The operator has just taken delivery of the first seven units from an order for 15 new Isuzu 7.5-tonners with automatic transmissions. All arrived via Angel Springs’ long-term contract hire partner Fraikin, and are fitted with Bevan’s fast access curtainslider bodies.

These are ideally suited to multi-drop applications because the curtains are tensioned from front to back and have locks at both ends, so drivers have no time-consuming straps and buckles to contend with – to gain access they simply slide back the curtains, concertina-fashion, in seconds.

In a ‘first’ for Bevan, the trucks also boast two-metre square panels that are rear-mounted and interchangeable, and used to publicise the latest marketing initiatives by Angel Springs.

Bevan is producing two of these aluminum-framed panels for each vehicle – one is always on the truck, the other is held at its production facility in Halesowen, West Midlands, by the bodybuilder.

Every three months Angel Springs’ marketeers relay their latest artwork to Bevan Group’s graphics specialists, who transfer it to the panels. Technicians from Bevan’s aftercare team then take the new panels out to the Angel Springs locations at which the vehicles are based, fit them and return to base with those they’ve removed.

“My marketing colleagues originally wanted to change the vehicle liveries on a regular basis,” explains Angel Spings’ National Operations Director Kevin Matthews. “But I explained to them that apart from the cost, I couldn’t afford to take my vehicles off the road for weeks at a time so the work could be done.

“This is a fantastic solution though, because the panels look great and it takes no time at all to swop them over. It’s also very cost-effective – in fact, Bevan’s production and associated costs for this exercise are a good bit lower than I thought they would be.”

Angel Springs’ first seven trucks are all based at its depot in Tring, Hertfordshire; the remaining eight will operate from its headquarters in Wolverhampton, and from Halifax.

Mr Matthews has worked within the logistics industry for the last 30 years, and in the bottled water sector since 2000. He sits on the Midlands Council of the Freight Transport Association as well as being a member of the Institute of Logistics.

“So I have some history with sales specialist Martyn Reeves and his colleagues at Bevan Group, and I know their vehicle bodies are extremely well built and durable,” he confirms.

Some of Angel Springs’ new trucks replace older vehicles that are being stood down but others represent a further extension to the company’s fleet of 60 trucks and vans, the vast majority of which are 7.5-tonners.

“We’re very busy right now and our depots are delivering record volumes of water, so we need additional vehicles to meet the demand,” continues Mr Matthews.

Each new truck offers a payload of some 3.7 tonnes, sufficient to carry 160 20-litres bottles stored on Angel Springs’ bespoke racking – for which Bevan Group has also devised a secure locking system – as well as eight boxes of cups and a trolley.

“Our drivers make up to 45 ‘drops’ per day and they love these new trucks,” adds Mr Matthews. “We’ve been successfully trialling a couple of vehicles with auto ’boxes in London for a couple of years and this is the first order we’ve placed subsequently for units with two-pedal set-ups.”

Angel Springs was founded in 2003, from an amalgamation of three water companies, and is now the fastest growing water cooler company in the UK.

Angel Springs has worked since its inception with Fraikin –the latest 7.5-tonne Isuzus are the subject of six-year contract hire deals under which each will average 35,000 miles a year.