Johnston and Redbridge continue one of the industry’s longest associations

It’s well over thirty years since the London Borough of Redbridge bought its first road sweeper from Johnston Sweepers – or Johnston Brothers as it was in those days – making the authority one of Johnston’s oldest and most valued customers.

When Johnston took over Babcock Sweepers Ltd in the mid Eighties, Redbridge took one of the first batch of SM 1800 sweepers to roll out of the factory, having been built by Babcock and badged by Johnston.  The SM 1800 later evolved into Johnston’s Compact 40, now one of the company’s best selling models.

Continuing the long-standing relationship, Redbridge has just taken delivery of four new Johnston Compact 40s as part of its three year replacement programme, together with a truck mounted VT500 sweeper and, for the first time ever in the authority’s fleet, two of Johnston’s midsized 5000 Series machines.

David Cuthell, Redbridge’s Chief Cleansing and Direct Services Officer, cites Johnston’s after-sales service as one of the principal reasons for staying with the company. “Our machines are in daily use and are worked hard, so problems do inevitably arise from time to time.  We have found over the years that Johnston gets issues resolved quickly, which is a very important factor in our purchasing decisions.  The machines themselves are well-built and measure favourably against other products on the market, based on our on-going tests and comparisons.” 

He continued: “It’s apparent from the way Johnston operates that they value repeat business and this has helped to maintain our long-standing relationship, which works well both ways”.

Redbridge has a reputation as an innovative borough, pioneering new ideas which other authorities have adopted.  It was they who first came up with the Redbridge Parking Scheme, for example, which prohibits parking for one particular hour during the day to overcome commuter parking in residential streets.  The scheme was chosen from a range of options by Croydon residents to alleviate parking around commuter rail stations, and has been running successfully there for several years.  An added benefit of the scheme is that road sweeping can be scheduled in during the prohibited hour, in the knowledge that streets will be clear of cars. 

In sweeper terms, Redbridge was the first authority to adopt the Leyland dual steer chassis for its truck mounted sweepers, and among the first to install automatic gear boxes across its entire fleet, on the basis that drivers have enough to do without continually having to change gear!

More recently, the borough has introduced “twilight” sweeping to make sure that busy areas where late-night revellers gather are clear for the first workers and shoppers of the day.

Brand new to Redbridge’s fleet, the two 5000 Series sweepers have been brought in to tackle heavily-trafficked residential roads where access to the kerb-line is limited with a truck mounted machine.  The short wheel base and narrow width of the 5000 Series gives it far greater manoeuvrability for this type of sweeping and, with its 4.1m3 hopper, it can pack a lot of litter!

For further information please contact:

Ginevra Stoneley, Marketing Communication Manager - 01306 874 564