Celebrating their 60th anniversary this year, J.C. Balls & Sons Ltd is the number one plant hire and contracting business in the East Midlands. As part of the celebrations, they approached RH Commercial Vehicles, with whom they have been a longstanding and loyal customer, for assistance in updating their fleet.
On this occasion, they purchased a Renault Trucks D16 4×2 Road Sweeper with a Bucher V65T body. Having Renault Trucks making up over half their fleet, Jamie Balls, Transport Manager, had great confidence in the performance of the vehicle.
“We’ve always liked the Renault brand,” he said. “They’re reliable, strong and their availability worked for the business.”
With excellent visibility and usability, the range D sweeper is able to provide a high payload and is perfectly optimised for construction and municipal applications. The option to specify the Allison Automatic gear changing assistance, which allows the driver to better focus on the job. Jamie agrees,
“We’ve not had Allison transmission before, it’s very smooth and responsive. I’m really impressed with it so far.”
In addition to the standard vehicle, J.C. Balls & Sons added a 130-litre tank, anti-lock braking system, anti-slip regulation, drag torque assist, hill start assists, ESG trajectory control, anti-rollover, and emergency brake assist.
“As the sweeper will be operating on construction sites and available to hire as well as on the road, these systems will keep the driver and the vehicle safe. These are very important systems to have considering the uneven terrain of construction sites. Likewise, when the vehicle is on loan, you want the driver to feel safe too.”
The interior also saw an upgrade with air conditioning, rear tinted windows, tinted sun visor, air-suspended comfort driver’s seat with lumbar support, heated seat base and seat back, seat depth adjustment and seat-mounted seat belt.
Jamie said, “The cab is one of the comfiest I have seen on the market and the visibility is great. The drivers are particularly excited about the heated seats.”
Renault Trucks sees driver comfort as a primary consideration when designing vehicles to enhance well-being and driver retention.
The vehicle has been covered on a 12-month standard warranty complete with preventative maintenance and driveline repair coverage.
In the past, J.C. Balls & Sons have worked very closely with the RHCV depot in Alfreton. They have always had a strong relationship and Jamie has always held the service from Richard Bradbury and the team in high regard.
“The backup and level of service from Alfreton and across the dealership has always been second to none.
“We have always been looked after so well and have seen turn-around time in as little as an hour!”
J.C. Balls & Sons celebrate their anniversary in April when a second road sweeper is due to arrive from RHCV.
Formed in 1963 by James Christopher Balls, the family-run business specialises in plant hire, contracting, hire and haulage, ready mix concrete, recycling, engineering, and land improvements.
From starting with one person operating a JCB3 machine, they now have 80 machines and 30 vehicles, 100 employees and a second recycling site on the Cotes Park Estate, Alfreton.
