Food wholesaler T. Quality has taken delivery of the first of 26 new rigid trucks on a seven-year full-service contract hire agreement from Fraikin.
The rigids – expected to clock up to 40,000 miles a year – will be used for customer deliveries based out of T. Quality’s facilities in Birmingham, Darlington, Newton Abbot, Staplehurst and Swindon.
The first of the new trucks are already in operation with the business, with all 26 scheduled to be on the road by the end of 2024.
All of the 26 trucks feature a bespoke-built split-load body design that the two companies first developed together in 2021.
The split-load body design, which aimed to deliver improved safety, efficiency and practicality, proved to be so successful, it has now been rolled out to be fitted to the 22 15-tonne and 4 18-tonne rigids set to replace a mixture of both Fraikin and competitor-supplied units in T. Quality’s 135 -strong commercial vehicle fleet.
Ninel Diaconu, T. Quality national fleet manager said: “We have been working with Fraikin for more than two decades, so when we approached them in 2021 to help with the development of the body on 10 new trucks they were supplying, we were confident they would deliver – and the resulting design didn’t disappoint.
“Since then, the versatility of the new split-load has made our drivers’ lives much easier, helping to speed up customer deliveries, improve safety and ultimately reduce maintenance downtime. It was a no-brainer to bring more onto the fleet.”
The vehicles each feature a refrigerated compartment at the front of the truck with an ambient compartment installed at the rear. This ensures the temperature-controlled unit mounted above the cab is provided direct access to the freezer, removing the need for extensive internal piping, which reduces maintenance time and costs.
Specially designed load restraints, steps and flooring have also been fitted which allow staff to access both storage sections from either side of the vehicle, increasing safety while loading and unloading.
The new trucks have been supplied with all servicing, repairs, road fund licencing, regular safety inspections, annual MOT testing, tyre management, roadside assistance and 24/7, 365 customer support.
Under the deal, T. Quality continues to benefit from Fraikin’s online web portal, FRAIKinVIEW, which provides a complete overview of all scheduled maintenance, while the rigids also come equipped with the MYSMARTFLEET connected telematics platform, which supports data-derived driver behaviour analysis and other safety services, such as instant crash alerts.
Mark Bunker, Fraikin business development manager, said: “T. Quality’s decision to once again turn to Fraikin for this latest order is a testament to our strong understanding of its business needs, as well as our unrivalled ability to deliver complex and specialist vehicles.”
