Waitrose adds to Gray & Adams fleet after 7% fuel savings

Expected fuel savings of 7% have prompted Waitrose to order a new batch of Gray & Adams trailers, which been developed with Cambridge University.

It is the third consecutive year the supermarket, part of the John Lewis Partnership, has placed an order for the ‘boat tail’ trailers.

Built at Gray & Adams’ Fraserburgh HQ, the trailers were built after testing the manufacturer’s product in a wind tunnel and making a series of modifications based on the findings.

These included a smooth underside to allow for better air flow, a lower vehicle height and the tapered ‘boat tail’ at the trailer’s rear.

Gray & Adams declined to say how many trailers were being supplied to the supermarket group as part of the latest batch.

Simon Gray, vehicle engineering manager for the John Lewis Partnership, said: "It’s all very well having a nice set of drawings, but you then have to make it work in the real world. Gray & Adams did a good job of that.

Waitrose ordered batches of the trailers in 2014 and 2015 too, and said they have come through on the predicted 7% fuel savings.

“The 7% improvement translates into an annual per vehicle saving of around 2,800 litres of fuel, and a reduction in the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere each year of more than 7,000 tonnes.

"It also means that we will recoup the increased capital cost of each trailer within two years. Given that we envisage a 10-year life for our trailers, these are highly cost-effective as well as environmentally beneficial.”

John Lewis Partnership has also ordered a series of double-deck trailers for use by its Waitrose operation.