Innovative truck bodybuilder Bevan Group prescribed its streamlined Bevan21 boxes to help clinical waste specialist SRCL reduce its fuel consumption and cut carbon emissions.

With its curved roof profile, the Bevan21 represents a major innovation in rigid body styling. It features improved aerodynamics to reduce wind slip resistance and drag, while also creating a distinctive, modern outline, yet offers no loss of cubic capacity over a standard box. In independent track trials, a Bevan21-bodied rigid was 15 per cent more fuel efficient than a truck with a standard box body.

Bevan has supplied 18 Bevan21 bodies to SRCL - 13 are fitted to 26-tonne Volvo FM12 rigids supplied by Leeds dealer Crossroads Truck & Bus, and a further five to drawbar trailers hauled by some of the trucks.

SRCL is the UK's leading healthcare waste services company and provides a range of services to NHS and private hospitals, doctors' and dentists' surgeries, and pharmaceutical companies across the UK.

Laurence Mullikin, SRCL Fleet Manager, says: "As a waste management company we're very aware of our responsibility to the environment, so we're keen to do everything we can to reduce the impact of operations - and our customers expect nothing less.

"These bodies have been chosen with the intention of making a significant difference to our fuel consumption and thereby reducing our exhaust emissions."

He continues: "It's difficult to be precise about the savings, because we collect fuel consumption data across the fleet and our vehicles are all on different routes, with different loads, and facing varying traffic conditions. But it's clear that these new trucks are showing a noticeable improvement in fuel use - in fact, the 26-tonne rigids are producing average figures broadly in line with those we have previously seen from 18-tonne trucks with conventional bodies. Of course, this also means reduced exhaust emissions and a lower carbon footprint."

Mr Mullikin adds: "We've built up a very good relationship with Bevan over a number of years - we have tried other suppliers from time to time but no-one else can match the combination of excellent build quality and first-class back-up whenever we need any support."