KNIGHTS OF OLD & MAN
(^68) August 2019 Truck & Driver
K
nights of Old’s story
doesn’t go quite as far
back as the legendary
Round Table of King
Arthur, although 1865
- when Northamptonshire’s
William Knight founded the
general haulier by doing
deliveries with his horse and cart - is early enough. Engines first
came into the equation in 1918,
the name Knights of Old Ltd was
adopted in 1957, and in 1968 the
company moved to what would
become a more permanent base
at Cherry Hill, in the village of
Old. There it was first able to
offer warehousing, an enterprise
that led to such growth that in
2000 the company decided to
relocate to its existing purpose-
built HQ in Kettering.
But never mind all that, it’s
lorries we’re interested in.
Knights of Old Group has run all
manner of different vehicle
marques over the intervening
years but, having been through a
phase where it was probably
best known as a Scania
operator, nowadays five
manufacturers are represented
on this 260-plus-strong fleet.
Mostly MAN
“The highest percentage would
probably be MAN, then we’ve got
Mercedes up at Nelsons
Distribution in Derbyshire,” group
fleet manager Scott Mason tells
us. “Next would come Daf,
followed by Scania, and now we
have around 20 Volvos as well.”
The vehicle we’re here to see
today is an MAN TGX XXL
tractor, and a rather special one
at that – it’s the 100th MAN to
join the fleet, and has been
dressed up to celebrate.
“We always do Truckfest
every year because it’s a good
way to advertise the brand,” ScottTGX interior greatly improved for the 2018 model year – fridge now moved beneath the bunkExtra camera equipment now fitted –
screen shows view from the nearside