Food supply chain expert Fowler Welch is undertaking a major environmental road test of a selection of trailers. The initiative follows the addition of another 76 trailers and 72 units to its 450-strong multi-temperature fleet as part of ongoing investment in the company’s equipment and sustainability practices.
This investment will see 11 Scania units and 37 MAN units hit the road as part of Fowler Welch’s nationwide distribution operation, delivering to and collecting from all the major food retailers each week.
Alongside these units will be another six vehicles from each major marque, Volvo, DAF, Mercedes and Scania that will be put through a rigorous comparison process as the latest sustainability initiative from Fowler Welch. The benchmarking exercise will see each manufacturer’s Super Vehicle pitted against each other over a period of three years to compare a number of aspects. The initial results of this assessment will contribute to decisions made during the upcoming vehicle replacement programme in 2018.
The vehicles will be tested over a number of Fowler Welch sites, and be compared to existing fleet to offer a clear and controlled comparison of which vehicles will be most suited to each operation.
A head-to-head will take place as each manufacturer is marked on MPG, both tank-to-tank and telematics, whole life cost and uptime as well as driver acceptance and after sales support. The scoring information will be shared with each manufacturer on a monthly basis to show their current position – the other manufacturers will remain anonymous.
Paul Allera, Fowler Welch head of fleet said, “As Fowler Welch continues to focus on sustainability across every aspect of the company, direct real-life comparisons such as this one allow us to come to the most accurate conclusion about which marque will deliver the best overall investment for Fowler Welch, not just in the vehicle design itself but also across sustainability and aftercare.”
The company, has put targeted investment into its overall sustainability, leading to a 14% reduction in carbon emissions in the past five years. Nick Hay, CEO of Fowler Welch said, “Across the business we have a real focus on driving down carbon emissions by a combination of adopting innovative technology and investing in better, more carbon-efficient equipment. This benchmarking exercise is the latest move in our holistic approach to our environmental impact which is saving over 10,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum.”
