The new vehicles will be used to meet growing demand for just-in-time deliveries from Chiltern’s customers in the pharma and food sectors, calling on the operator to deliver products that need to be transported in temperatures from -25 to +25 degs.
Chiltern tried a CoolKit conversion for a week when one of its vans was off the road for a repair, and was immediately impressed with its build quality.
“The vehicles are on the road seven days a week and get a lot of use... I need a converted vehicle that will do 350,000 miles over three years,” says Paul Jackson, managing director at Chiltern Distribution.
“CoolKit’s vehicles are well built, durable conversions. The insulation quality is to a high standard, so, over time, we should also see fuel cost savings and less wear on the vehicles.”
Payload, too, was a deciding factor, as Jackson explains: “The key thing CoolKit offers compared to other converters is the extra payload capacity. An extra 70kg per van is 7% of the payload.
“A pallet of goods is usually sold by the tonne, and the weight may be slightly over the threshold for the older vehicles. Without the newer CoolKit vehicles I’d have to send a HGV, which is more costly.”
Chiltern’s specification includes a dual compartment vehicle with a moveable bulkhead, pallet protection pack, LED lighting, ATP specification and temperature recorder.
“There are a lot of rivals out there – but when it comes to converting refrigerated vehicles everything CoolKit do, they do it right,” says Jackson.
The new additions bring Chiltern’s fleet to 40 articulated 44-tonne trucks and eight panel vans.