Fowler Welch has ordered 10 units of a new trailer it has designed with Cartwright, which the firms say will reduce carbon footprint by making it easier to backload the vehicles.
The refrigerated trailers are fitted with automated pallet delivery (APD), which can automatically load 26 pallets in 90 seconds.
Trailers fitted with APD typically run empty on backloads because they are difficult to load without damaging system’s slip chain mechanism.
Fowler Welch and Cartwright overcame this by adding a drop down floor to cover the mechanism, making it easier to reload the vehicle for a return journey.
Fowler Welch said it will run the new trailers on 180-round mile journeys for a specific customer that is “seriously committed to carbon reduction”.
Lionel Curtis, Cartwright’s technical director, said: “When Fowler Welch approached us and proposed a drop-down floor as a solution for making APD trailers more flexible and efficient we were delighted to take on the project.
“This innovative use of appropriate technologies is a real breakthrough in the sector which will deliver cost and environmental benefits.
“By making it easier to find back loads we can help our customers run more efficient operations and meet their corporate social responsibility to reduce their carbon footprints.”
Head of fleet at Fowler Welch, Paul Allera, added: “Empty running is to be avoided if at all possible because it is an extravagant use of resources – it wastes fuel and adds to greenhouse gas emissions for no extra benefit.”
