Six Of The Best Keeps Custom Glass Rolling

One of Custom Glass' new trucks.

Custom Glass has added six new Mercedes-Benz rigids after placing one of the first orders to be secured by eStar Truck & Van, the newest member of the Mercedes-Benz Trucks Dealer Network.

All six vehicles are Atego 7.5-tonners box-bodied 816 models with ClassicSpace S-Cabs. They are powered by 5.1-litre engines producing.

Custom Glass is a sustained customer of Mercedes-Benz Trucks but owner Jeff Hooson needed reassurance from eStar's chairman Sid Sadique. "eStar is a new venture and I didn’t know anything about its owners or their plans for the long term," says Hooson. “Sid came to see me with Sales Executive Richie Rainford, who I’ve worked with for many years. Once we’d sat down face-to-face and Sid had told me about his plans to develop the business and his commitment to supporting operators like ourselves, I had no hesitation in committing to the order.”

 

Growth

A high-profile figure in the commercial vehicle industry, Sid Sadique formed eStar Truck & Van after acquiring most of the assets of the brand’s previous representative, including a dealership in Liverpool and other facilities in Deeside, Stoke-on-Trent, Trafford Park and Warrington.

 

Custom Glass

Custom Glass has been building back up towards full capacity at new production facilities after its premises at Knowsley Industrial Park were badly damaged by fire. Now fully up and running, the development represents an investment of more £2 million and is home to a Glaston FC500 6000 x 2800mm toughening plant; Hegla Optimax cutting table with laser marking system; and Lisec KSR/KSV arrissing machine, for removing the sharp edges of glass prior to toughening, with a maximum pane or unit size of 3210 x 2500 mm.

 

Truckcraft Bodies

Mr Hooson ordered the latest trucks to deliver the increased volumes of glass that are now being produced at Custom Glass’s new facility. Their box bodies, which feature fixed internal glass-carrying frails, were designed and manufactured to the operator’s own specification by Truckcraft Bodies, of Stalybridge, Greater Manchester.

 

Fleet

Four have replaced older 7.5-tonne Atego glass-carriers that have been stood down – one with more than 600,000 km on the clock – while the other two represent extensions to the fleet. Their arrivals mean Custom Glass now runs 16 vehicles from the Atego range, as well as a 44-tonne Actros tractor unit and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans.

 

DGUs

Established in 1982, Custom Glass produces 2,500 double-glazed units every day and turns over £12 million annually. The firm supplies window fabricators and installers, builders and home improvers throughout the North and Midlands. It also offers toughened and decorative glass, high-performance roof glass and ‘Low E’ thermal panels, painted glass splashbacks and ancillaries such as silicone sealant and integral blinds.

Picture: One of Custom Glass' new trucks.

www.customglass.co.uk

 

Article written by Cathryn Ellis
14th May 2021

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