WR Refrigeration stays cool with Mercedes Vito08 April 2010

Leicester-based refrigeration contractor WR Refrigeration has taken delivery of 97 Vito 111CDIs – two the long-bodied variants, the remainder compacts – from city dealer Mertrux.

The Colchester-based specialist Fleetshield Services fitted its 2.7-tonne Vitos with custom racking for tools and spare parts, and carriers for bottles of refrigerant gas.

WR Refrigeration financial director Paul Brown says the company switched to Vitos in 2006, and that the new vehicles are part of its replacement programme. Another pair of Mercedes-Benz vans, both 3.5-tonne Sprinter 313CDIs, are also about to enter service, he says.

"Those first vans performed very well and, while this model already accounts for the greater part of our 450-strong service fleet, our aim now is to become an all-Mercedes operation at the earliest opportunity," states Brown.

Key to the appeal of the Vito, he says, is its active and passive safety systems, which include the latest adaptive version of the ESP anti-skid system.

WR Refrigeration's new vehicles are the subject of a four-year lease with the in-house commercial vehicle finance arm, Mercedes-Benz CharterWay. Responsibility for overseeing the maintenance of the new vans has been assigned to Daimler Fleet Management, the fleet services provider of Mercedes-Benz parent, Daimler.

"Our engineers are our most important asset so we're always conscious of our duty of care obligations," says Brown. "They enjoy driving comfortable, well-equipped vehicles, especially the new 111CDIs which, with their 116hp engines, are more powerful than the 95hp 109CDIs they've replaced."

And he adds: "This is our first experience of Mertrux as a supplier and I have been very impressed with the dealer's professional approach. The same is true of Mercedes-Benz CharterWay and Daimler Fleet Management."

Author
Brian Tinham

Related Companies
Fleetshield Services
Mercedes-Benz UK Ltd

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