Meat wholesaler saves money by switching from diesel fridges

A meat wholesaler said it had generated substantial fuel savings by running a pair of Hultsteins’ diesel-free hydraulic drive transport refrigeration units (TRUs).

Tican Chilled reckoned it had saved about 30% on fuel costs across each of systems fitted to 18-tonne CNG powered Scanias.

The TRUs use a hydraulic pump, which is driven by the power take-off from the vehicle’s engine, negating the need for a diesel-powered TRU.

Hultsteins said they are also more efficient than other hydraulic systems because they power the fridge compressor directly.

Tican group operations manager Ian Adderly said the savings may actually turn out to be even greater following the government’s decision to remove the red diesel allowance for the temperature-controlled sector.

The move left operators with a 46.81ppl increase in fuel tax alone.

Adderly said: “It’s going to cost us more to run our diesel trucks because of the red diesel situation, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the savings on the CNG vehicles with electric TRUs actually creep up to 40% or more.”