JJ Foodservice has also revealed that this latest order is shortly to be followed up by a further 20 additional Isuzu F135.240(E) fridge trucks later this year.
The introduction over the past two years of so many Isuzu 13.5 tonne rigids into the JJ Foodservice fleet is part of a planned change to the company’s business model, in which it has deliberately switched from running trucks at 18 tonne GVW to more cost-effective 13.5 tonne Isuzus. In practice, this decision has been vindicated over the last two years by the fact that JJ Foodservice can now undertake the same operational workload with the smaller GVW trucks, in comparison to the incumbent 18 tonners.
In addition, the company’s previous 18 tonne rigids were not compliant in the London conurbation, so the switch to compliant Isuzu 13.5 tonne Euro VI rigids was an ideal fit for their business going forward, meeting all the company’s stringent operational criteria.
The standard JJ Foodservice specification for the first 50 new 13.5 tonne rigids is based on the Isuzu F135.240(E) chassis fitted with a Paneltex 6.3m twin compartment refrigerated box body. The follow up order for 20 Isuzus will have a mix of Gray & Adams and Solomon refrigerated bodies.
All the new Isuzus are featuring GAH EXD703 refrigeration systems as standard, designed for operational temperatures between -18° C and +4° C, and each refrigerated body has a front compartment for frozen products, with separate nearside single door access, while a flexible movable bulkhead separates the front frozen compartment from the rear compartment, where chilled and ambient products are located with access through triple rear doors.
All the JJ Foodservice Isuzu 13.5 fridge trucks are working on a five-day-a-week distribution operation across the UK, operating from each of the company’s 11 branches nationwide. With an anticipated working life of five years in the fleet, the Isuzu 13.5 tonners are working on multi-drop delivery cycles, handling between 15 and 23 drops per day per truck.