We check out some of the fleet that graces our roads through to the present day
The last decade has seen some changes in brand preference in the Sollys fleet, with many more makes and models wearing the dark green and white livery. The UD dominance over their Isuzu counterparts was reversed somewhat when Isuzu reintroduced the 18-speed manual gearbox option along with the company 13-litre engine rated at 530hp, whilst UD turned to Volvo running gear and were only available with 11-litre Volvo group engines rated up to 460hp (ironically Isuzu Motors acquired UD Trucks from Volvo Group in 2021).
Mercedes-Benz made their way into the fleet in the 2010s, but they only began joining the fleet in large numbers in 2018 when the new generation Actros and Arocs models were introduced into most applications.
Freightliner, Kenworth, Iveco, Volvo, International and Fuso have made appearances as either pre-loved purchases or new buys, but the newest additions to join the fleet in numbers has been Scania.
Whilst we have focused on the transport side of Sollys over the last couple of instalments, there are many different facets to the group of companies. Today Sollys employs more than 140 staff, runs more than 100 trucks, and undertakes a large variety of construction and mining equipment for their civil construction and extractive mineral divisions.
*I have been good mates with long-term Sollys employee and fellow truck photographer Craig McCauley for more than 30 years. Craig has been involved in a large amount of the photos featured of the Sollys fleet, from organising photo shoots to actually driving and lining the trucks up for myself to photograph (and in later years my son and wingman Benny, who would steer the trucks until he got too big to fit behind the steering wheel with him). Craig has also been instrumental in providing information and in-house knowledge for this three-part series and the content would not have been what it was without his input. Cheers Craig.
Images by Dean Middleton