Bristol, UK: Charles Saunders Foodservice has made its first Fuso Canter purchase with two 7.5-tonners supplied by Mercedes-Benz dealer City West Commercials.
The new trucks, both 7C15 models, deliver fresh and frozen fish to caterers in Hampshire and Wales.
Charles Saunders Foodservice has made its first Fuso Canter purchase with two 7.5-tonners
The trucks have 150 hp engines and Duonic dual-clutch automated manual transmissions. As with a fully automatic transmission, the six-speed Duonic is a two-pedal system. Drivers can choose between automatic and manual modes, while innovative features include a non-wearing wet clutch.
Colin Bardsley, operations director at Charles Saunders Foodservice says. “The auto ’box makes life easier for our drivers when making multi-drop deliveries around town.”
“It also contributes to safety by leaving them free to concentrate fully on the road, and will help to reduce our maintenance costs because clutch plates won’t wear out and need replacing.”
The Canters have insulated Solomon bodies and dual-temperature Hubbard refrigeration units and achieve a 3-tonne payload. Charles Saunders specify bigger box bodies than previously to allow eight pallets, two more than its other 7.5-tonners.
“Our drivers have really taken to these new vehicles,” Bardsley says. “So given the obvious advantages in terms of cost and operational efficiency, there’s every prospect of our buying more Canters in the future.”
Charles Saunders operates a fleet of 17 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans, several of which have fridge conversions, in addition to its eighteen 7.5-tonne trucks. Most of these vans run in the colours of Good Morning Foods, another Bristol-based company which Charles Saunders acquired recently.
