Preston-based James Hall & Co. has taken delivery of three new rigid trucks, each specified with the company’s first Carrier Transicold Syberia MT (multi-temperature) engineless units – a move designed to improve the sustainability of the commercial vehicles working across its wholesale contract with international food retail chain, SPAR. Aligned with Carrier’s 2030 ESG goals to reduce customers’ carbon footprint by more than 1 gigaton, these engineless units will reduce emissions of the James Hall & Co. fleet.
The new Carrier Transicold Syberia MT systems are each mounted to 18-tonne Volvo FEs, featuring Gray & Adams refrigerated bodies. The new vehicles replace older Carrier-cooled assets and will deliver fresh produce and groceries to SPAR outlets across the north of England.
“Carrier’s engineless systems are completely new to the business,” said Ian Farnworth, Fleet Manager at James Hall & Co. “As a company we are conscious of our carbon footprint, so the main driver for adding these vehicles was to help start the move away from fossil fuels. With the approaching changes to red diesel rates we had looked at a range of options, but the Carrier systems offered an ideal solution. So far, we’ve been delighted with their performance.”
The Syberia units run on power derived directly from the truck’s Euro VI diesel engine, all thanks to Carrier Transicold’s ECO-DRIVE power module. This uses a hydraulic pump connected to the truck’s engine power take-off to drive a generator that delivers electrical power capable of providing 100% refrigeration capacity, even at standard idle speed. The Syberia also boasts rapid temperature pull-down capability and operates at a PIEK-compliant level below 60 dB(A) – ideal for James Hall & Co’s urban delivery routes.
The powerful new Syberia systems join an 80-strong mixed temperature-controlled vehicle and trailer fleet, which already features both Carrier Transicold Supra MT and Carrier Transicold Vector 1550 units.
Expected to clock up to 100,000 kilometers per year, the new vehicles will operate for seven years, with each unit backed by Carrier Transicold’s comprehensive BluEdge fixed cost full-service maintenance package. This includes annual temperature control testing and certification, full regulatory checks and access to the company’s oneCALL 24/7 incident management service.
