Somerset-based haulage contractor, AJ Brunt Ltd, has taken delivery of a new tri-axle step frame trailer from Andover Trailers – the most recent addition in a relationship that dates back more than two decades

The high-specification, bespoke-built step frame has a payload capacity of 38 tonnes, making it perfectly suited for carrying the wide range of heavy construction plant AJ Brunt Ltd transports across the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe.

Martyn Brunt, Transport Manager at AJ Brunt Ltd, says: “We need trailers that have the ability to handle all shapes and sizes of plant, something Andover’s builds always manage with ease. They listen to our needs, offer solutions to our problems and build a trailer that does exactly what we need it to do – that’s why we’ve been going back to them for more than 20 years.”

The step frame is a new addition to AJ Brunt Ltd’s trailer fleet and joins five other Andover models in service – a mixture of step frames and semi-sloping trailers. In a first for the company, AJ Brunt Ltd requested the addition of a full-width power-lifting neck ramp to make the loading and unloading process safer and more efficient.

The trailer has been specified with 17.5-inch wheels on BPW axles, with rear-lifting axle capability, and includes multiple safety features, including a working at height system, strobes, safety lights, extra reversing lights and a reverse alarm, as well as LED lighting for safer operation at night.

“That’s the great thing about Andover’s trailers – ask and you shall receive. The bespoke nature of the builds means we can pick and choose the add-ons that work for us,” continues Brunt. “But what really counts is that it’s just honest nuts and bolts engineering that’s built to last – we recently discovered that one of our old Andovers is now in Dominica, while the first one we bought back in 1995 was only sold a couple of years ago, and it’s still working hard in the Isle of Wight.”

AJ Brunt Ltd operates eight tractor units, including Volvos, Renaults and MANs, each liveried in the company’s recognisable blue, with striking individual custom paint jobs. The new trailer is expected to stay in the fleet for a minimum of 15 years and will be on the road six days a week, 52 weeks of the year.

A family-run business, AJ Brunt Ltd has been providing haulage and storage from its Frome headquarters since 1983, offering end-to-end logistics contracts to its large and varied customer base.