SSO Logistics invests £54,000 in first electric van

SSO group chief executive Peter Draper said he designed the livery to reflect the evolving gender balance in a traditionally male-dominated industry, with Debbie Shepherd recently becoming SSO’s first female director.

The vehicle will be used for pallet deliveries within the WA postcode, which SSO covers for the Wolverhampton-based Pallet-Track network.

Draper said the increase in the maximum allowed weight on zero-emission vans, from 3.5 tonnes to 4.1 tonnes, has quickly made them more commercially viable. The Traffic can cover up to 250 miles a day on a single charge.

He added: “The thinking behind the new EV is two-fold. As a business we have a high proportion of women in our team compared with many companies in the sector, and Debbie becoming our first female director is fantastic.

“For us it’s not about box-ticking, it’s about who is best for the job at interview. It’s about promoting logistics as a role for everyone, and our success in attracting more women to join our business. The livery is about celebrating that.

“The van itself now carries a greater payload than our diesel van. We’re doing about 120 miles a day on our diesel van, and this EV will comfortably do 200 to 250. The world’s changing.”

SSO Logistics, which is a Carbon Certified Business, started on its carbon reduction journey last year when it partnered with carbon reduction specialists Eight Versa.

It has devised short and long-term plans to cut its carbon footprint and embed sustainability into day-to-day operations, including transition to low-carbon energy sources, offsetting residual emissions and embedding sustainability into procurement and partnerships.

“With the improvements in roadside charging and the ability to obtain a substantial charge during a short stop, running an electric van in our fleet now makes a lot of sense,” Draper said.

“We plan to monitor its performance and share the data with other Pallet-Track members interested in EV adoption.”

Stuart Godman, Pallet-Track chief executive, said: “Peter and the SSO team are highlighting two causes that we thoroughly support, so we hope their new EV is successful in every sense.

“Pallet-Track is on the same journey to becoming carbon-neutral, so shareholder members who lead from the front with their own innovations can only accelerate that ambition.

“More broadly, it is an exciting sea change for fleet operators as the sector continues to challenge the adoption of electric vehicles against traditional internal combustion engines.

“The more commercially viable they become, the more we can all do to collectively lower our carbon footprint, which is, surely, a great step forward.”