s CV Show, as a result of its decision to invest in an additional 1000 new ambient trailers for delivery during 2015.

Confirming details of this major new trailer deal at the CV Show, Mike Furnival, Commercial Director UK at TIP Trailer Services said, “We believe that TIP’s latest investment in its fleet is the biggest single trailer order in the UK this year, certainly for ambient trailers. The fleet replacement programme for all 1000 trailers, which has been placed solely with UK trailer manufacturers, is based on a build and delivery schedule to be completed before the end of 2015.”

As part of this major announcement, TIP has also confirmed that it is reviewing its current order strategy for refrigerated trailers, and expects to announce further investment in its current reefer fleet shortly.

Within the overall 1000 ambient trailer order, TIP has specified SDC trailers for the majority of the order, placing an order for more than 800 trailers with SDC, the largest UK based trailer manufacturer. The order programme is split between curtainsiders, boxvans and sliding bogie skeletal trailer models, with over 50% of these signed for long-term contracts with existing customers, whilst the balance of the order is scheduled to operate within TIP’s short-term rental fleet.

A proportion of the SDC sourced trailers will also be to EN12642-XL specification, a European directive which indicates the ability of the superstructure to retain loads, and one of these trailers was on display at the CV Show, in the outside exhibition area. As Mike Furnival comments, “Whilst the EN standard is not a legal requirement at present, we have found that there is increasing demand from our customers for this specification, especially for those customers who are using the trailers on pan-European operations.”

The remaining balance of trailers for the TIP fleet has been ordered through other UK based manufacturers, with Lancaster trailer manufacturer Dennison building 100 sliding bogie skeletal specification trailers for delivery in 2015.

“TIP’s substantial 2015 trailer fleet acquisition programme will address the trend that we have experienced recently, where customers are looking to match the contract term on their trailers to the customer contracts that they have. By investing significantly in our total trailer fleet, we will be in a great position to meet the increasing rise in demand for more flexible solutions from our customers,” commented Mike Furnival.

In the UK, TIP currently owns and manages over 14,000 trailers through its trailer rental and services business.
“TIP’s UK business continues to deliver strong performance figures and we believe that this latest investment will further complement our total service offering to our growing customer base,” concludes Mike Furnival.