Linde said it was also about to announce another contract with the merchant which will involve providing a service agreement for 60 of Ridgeons’ non-Linde trucks.
Under the equipment supply contract Ridgeons has bought 12 engine counterbalance trucks, two electric counterbalance trucks and two sideloaders from Linde. All are on a 10-year maintenance contract.
The contract win for Linde marks the return of a previous customer, as Ridgeons purchased its first truck from the supplier 20 years ago.
Ridgeons fleet manager Ewan Hunter said the Linde IC counterbalance trucks enabled the merchant to lift pallets on and off delivery vehicles easily, while the S50 sideloders were capable of lifting long pallets of timber almost 6m in length.
He said the trucks’ good level of operator comfort had helped the workforce to become even more productive.
"We are very pleased that Ridgeons has decided to return to us and that our original trucks, ranging from 12-18 years old are still going strong and delivering low running costs," said Les Dobson, Linde warehouse project manager.
