KFS Plant & Go for Epson & Ewell Borough Council

As part of an efficiency-boosting move, Epsom & Ewell Borough Council has just taken delivery of two 3.5 tonne GVW KFS Plant & Go vehicles. These advanced, Citroën Relay-based units will be used as part of Epsom & Ewell’s new in-house ground maintenance contract. As such, KFS has specially engineered these unique vehicles to efficiently and safely transport large John Deere 1435 mowers fitted with 62 inch (1575mm) Fastback Commercial rear discharge decks.

These large mowers, which weigh over 1.2 tonnes (depending on final specification) were previously transported on trailers towed behind another vehicle. After seeing the Plant & Go vehicle at the 2009 IOG Saltex show, John Sharpe, Epsom & Ewell’s Fleet Manager, was impressed by its very low floor height, safe, easy loading and high payload characteristics.

After discussions with Epsom & Ewell, KFS provided a Plant & Go specification to meet the Borough Council’s specific requirements. This was made easier thanks to the Plant & Go’s unique chassis, which can be configured to provide a variety of loading deck widths. Using a wider rear axle, the Epsom & Ewell Plant & Go vehicles can easily accommodate the large John Deere mower and provide rapid drive-on/drive-off loading facilities.

Epsom & Ewell Borough Council has successfully tendered to bring its ground maintenance contract back in house. The two new KFS Plant & Go vehicles play a key role in delivering the cost savings and productivity gains required by this successful tender.

The Plant & Go vehicles provide faster, safer and easier loading/unloading characteristics than the trailers previously used. And, the Plant & Go vehicles can operate more efficiently and safely within confined site conditions and do not require special drivers’ licences, which provides Epsom & Ewell BC with further operational flexibility.
The KFS Plant & Go vehicles supplied to Epsom & Ewell BC are being operated on an SFS Fleet Services contract hire agreement. Other specific customer requirements in the Plant & Go specification include a secure, full-width storage locker at the front of the load deck to carry strimmers, fuel and other small tools. In addition Epsom & Ewell has also specified a cab top light bar.

The new 3.5 tonne GVW KFS Relay Plant & Go multi-purpose low loader is designed to carry horticultural equipment or small wheeled/tracked construction equipment and can also be used as a general low-loading, flat-bed cargo carrier. The competitively-priced (from £19,604.80 Excl VAT) is derived from KFS’s Citroën Relay-based low-loading car transporter. It incorporates a specially-developed drop frame rear chassis, which is available with a choice of rear axle widths and utilises a Relay 120 or 160hp cab unit.

Dependent on specification, the KFS Plant & Go vehicle has an exceptional payload of up to 1700kg - the highest of any vehicle in its class - and has a load deck height of just 550mm. With its beaver-tail rear end and lightweight aluminium loading ramps, the Relay Plant & Go allows easy loading of a wide variety of equipment including ride-on lawnmowers, tracked mini-diggers and cherry-pickers.

The Relay Plant & Go has a 4,000mm flat load deck, with removable sides (uniquely formed by the vehicle’s light alloy loading ramps) and a removable rear load retaining closure. This can be located in two positions along the body length to suit different load patterns.

Andover-based KFS Special Vehicles Ltd is one of the UK’s largest manufacturers of 3.5 tonne GVW car transporters and other 3.5 tonne GVW specialist low-loader vehicles. The company is also a noted manufacturer of wheelchair-accessible coach-built minibuses and other specialist vehicles for both public and private-sector customers.