On Wednesday, July 27, Niles Public Works took delivery of two new 2022 Mack Granite trucks. These trucks are “hooklift” trucks, which feature an interchangeable body system that can be outfitted with many different specialized bodies, tools, or containers to be used year-round for different functions.
“We are proud to showcase the first two of the newest additions to our fleet with these hooklift trucks, which serve more than a single function,” said Niles Mayor George D. Alpogianis. “These trucks are one more effort to provide better service and functionality but save our residents money. Ultimately the goal with the buying of these new fleet vehicles is that we will save money on the vehicle purchases themselves, save money on fuel, and save on repairs. This is a better use of our citizens’ money compared to prior years.”
Each of the new 2022 Mack Granite trucks was built by Bonnell Industries to suit all Public Works operations throughout the year. While in the past, a truck might be used exclusively for asphalt repairs and then sit idle during the winter months, now such a truck can have the asphalt repair body removed and replaced with a salt spreader for winter service, effectively providing two trucks for the price of one. There are hundreds of different ways to use a hooklift system, all with one driver, one license plate, and one insurance policy.
“In 2019 the Fleet Department was tasked to reduce ownership costs, lower our carbon footprint, and increase efficiencies,” explained Village of Niles Superintendent of Fleet and Facilities John Giannetti. “We felt the most logical way to accomplish this goal was to replace specialty vehicles with "hooklift" systems. With overwhelming support from Mayor Alpogianis and the Board of Trustees, a plan was put into place to replace two of our most heavily worn 20+-year-old trucks with new Mack Granite Trucks equipped with the hooklift systems.”
Key features of the builds include a hook-lift interchangeable body system, a stainless-steel dump bed, a stainless-steel v-box salt spreader with two 100-gallon pre-wet saddle tanks, and an 11' Polar-Flex snow plow blade.
Hooklift attachments for the 2023 budget year, including a trailer, water tanker, asphalt heating body, and a chipper body, have been ordered to maximize the use of the trucks while drastically reducing the cost of buying complete specialty vehicles. This first step in Niles’ medium-duty truck replacement plan has already eliminated the need for two full replacement trucks saving the Village over $500,000 in purchase costs alone, and will reduce future truck replacement costs by almost $1,000,000.
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