New DAF XDC tippers boost fleet expansion for Rory J. Holbrook

Driver acceptance has been extremely positive, with individuals reporting a significance improvement in direct vision, an upgrade in vehicle specification and with a marked improvement in comfort in the XDC Sleeper Cab.

The new 11-litre, 450bhp DAF eight-wheelers – with DAF’s double-drive ‘FAD’ rear bogie – boost Holbrook’s fleet to over 120 vehicles, with the market-leading DAF marque accounting for 70% of the total. The extremely robust construction-spec DAF XDC trucks are added as Holbrook wins business to supply aggregates to Aggregate Industries for the Sizewell C project and to Associated Asphalt for major new developments at Heathrow Airport

Trucks were supplied by the local DAF Dealer in Norwich, Ford & Slater, with whom Holbrook has enjoyed an excellent relationship for over many decades. Holbrook acquired its first DAF CF 8x4 tippers in 2003; the company says a number of which are in ‘semi-retirement’ yet remain in service. Regular repair and maintenance are carried out at Holbrook’s wholly-owned Attleborough Service Centre company.

The 8x4 XDC tippers join recently acquired New Generation DAF XF 6x2 tractor units and a flagship XG⁺ tractor unit. In 2020, the company was also the UK’s first recipient of six CF 410 rear-steer 8x4 ‘FAW’ sleeper-cabbed trucks.

He went on, “We remain very loyal to the DAF brand because they build outstanding trucks and, arguably more importantly, because of the service support. Back-up from DAF and from Ford & Slater,” he said, “is first rate and ultra-reliable.”

He added, “We’ve always had DAF embedded in our fleet, and I go back a long way with the brand. I had a Leyland Constructor before DAF even had an established presence in the UK!”

Now in its 35^th year in business, Rory J. Holbrook is based in East Harling in Norfolk with rail-head operations in nearby Norwich and in Brandon, Suffolk, plus a substantial 10-acre recycling centre in Lakenheath, Suffolk.