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17
Dec
Ripon firm secures £5.7 million contract
Ripon engineering firm Econ has agreed a £5.7 million contract to upgrade around half of North Yorkshire’s gritting fleet.
About 70 gritters are required to run the winter maintenance service across the county each year.
Econ will supply 31 new gritters on a a seven-year lease agreement with NY Highways, the council-owned company responsible for maintaining the county’s 5,800 miles of roads.
The gritters have been delivered in batches starting from October, and the final ones will be on the road by January, a council press release said today.
Econ managing director Jonathan Lupton said:
We are delighted to build on our longstanding partnership with NY Highways with the delivery of these 31 new gritters, which will play a vital role in keeping motorists safe on North Yorkshire’s roads this winter.
For 55 years, Econ has been the industry leader in the manufacture of gritters, and we look forward to continuing to play our part in ensuring councils, highways agencies and road contractors can keep Britain’s roads moving.
Econ gritters
Cllr Keane Duncan, the council’s executive member for highways and transport, said:
The partnership with Econ not only means we have the most up-to-date and reliable vehicles, but we’re delivering a significant cost saving for taxpayers too. We are also pleased to be able to support a local firm as they are a big employer in the county.
Gritters, their drivers, duty managers and officers are on call 24 hours a day between October and April. Last year, more than 5,000 routes were treated.
Cameras and trackers are fitted in the gritters, which provide up-to-date information and allows them to be tracked online.
Further information on gritting operations, including road cameras and maps, can be found here.
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