Cork, Ireland: Musgrave Retail Partners is trialling two double deck, three-temperature compartment, refrigerated trailers for deliveries to its SuperValu stores in Ireland. The trailers are expected to increase available truck capacity by 65% and save €70,000 a year in personnel, fuel and fleet costs, says Donal O’Regan, fleet manager for Musgrave Retail Partners.
The 3-axle trailer double-deck, multi-temperature trailer is built by Gray & Adams and provides frozen, chilled and ambient temperature compartments all within Ireland’s height limit of 4.65m. The trailer has a Thermo King SLX supplied and installed by Ballinlough Refrigeration and a Dhollandia column tail lift fitted within the rear doors. Each deck has a 2m height with a frozen tunnel in the top deck. Moving bulkheads provide variable compartments internally.
The design required the minimum 2m-deck height and sufficient height for air circulation. The trailer uses ducts to maintain airflow. The refrigeration unit is mounted high on the front wall with the controller positioned at a lower level for driver access. The trailers carries 75 roll cages, 50% more than standard trailer. The trailers have been tested in Dublin and Cork where driver feedback has been very positive, O’Regan says.
Musgrave's new double decks built by Gray & Adams have a Dhollandia column tail lift fitted within the rear doors. Each deck has a 2m height with a frozen tunnel in the top deck
Musgrove started development work on double decks in 2008 for ambient goods. It has five, dry-freight, double-decks operating and these trailers formed the basis for the design of the temperature-controlled version. Musgrave, which turned over of €4.4bn in 2010, is the Retail Franchise division of the Musgrave Group that supplies 193 SuperValu and 464 Centra stores, all independently owned, in Ireland.
Musgrave works in partnership with the food retailers in Ireland, the United Kingdom and Spain with an annual turnover in excess of €4.4bn in 2010.
Its approach is to co-create brands with retail partners and equip them with the sales, marketing, information technology, finance and logistical expertise of an advanced retail model. The relative small size of outlets requires deliveries of mixed multi-temperature loads.
Thermo King recognised the success of Musgrave’s approach, and its commitment to energy and operational efficiency, by presenting Musgrave Retail Partners will the Thermo King Energy Efficiency Leader Award.
A Thermo King SLX is fitted high on the front bulkhead with controls located low for driver access
